Dear Louis,
You’re a very nice man and I do enjoy working with you. The fact that you own a donkey and a rooster makes me laugh. I don’t know many people who own a donkey and a rooster who don’t also live on a farm. You’re sincere and there is not a whit of vitriol in your body. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you mad. Often you share your lunch with me when you can’t finish it.
That’s why this is difficult for me.
Every time you come into my office I already know what you’re going to tell me. You’re going to tell me that you sent me an email. And usually, just about the time you’re walking into my office, the boingy sound that I set up to alert me that I have received an email is boinging. Or it boings right while you’re standing there. Then we say the same things: You say, “I just wanted to let you know I sent you an email!” I say, “Yup, just got it.” And then you say, “Great, thanks! Just wanted to let you know!”
I know you’re a bit older and not technically inclined. I know you still use words like “facsimile” and “teleconference.” But here’s the thing with email. When you send me one, I get it. That’s the whole point of it. Really. It’s why they invented it. So you can send me stuff electronically, and I can get it.
I want you to know I dream of killing your donkey.
Sincerely,
Jason