THCY@CRNLVAX5.BITNET (04/12/88)
DAVID: The Real Story (?) A few days ago I sent out a message about David, a boy dying of cancer who wanted to earn the world record for having the most postcards sent to him. Since then, a huge amount of discussion has occurred on the various networks and discussion groups. I received many flames telling me that the story was a hoax (and, often, that I was a gullible moron). From piecing together what information I have received, I think I can offer a picture of what the story REALLY is. Please note that I have no PROOF of any of this, just evidence. I do not present it as absolute truth. It seems that David's story is true. David was a small boy dying of cancer who decided he wanted to be in the Guinness Book of Records for receiving the most postcards. The appeal went out far and wide (spread according to different versions of the story by a ham radio operator or by David's school- mates). However, since the appeal originally went out, David received millions of postcards and broke the record easily. The postal service and the school got quite fed up with dealing with all of this mail, so they want it to stop coming. Some versions of the story indicate that David has gone into remission and is living happily, others indicate that he in fact died of his cancer not long after learning that he had broken the record. Apparently this all happened a while ago, which would explain why the appeal has been seen floating around USENET and other networks for a long time. This would seem to be an indication that it was a hoax, but that's not necessarily so. Maybe, but not necessarily. Whether the story is a hoax or not, postcards definitely should NOT be sent, and the appeal for the postcards should NOT be passed on. If you forwarded my original message to anyone, please send this one, too. Tell everyone that they should NOT send postcards, and should NOT forward the message any more. It's up to you whether you believe the story to have been true or not. I'm not sure myself. One way or another, though, the relevance of the story is over. If you want copies of some of the messages describing the validity of the story, please contact me directly, as I do not wish to post them here. Also, please DO NOT send any more messages about this story or its ramifications to the newsgroup, as there has been enough space and time spent on it here already. Any messages should be sent to me directly. Mark H. Anbinder NG33 MVR Hall, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853 THCY@CRNLVAX5.BITNET (607) 255-1566 (work) THCY@VAX5.CCS.CORNELL.EDU (607) 257-7587 (home)