The Ivory and Gold Tablecloth

Following is a sweet story from my email inbox. It was originally written by Howard C. Schade for the December 1954 issue of Reader's Digest. It is a great story of mystery, hope and providence to share before right Christmas.

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The story is told of a brand new pastor and his wife, that arrived in suburban Brooklyn in early October excited about their opportunity to reopen a church. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, and whatnot. And on Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder and hangers to put the tablecloth up as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was as white as a sheet.

"Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained how he had found it at the flea market. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were her initials, and she had made this tablecloth 16 years before, in Austria. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, feeling that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve! The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he had gotten the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again.

The pastor asked him if the man would allow him to take him for a short ride. They drove to Staten Island, to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

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Move Over Laws

The Move Over America website indicates that only Hawaii and Delaware do not have laws that protect emergency vehicles parked on the side of the road. Laws differ from state to state but each endorses the idea that drivers, when approaching these situations, should either move to another lane or decrease their speed by 20 MPH if they cannot. Have you ever heard of this law?

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Geezer Quiz

From my email inbox. Twenty fun memory testers for Baby Boomers ...

1. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, Who was that masked man? Invariably, someone would answer, I don't know, but he left this behind. What did he leave behind?
2. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched them on The _______________ Show.
3. 'Get your kicks, __________________.'
4. 'The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to ___________________.'
5. 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ________________.'
6. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we 'danced' under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the '_____________.'
7. Nestle's makes the very best ... _________.'
8. Satchmo was America's 'Ambassador of Goodwill.' Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was _________________.
9. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? _______________.
10. Red Skeleton's hobo character was named __________________ and Red always ended his television show by saying, 'Good Night, and'________ ________'.
11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam War did so by burning their ______________.
12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names did it go by? ____________ &_______________.
13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about, 'the day the music died.' This was a tribute to ___________________.
14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.
15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist. It was called the ______________.
16. Remember Lucky Strike ... _____ _____ _____?
17. Hey Kids! What time is it? It's _____ ______ _____!
18. Who knows what secrets lie in the hearts of men? The _____ Knows!
19. There was a song that came out in the 60's that was "a grave yard smash" it's name was the ______ ______!
20. Alka Seltzer used a "boy with a tablet on his head" as it's Logo/Representative. What was the boys Name?

Check your answers in the comments section. How did you do. I missed three.

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Laughing In Transit

A few funny geriatric observations from my email inbox ...

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing.

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Where we Greener 50 Years Ago?

Got an email this week that gave me cause to pause. Here are a few of the thoughts about how we lived 50 years ago that were included in the viral note titled "The Green Thing":

• We returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
• Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books.
• We washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes.
• We didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
• We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
• We replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
• People took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service
  

I am not really advocating a return to the 50s but it does make me wonder if we are not really our worst green enemy. Of course, as the email says, "we didn't have the green thing back then". But we did seem a bit greener.

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It takes too much Cabbage to regulate Cabbage

I found this fascinating word count list (below) in my email inbox this morning. It pretty much explains why our government is so big and our legal system so complex.

• Lord's prayer: ........................66 words.
• Archimedes' Principle: ................67 words.
• 10 Commandments: .....................179 words.
• Gettysburg address: ..................286 words.
• Declaration of Independence: .......1,300 words.
• US Constitution with 27 Amendments: 7,818 words.
• US Government regulations on the
  sale of cabbage: ..................26,911 words.

I sometimes long for simpler days when fewer lawyers and lobbyists ran the country.

Learning to dance in the rain..

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This beautiful story showed up in my email inbox this week. I just had to share it ...

It was a busy morning, about 8:30 , when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived at the hospital to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled ... As he patted my hand and said,

'She doesn't know me ... but ... I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

Life isn't about learning to survive the storm but learning to dance in the rain.

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Putting it in Park

A cute story adapted from one I found in my email inbox:

Joe pulled into the crowded parking lot at the local shopping centre and rolled down the truck window to make sure his Labrador Retriever had fresh air.

