[24542] in APO-L
[APO-L] Legit Call for Aide (Christmas Cards for Nick Waters in 2004)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Charlie Zimmerman, APO-L Moderator)
Tue Dec 14 15:49:25 2004
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 15:49:11 -0500
Reply-To: CharlieZ@aol.com
From: "Charlie Zimmerman, APO-L Moderator" <CharlieZ@aol.com>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
I rarely comment on this sort of request. In fact, I normally assume that these are either hoaxes or long out-of-date, just continually passed on by well-meaning folks. (Search the web for "Craig Shergold" and you'll see what I mean.) But given Kami Bush's personal endorsement yesterday and the relatively short path back to the source of the request, I decided to look into this a bit further.
A brief search of the web turned up very little - just a cached article from a local news radio station's web site and a mention of the request for cards in a blog. An e-mail to the radio station got a quick reply that they had in fact pulled the request from their site due to lack of solid verification, despite a fairly reliable path to the source, much like Kami's.
Despite some minor variations in the story, there seemed to be a ring of truth to the whole thing. So I called the U.S. Post Office in Canton, GA, and asked if (a) they were aware of the request and (b) whether it was legitimate. I thought this was probably the best route to verifying the legitimacy of the request, short of contacting the family directly, since that local Post Office would have to handle all the cards, one way or the other.
The gentleman I spoke to said that yes, they were aware of the request and that it was in fact legitimate - that Nick's aunt even works at the post office, and that he is a sweet kid in a wheelchair who just loves looking at the cards. They are (at least for now in 2004) very willing to receive as many cards as people care to send to Nick.
So much like in the original "Miracle on 34th Street," if the U.S. Post Office believes, then so can I. You can send cards or not as you see fit, but I thought you might like to know what I'd found out.
Happy holidays!
Charlie Zimmerman
APO-L Moderator
charliez@aol.com
P.S. I just hope that this doesn't become another urban legend, and that those who spread the word will make clear the date of the original request. As such, I am not including Nick's address, but instead a link to Kami's original note here in the APO-L archive:
https://listserv.iupui.edu/cgi-bin/Wa-IUPUI.exe?A2=ind0412b&L=apo-l&D=0&P=243&F=P
