Dr. Brent Nielson pulled the letter off his fax machine and proclaimed, "It's alive!"
"It" is a plea for help on behalf of a young boy named Craig Shergold who is, according to the letter, suffering from cancer and hoping to be in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest collection of business cards from doctors and dentists. The cards, the letter says, should be sent to the Atlanta Children's Make a Wish Foundation.
It's an old story, told in a thousand ways by millions over at least a decade. Variations have flown around the globe by mail, e-mail, fax and word of mouth.
The child has been referred to as Craig and Greg, Sherigold, Shergold, Sherwood, Suregold, Suregood, Shelford, Shefley and Stepford. He's been 7 to 13 (If he were 7 when it started, he's an adult now!); has been from England, Ireland, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. He's been dying from various cancers, including a brain tumor and leukemia. And he's apparently sought various Guinness Book of World Records by asking for Christmas cards, business cards, post cards, get-well cards, etc. He should have asked for quarters.
In truth, the boy is Craig Shergold, now a man. He lived in England, had a brain tumor and wanted to collect post cards. After 33 million had arrived, he was practically begging people to stop. So were his family members and the Royal Mail in London. Two years ago, the number was about 250 million.
Meanwhile, an American billionaire named John Kluge flew the boy and his family to an American hospital for surgery — completely successful, tumor removed, recovery complete — in 1991. The same year Shergold appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The story won't die. And this week, it's being sent around by compassionate physicians and dentists who are anxious to make a simple little wish a reality.
Nielson's office did some tracking and calculating to figure out how far the letter traveled locally in just the past couple of days. One dentist sent it to nine others. They've counted at least 160 pleas delivered from the mail lists of those nine.
E-mail has given such messages the ability to circle the globe in hours.
As Fox Mulder would say, the truth is out there. Deseret News files document a half-dozen stories this decade explaining the boy doesn't need your cards, letters or anything else.
But the story persists, along with lots of other send-'em-to-everyone-you-know missives. One that's currently circulating says the FCC is trying to cancel "Touched by an Angel" because of its continuous use of the word "God." An FCC spokesman just laughed when asked about it.
And who can forget Amy Bruce, 7, who reportedly contracted lung cancer from secondhand smoke and a brain tumor from being beaten. The plea carries the promise that the Make A Wish Foundation will donate a few pennies each time the e-mail is sent to someone else.
Guess what? The Make a Wish Foundation doesn't do that. Ever. Neither does the American Cancer Society, which was listed on the earliest versions of the e-mail. But this message was nastier. It warned those who didn't send it on that "what goes around comes around." A lot of us are still waiting.
Over the years we've heard about many children. They were all at one time either missing, ill — often even dying — or simply lonely. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month they all are no longer missing and/or are feeling better now.
The bottom line is pretty simple. No individual or organization has volunteered to fund treatment or anything else based on the number of times an e-mail, letter or fax is forwarded.
Come on. How would they even know?
E-mail: lois@desnews.com