That Personal Touch

This felt a bit odd. In the Internet Age, everything is ostentatiously My-this and My-that - MySpace, for example. So, a distant politician is now My Politician, and he sends a pained personal E-Mail:

Dear Marc,

I want to tell you myself about this article published today in the Star Tribune. In it, I disclose that for many years I have been challenged by mild depression, and also that, for a brief period while I was in the Senate, I "slipped" in my recovery from alcoholism.

These are deeply personal matters, and it is very hard for me to disclose them publicly. However, I believe that you and others have the right to know them about me, as you consider supporting me for Governor of Minnesota.

My first thought was 'why are you telling ME this, Mark (if I may be so bold as to call you by your first name, which I suppose I should, since it's My-World, even though I haven't thought to 'friend' you yet on Facebook)? I mean, even though we are on a first name basis, you aren't even my Senator!

Then, I remembered, I've given Mark some money. Not directly, mind you, but through 'Wellstone Action', which is a part of His-World. So, in a way, we're old acquaintances. Pals, even.

Mark, it's OK! Who wouldn't get depressed once in a while, facing the likes of Norm Coleman and Michelle Bachmann? What matters is that you aren't Republican! But remember to stay healthy, too. Because, in the Internet Age, we frequently get too busy, and lose that personal touch - with oneself, most of all. Liquid lunches are costly in more ways than money!

So, how's everything else going? How are the wife and kids?