A Cautionary Tale

Decades ago, in places near and far, earnest seventh-graders stayed up half the night writing ten longhand copies of a chain letter. The text claimed that the letter had already been forwarded around the world twice, and implored its recipients “not to break the chain.” It went on to list examples of bad luck that had befallen those who ignored the plea, and made promises of good fortune to those who kept the cycle going. 

Inspired by these words, the young scribes spent their allowance savings on envelopes and stamps, and mailed off the letters, along with a postcard addressed to some name at the top of a list. Then, they waited hopefully for the promised arrival of “thousands of postcards from all over the world.”

Few of them asked if the stories of good or bad fortune were true, or what the original chain letter looked like before it had “traveled twice around the world,” let alone who had changed the text along the way. And even if they sought answers, none were to be found. 

When weeks passed and nothing had come of it, some had already forgotten about it entirely. Some wondered what they had done wrong, and hoped that the mail might bring another letter with another chance. Some, who had never traveled far from home and yearned for even a card-sized glimpse of exotic locales, perhaps concluded that the world was a heartless place that devoured children’s dreams, if it even existed at all. 

And some, perhaps with the guidance of good teaching in mathematics and critical thinking, learned the true lesson: they realized that an enterprise that appeared so sound and simple on paper was really doomed from the start. For while the kindness of strangers is real, it usually arises unsolicited or when it is needed, but not when systematically summoned. Kindness is a gift best given freely, and best received by chance. 

It is the good fortune.