The Least You Could Do Is GET MY EFFING NAME RIGHT!!!...

I'm a sensitive person...I just accept this. Things that seem like minor "slights" to most people can irritate the hell out of me, sending me on war paths or worse, extreme "bouts of spouts"...a little label I use for my personal rants.

But today's email from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society just could NOT be ignored...so here goes yet another bout of spout...

Hello, NMSS...Yes, we ALL know this week marks the kick off of what is quietly whispered as National MS Awareness Week, March 10th - 17th. I say "quietly" because NO ONE ELSE, BUT PEOPLE WITH MS seem to know this "awareness" exists at all...and still, we try to promote OUR parade week, falling far short of those damn Breast Cancer folks in both awareness and fund raising...another rant for another time.

I have to tell you (once again), I'm still rather pissed off about the sudden color change for our gang sign...I liked the RED BAND OF HOPE rubber wrist band...still have one and still wear one. But this is only because you've done nothing to REPLACE the item with the new orange and brown (seriously, brown???) gang colors. Fortunately, I "donated" some money to the cause two years ago and BOUGHT several of these items, so I'll have a few to wear into my old age to promote the cause...doesn't seem likely anyone is going to be making an ORANGE version of this BAND OF HOPE any time soon...I mean, it HAS been two years since you discontinued it.

And speaking of FUND-RAISING...I get more emails than I can possibly delete from you wanting me to join this walk or that bike ride or be a part of some "movement". I'm going to type really slowly here so you can get this. I HAVE MS. Repeat. I HAVE MS. Walking, riding a bike, and simply MOVING is quite a challenge on GOOD days! Why is it you continue to ask ME to do these things? Oh sure...I DO participate when I can and I'm also quite skilled at SUCKERING my unsuspecting friends into draining their pockets, time, and energy to support these events. They DON'T have MS and oddly, they DO support me. There are hundreds of thousands of good people out there WITHOUT MS who do want to help raise money to find a cure for this crappy disease...if for no other reason, than to SHUT ME UP! But maybe you should be focusing more of your "fund-raising" energy on them? They likely HAVE more "fund-raising" energy AND money available because they DON'T have MS!

When I can, I slip you a few dollars every year in donations...I'm not saying this to brag...I'm saying this because it is true. I'm certainly not looking for a free ride here in treating/research/curing Multiple Sclerosis and, like it or not, I'm a part of this "team". When I've got extra cash, YOU get it...because ultimately, I have this Pollyannic notion what goes around, comes around...and, you'll GET around to me...eventually. Because the sad and harsh reality is, I'm NOT GOING AWAY AND NEITHER IS MY MS...unless, of course, some of that fund-raising money really DOES find a cure for this bitch-slapping disease.

Had you not sent me this email today, NMSS, I might not have written this post at all:

The email itself is your typical, "you can do it, rah rah, ain't life grand with MS" email...I'm used to these. Somebody needs to keep a positive attitude and I'm banking on YOU for this...because frankly, sometimes MY attitude about MS just plain sucks. But it is the "address" you used that sent me into a tailspin today! The email begins with "DEAR SUSAN"!!!!!!!

My mother named me "Linda" for a reason (actually, my sisters named me because my mother was too tired to come up with anything after birthing her 3rd female child)...there's no "SUSAN" in my name...not even my middle name (which would have made me an "LSD" by initials and I KNOW my mother would not have approved THAT, tired or not!). I've known several "SUSAN's" in my lifetime, but I've never assumed their identity...I don't BLOG as a "SUSAN"...and, never once has the name "SUSAN" been used in context with me (other "choice" names sure, like "A-hole", "beauch", etc., but never "SUSAN").

So, as you can see, I'm a bit put off by this email...you obviously don't know me nor care to know me even well enough to get my name right...you've kind of "soured" my MS Awareness Week, quite frankly. It's like being told there's a party for you and then discovering you are NOT the guest of honor...someone named "SUSAN" is...perhaps you should talk to HER next time you're looking for a donation...