She was alert and checking out the folks walking around the lot. Joe wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there.

So he walked to the curb backward, pointing his finger at the car and saying emphatically, 'Now you stay. Do you hear me? Stay! Stay!'

The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady, gave Joe a strange look and said:

'Why don't you just put it in PARK?'

LOL.. Guess that is the way that I am feeling after a week in New Jersey mourning the passing of my Mom. I am ready to put it in "Park" tonight

Man Tools: The Real Definitions

The definitions below remind me of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor.. pictured below. I think that anyone who has ever worked in their garage or basement will resonate with these funny descriptions of manly hand and power tools..

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!'

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

Three D's and the Size of Your of Success

Found this in my email inbox this morning.. it is an insightful thought:

"The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way." -Robert Kiyosaki

I like what this is saying.. breaking it down I think it communicates these three ingredients of the size of one's success:

1. Desire: Race car driver Mario Andretti said "Desire is the key to motivation". Desire can really be a good thing yet I think that the word gets a bad rap because it is sometimes linked to its dark side.. the side that drives people with less than noble motives to act in foolish and sinful ways. Despite that I think that it s a very positive word. Many succeed in their chosen field or profession because their desire for excellence is greater than most.
2. Dream: Author CS Lewis once opined that: "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." Engaging with the dreams of our hearts is such an important part of success in life.. and yet it can be so difficult to envision a dream coming true.. especially as we get older and many of our youthful dreams have seemed to die. Good idea to dream anyway.
   
3. Disappointment: Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison are great examples of a people who did not let failure get in the way of pursuing their desires and dreams. Lincoln lost many elections before he was elected president of the United States and Edison once said "I have not failed. I've just found 10000 ways that won't work." A great perspective to have when things do not work out the way that we expected.

Interesting note that Kiyosaki's quote speaks of the "size" of one's success.. of course one can be successful and not have great desires or dreams.. and some seem to succeed without having to face great disappointments.. after all success is not a matter of following a set of rules.. if anything it is breaking many of the rules that bind you up.. it is often about following those dreams and desires that God has put in your heart.

Blog Visit from the Pope?

I got an email over the weekend from NeoWorx (a blog widget maker)..
here is the message and image that they sent me:

Congratulations!
You just had your first visitor from Vatican City.




I am always amazed at the places that show up on my NeoWorx visitor widget.. visitors from 149 countries have visited since I added it to my sidebar last year. Of course many of those visitors probably just land here from a Google search.. still it is fun to see how much of the world lands here.

And you never know.. maybe the pope was interested in Compassion Fatigue?

iPhone Bacon Case

Thanks to my friend crownring I finally found a reason to want an iPhone!
Click on the photo to see many other great bacon treats :)

Redneck Lion

From my e-mail inbox.. the owner in South Carolina was tired of thugs breaking into his shop so he came up with this idea..

Unwanted Email Messages

Most of us hate to get annoying email messages.. some are forwarded ones from friends but many are ones that get by ISP server filters and get to our inboxes.. the ones that get through are called spam.

An article titled Report: Americans dumber than a box of rocks about spam reports:

When it comes to spam, we Americans are quick to point our fingers at Russia, China and eastern Europe as the regions responsible for the bulk of it. But a new report issued today found that Americans are largely to blame - not because we create it, but because we’re too stupid to recognize that we’re spreading it.
...
The report noted that, during the second quarter of 2009, Americans relayed more spam than any other country.
...
The spam problem isn’t going away - but we can make a difference if we just use some common sense. I don’t like the idea of the rest of the world mocking the U.S. either, but it looks like we had this one coming.

My strategy for dealing with unwanted emails is twofold. Firstly I use Gmail that, unlike my Ymail account, actually does some spam filtering on their server. My second line of defense is Outlook.. a dozen or so messages a day go directly to my junk folder. And I don't forward viral email messages.. but I do check most of them out with a truth-checker. So I guess spam is not too much of an issue for me.

