Wow! Apparently quite a few people are guilty of sending out the religious forwards---at least that's what I've heard from readers today. All have asked me to pass along any solution I come to with regard to this particular friend.

And yes, she is my friend. That's why I find it so astonishing to get this mail from her. I've known this woman for a very long time, and until she got hold of my e-mail address, I never, ever got this sort of crap from her...for instance, her Christmas cards are not overly religious. They are usually some wonderful scene with pets in front of a fireplace or something else along that line. This has been the case for a lot of years.

It's just the blithering e-mail. I might be less annoyed about it if she ever took the time to write. But she doesn't. I know she writes good letters; that's how we've kept up with each other much of the last few years. And with most of the other people I knew pre-Internet, that's been what has happened---we've just started corresponding by e-mail instead of snail mail. They may send jokes, but they also take the time to write.

I have seen suggestions on message boards regarding stopping unwanted mail of this sort, but most of them sound way too harsh for me to be willing to do. My goal here is to hear from her, not be spammed with religious drivel.

See, it would be different if it were "just" drivel---if she were forwarding every joke in Webdom, I would not hesitate to send her a note and tell her that even though they were new to her, I had seen them and would rather she didn't send more. I do know her well enough to know that wouldn't hurt her feelings. I just worry over the religious stuff, because it is religious. I try very hard to honor other people's preferences when it comes to religion, to be polite if nothing else. But this situation is using up way too much of my polite!

I'm pondering on it, though, and promise to share anything that works. Wish me luck!