I don't know about the other nationalities but we, Filipinos, are too enamored with chain letters.

I have these friends (three or four of them) who constantly barrage me with emails promising me more money, luck-filled life, a dream coming true etc with one condition: that I forward the email to seven, eight or nine people.

And if I don't, I will either die a certain death (cruelly and painfully) or I will be in misfortune for years and my wishes will not come true.

(Come to think of it, if all my wishes do come true, I'd be the most unfortunate person in the world. It's not a typo. I intentionally wrote 'unfortunate'. Just imagine if all your wishes -- silently thought or spoken loudly -- do come true...chaos! Again, that's not the subject of my post so I'll not delve into that).

I've done everything to ward off these chain emails.

I first warned them that our system filters all email, and that all chain letters are being tagged as spam, and that their network administrator automatically gets a warning saying that a spam is emanating from their own system.

It didn't work.

I again sternly warned them that I will report them directly to their company for sending such unofficial emails. Of course, no one believed me. (Who doesn't send unofficial emails using their company email account?)

Finally, I frankly told one of them that I put his address in my blocked senders list. He did stop sending me chain letters. The last I heard is that he finally migrated to the US. I refuse to think the chain letters worked for him, or maybe it did...

To the other friend who keeps sending me religious chain letters, I said: I would rather receive your stories on how Jesus touched you today or how you touched others with your faith.

I think he got me because I never received chain e-mails from him since. In fact, I never received any email from him anymore. He, too, must have migrated to another country.

Today, a friend bravely retorted to one of those chain e-mails and said: 'It's very un-Christian to circulate messages that curse a person should he fail or refuse to follow the instruction to distribute the message. Please avoid such "chain emails" or if the message is worth circulating,delete those parts that warn or scare people. Jesus, is merciful and compassionate, and came to save us, not threaten us.'

My sentiments exactly.

Today, whenever I receive chain emails, I R&D them (read & delete). Really, that's the most sensible thing to do.