Spam-I-Am (Not)

Everyone I know hates email. And with good reason. The daily cacophony of messages demanding our attention, warning of impending doom, and promising everything from instant riches to everlasting hair removal can be overwhelming. And heaven help you if you leave your Inbox unattended for even a day. I left my inbox unattended for 36 hours over Father’s Day Weekend and came back to…you don’t want to know how many emails. 

And it’s not just the Inbox, you understand. There’s also the “Junk Mail” folder, that purgatory where emails that you don’t want to see are supposed to go. Except, things that you DO want to see frequently end up there. So much so that “Have you checked your spam folder?” has become the email equivalent of “Have you tried restarting it?” for the computer. But who wants to trudge through purgatory? It is so much easier to just send the lot, still shrieking about their discounts and deals, into digital oblivion without a second (or first) glance. 

But sometimes, something is in there that you really don’t want to miss. That happened to me some years ago when I was a professor. I had finished cleaning out my Inbox and was scrolling, bleary-eyed, through the endless parade of spam. About two-thirds of the way through, I had had enough and thought, “Screw it.” However, just as I was about to hit “Delete All,” something caught my eye. 

At the bottom of my screen, just barely peeking over the bottom frame of the Mail window, was an inquiry from Chris Cassel, a film producer. He was producing a docudrama, Rome: Engineering an Empire, for the History Channel. In his research, he had picked up my Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Roman Empire and liked my way of explaining Roman history and culture. He wanted me to be a historical consultant on the script and to put me in the show. I jumped at the chance, and it was a blast. The show won several Emmys, and opened up opportunities for me to work with other programs for the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and even Animal Planet. All because I checked my junk mail. 

Why am I telling you this? Because you, too, may have something lurking in your Inbox or Junk Mail, something from E.G.O. that you might overlook. And I don’t want you to miss it. 

Now that the volunteer roles and responsibilities have been revised, our Lieutenants have sent out emails offering you the opportunity to confirm what position (Goon, Minion, Assassin) you wish to hold. It’s important that they hear back from you this week. We want to make sure that everyone is doing what they came to do, and to offer opportunities to serve in leadership positions to those of you who want them. 

If you somehow missed the announcements and haven’t yet read about the revised E.G.O. roles and responsibilities, you can read their descriptions here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12kHzJHIY_4xSqamCZUfvJ5KSnDej9THPU2fLvWNnpEM/edit?usp=sharing

And if you haven’t heard from your Lieutenant yet, check your junk mail. 

P.S. If you have somehow missed or inadvertently deleted the message from your Lieutenant, you can always email me, Eric Nelson at [email protected] to let me know which volunteer role in E.G.O. you want. I will pass your information on to the appropriate Lieutenant.

P.P.S. If you are not already part of E.G.O., what are you waiting for? Whether you run or play your Everyday Heroes games in person or online, we have a place for you! Just complete the onboarding form here: https://forms.gle/Mh6cZ9SJgJk4xVg1A