Do you ever forward viral email messages? Do you have a spam filter? What is your strategy for dealing with unwanted email messages?

1936 Stainless Steel Ford Coupe

Found this photo and info today in my inbox:

This is the 1936 Ford Coupe built for and owned by Allegheny Ludlum Steel. This is 1 of only 4 in existence and is the only one currently in running & in roadworthy condition. The car is in exceptional condition, with the interior and even the frame looking great. All 4 cars each had over 200,000 miles on them before they removed them from service. These cars were built for Allegheny as promotional and marketing projects. The top salesmen each year were given the honor of being able to drive them for one year. The v-8 engine (max 85 hp) ran like a sewing machine and was surprisingly smooth and quite. FYI, the car was insured (we were told) for the trip to Louisville via covered trailer for 1.5 million dollars. We were also told that the dies were ruined by stamping the stainless car parts, making these the last of these cars ever produced.

More information on these automobiles can be found at Allegheny Ludlum’s website.

Patient-Centered Healthcare

Yesterday a message from Kansas Senator Sam Brownback about health care reform showed up in my email inbox. Here are a few excerpts from his message.. first a note about Senator Ted Kennedy's reform proposal:

"The bill creates a tax penalty on patients who cannot demonstrate they are covered by health insurance approved by the government board. This legislation also offers new subsidies to Americans earning up to $110,000 per year to purchase health insurance. Further, this bill creates the possibility of an employer pay or play mandate where employers must offer health insurance to employees or pay an additional tax or fine. This bill also lays the groundwork for a new government-run health insurance plan."

He also spoke to the cost of healthcare reform saying that it could cost between $1 and $2.2 trillion. He also spoke to other costs of this reform:

"President Obama mentioned cutting spending in Medicare and Medicaid, programs serving elderly and lower income individuals, by an estimated $600 billion. To raise another estimated $300 billion, he discussed tax increases including limiting charitable and mortgage deductions for higher income earners."

Sam went on to speak of the downside of a nationalized plan:

"In Europe, we have seen how socialized medicine has failed. Long waiting lines and inefficiency plague hospitals; doctors are essentially government employees; and there is no incentive for innovation or new medical technology. Consequently, the U.S. is the leader in medical technology, and has some of the most efficient and well run hospitals in the world. This would not be the case if government takes over health care. My specific concern is the creation of new government-run health insurance plan. According to a recent report, creating a new government-run health plan would cause an estimated 70% of people with private insurance - 120 million Americans - to be dropped and forced onto the government-run plan, where coverage for treatments and other life-or-death decisions would be dictated by the federal government."

He wrapped up his message by saying this:

"My goal is for every Kansan to have access to affordable health care insurance through a patient-centered, not government-centered approach."

That "patient-centered" phrase caught my eye.. it was a clarifying thought for me.. should the goal of healthcare insurance to centered on the "patient"? If so then it seems that the patient should be the main player in determining healthcare options.

Recent history has shown that insurance companies have taken an increased dominance in the decisions made by physicians and healthcare professionals. This involvement was initially predicated by a perceived trend towards abuses of medical insurance where unnecessary test and treatments were being ordered by healthcare professionals. I think that this involvement has progressed over the years to a point where insurance coverage has become an unwanted focal point in the process.

With that in mind I begin to imagine what it would look like to have the government taking a dominant role in healthcare. At first I think that it could be a very beneficial program for our country.. large insurance companies would no longer be able to disqualify people based on preexisting conditions.. people who lose their jobs would no longer have to worry about losing their medical insurance.. there are many other initial advantages to a universal healthcare approach.

Then I think about leaving something as important as our healthcare in the hands of politicians.. many of who are supported by the very large medical insurance industry lobby. I tend to go to some pretty dark places when I think about how government employees today have little flexibility when they are administering medicare and medicaid. They are bound by the minutia of procedural interpretations of the laws that legislators have passed.

