This may not be a hoax, per se, but it IS pointless to sign and forward it. (Go to http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/firemansday.html for a good discussion of why it's pointless.) For starters, the "petitions" are supposed to go to a Hotmail address -- but Hotmail's Terms of Service expressly prohibit this kind of chain letter. That's probably why the address is no longer working (as another poster noted). I'm sure the originator and the signers were well intentioned. We all want to do something in the wake of September 11. But just forwarding e-mails is not going to help anyone. As David Emery, host of the About Urban Legends site, says, "Some people argue that even if email petitions are ineffective as a tool of protest, they can at least, because of their wide circulation, inform vast numbers of people that certain problems exist. But it's just as arguable that 'signing' such documents lulls people into a false sense of actually contributing to solutions." If you want to do something, bake some cookies and take them to your local firehouse. Every day they stand between you and the kind of disaster we saw on September 11. Or write a check to the Salvation Army. Or volunteer for your local Red Cross chapter. But please, before you hit the "Send" button on any e-mail petition, check it out at http://urbanlegends.about.com, or the Urban Legends Reference Pages at http://www.snopes2.com/. Your correspondents will thank you for it. --Jeff Hume-Pratuch -> -----Original Message----- -> From: BECalnon@aol.com [mailto:BECalnon@aol.com] -> Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 9:25 AM -> To: PAYNE-L@rootsweb.com -> Subject: Subj: FW: National Firefighters day -> -> -> Subj: FW: National Firefighters day -> Date: 10/16/01 8:49:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time