A very utilitarian relationship.


I doubt that the ninth grader who sent me an e-mail query about three years ago knew anything about me before sending his query, but his request seemed to be written especially with me in mind. He told me that while browsing a discussion forum he had found a comment of mine dealing with the place of myth in history, and that judging from that comment he thought that perhaps I could help me with a class project on that subject that he was preparing. I couldn't refuse.

For a number of weeks we exchanged ICQ messages, and spoke on the phone. Though I preferred e-mail contact, he didn't, and he won. When he asked for my opinion I gave it to him, but I also helped him find source materials and put him in contact with people whom I thought might be able to help him. I later learned from someone whom I met who taught at the school where my acquaintance had studied that his project had been very successful.

I considered delivering a paper about our "relationship" at a conference in Israel, but it never materialized. I thought that it would be fitting that the first time that the two of us would meet face to face would be when that paper would be presented. He wasn't overly enthusiastic, but didn't object. When the paper/presentation petered out, however, we lost contact, even though I still had an e-mail address for him.



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