When I consider reform I return to this idea of a patient-centered approach and I come to the conclusion that healthcare is not patient-centered today.. it has not been for a long time. So the question is: how much reform is needed? It seems that some reform is needed to help people who do not have insurance through no fault of their own. It is just not clear how much reform is enough.

Lessons from Two Boys

I found these stories today in my email inbox and just had to share them with you. They reminded me of the parables that Jesus used to teach simple truths.

Always remember those who serve..

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Giving When it Counts..

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.

Red Envelopes to Washington

4/8/09 Update: The White House confirms that they have received over 2 million red envelopes.. [snarky comment alert].. not sure that the Obama administration was impacted but the post office thanks everyone who participated.. probably generated over a million dollars in revenue for them :)

2/22/09: Got an email from a friend this week urging me to:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message.

This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.

We will mail the envelopes out March 31st, 2009.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too.
...
Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children.

Does anyone think that this campaign will really work? I guess I don't. I periodically "write my congressman" and always get a form letter response with their position on whatever issue I had wrote them about.. it is generally a huge waste of my time.. albeit a cathartic one.

Don't misunderstand me.. I think that a campaign like this one is a sincere and heartfelt one.. but I don't think that it will change President Obama's views about abortion laws.. but it may help the economy and maybe save a job or two at the post office.

What do you think? Have you found, from personal experience, that our leaders in Washington are responsive to your letters? How would you respond to these red envelopes if you were President Obama?

Threes About Me

My friend Kirk sent me his threes via email. To celebrate Friday I list mine here.

Three Names I have been called:

1. Bob
2. Robert
3. KB
   

Three Jobs I have had in my life:

1. Soldier
2. Software Designer
3. Pastor
   

Three places I have lived:

1. New York
2. Texas
3. Kansas
   

Three TV Shows that I watch:

1. The Office
2. Law and Order
3. Morning Joe
   

Three places I have been:

1. Hong Kong, China
   
2. Manila, Philippines
   
3. Vancouver, Canada
   

Three people that e-mail me regularly:

1. Friends
2. Bloggers
3. Spammers
   

Three of my favorite foods:

1. Pizza
2. Barbeque
3. Alaskan King Crab
   

Three things I am looking forward to:

1. Spring (my favorite time of year)
2. Vacation with Ann
3. Seeing Jesus
   

You are invited to celebrate Friday with me.. this one is pretty simple to do. Feel free to list your threes either here in the comments or at your place.. and let me know if you do.

Netiquette

I have been using email almost 20 years and sometimes wonder if people ever really think about what they are doing when they hit send. Here are a few thoughts that I found, along with my comments, on the topic of Email Etiquette from this website:

1. Be concise and to the point. -Put it in an attachment or link to it if it is really long.
   
2. Make it personal. -That is kind of the point of email.. make sure to add an introductory comment if you are forwarding a message. 
3. Answer swiftly.  -I sometimes send a reply to someone when I am busy saying that I got the message and plan to get back to them soon. 
4. Do not attach unnecessary files. -Large files can cause downloading to be slow.
   
5. Do not write in CAPITALS. -Every now and then I get one of these.. they are annoying.
   
6. Don't leave out the message thread. -Even when you reply it is good to leave the original message(s).. people do get mail from other people :)
   
7. Read the email before you send it. -Always good to proofread your stuff.
   
8. Do not overuse Reply to All. -Not everyone needs to hear what you have to say.
9. Mailings: use the bcc: field. -It is never a good idea to send a mass mailing out with email addresses exposed.. others may not want their address published.
10. Do not use email to discuss confidential information. -You never know where your email will end up.. use discretion.
    
11. Use a meaningful subject. -This is one of pet peeves.. especially when there is no subject at all.
    
12. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters. -Even if they say prayer request. Do I even have to say more?
    
13. Don't reply to spam. -Even unsubscribing to a list can cause you problems becuase it tells the spammers that you read their message.
    

How about you? Any stories or tips to share?