February 3, 1999
Hi all you Acme Friends!
First, let me apologize for the group e-mail, but time is of the essence
here. I have hidden names and addresses of the group to protect your
privacy, but this e-mail is going out to 73 Acme posters. If you are
concerned that someone might have been missed, please e-mail me and I
will tell you if they were included in this mailing.
There has been a lot of sadness on the board lately. Jeff & Diane, who
have lost 3 beloved cats within the last 13 months, are especially
hurting. As you know they have been dealing with non-stop terminal
illness for well over a year, and have yet to really recover from the
sudden and terrible loss of Mr. Fluffy. They are exhausted, reeling
from a terrible series of losses and hurting beyond comprehension. They
have few people within their own families or co-workers who really
comprehend the loss of a pet and the depth of their despair. Not like
we do.
Lisaviolet, Fran, Tik Tok and I have been thinking that its time to do
something together as a family, something to give them hope and to let
them know that they are not alone. It’s time for another Acme
"flight". We are planning a special group (((((hug)))) from all their
friends at Acme. If you wish to join in, please forward pictures of
yourself and your furbabies, a special card, a home made doo-dad, cat
trinkets of any kind, a stuffed animal, a poem, any special writing or
artwork, or whatever else you wish, to the snail mail address I will
forward to you. When they are all in, I will gift wrap your parcels and
put them and your cards all in one box and send it from all their
friends at Acme. It will be shipped to them as close to Valentine’s Day
as possible. If you would like to participate, please respond to this
e-mail as soon as possible. I will forward details of the snail mail
address to send your Hug to. Your cards and parcels will NOT be opened,
so anything you send will remain confidential and between you, Jeff and
Diane. I will merely wrap the outer wrappings to make it look more
festive.
This has to happen quickly. Valentine’s Day is 11 days from today, and
Tik Tok would like to point out that the Chinese New Year (The year of
the Bunny) begins on February 16. If we could get the package to them
by that date, it would be like starting a New Year with a lot of hope
and love and one giant Valentine. I’m thinking your package or card
will have to be received here in Los Angeles no later than Friday,
February 12 if I am to 2nd day air it out to them so it can be received
between the 14th and 16th.
I cannot stress enough how essential it is that this be a total surprise
to Jeff & Diane. You must not mention it on either the Cat’s Window or
the Cat Health Boards, or in any direct correspondence you may have with
Di. That would completely ruin the effect. They absolutely CANNOT know
this is coming!!!!
We have decided that our virtual "voyage" is going to be aboard a
train. We are going to discuss details in code. Your RSVP’s will be
reservations, and receipt of your card or package will be a valentine.
We are undecided about whether or not to use the Community board at Acme
as a place for updates, or to set up a separate message board. I’m not
sure what would be most convenient and most spontaneous and also less
risk of Di catching on. Give us your feedback, and we’ll e-mail you the
location when it’s finalized.
If you are sending a gift, please keep it LIGHTWEIGHT or the train may
not be able to leave Grand Central Station and we may have to ship it on
a slow boat!
The party is going to be up to you guys. You are allowed to be as silly
as you wish. If you want to know HOW silly, here’s the last flight we
did. As you can see, there are no ground rules here!
http://members.tripod.com/~MEOW_catclub/fli908.htm
Any of you who do not wish to participate, this is the only e-mail you
will receive. I will delete all non-responding e-mail addy’s from
future correspondence so as not to bother anyone who is not interested.
I think this will be a lift of spirits that Jeff & Diane very
desperately need. We thank all of you who wish to participate in
sending your love. I think of this "train" as the little engine that
could. Could really make a difference the lives of two people who have
given so much of themselves to others, and who are suffering a hurt that
is beyond what most of us can imagine. Believe me, your spirits will be
uplifted too.
Thanks from the bottom of our "Hearts"
Tally
Lisaviolet,
Fran,
Tik Tok