Cakeboof; or, A Good Anagram Is Hard to Find
-A brief parable on the electronic age
Scene: The electronic mailroom. Tomemos approaches the Postmaster.
Tomemos: Hi there. I don’t think I’m getting my mail.
Postmaster: I’m terribly sorry, sir. What makes you say that?
T: Well, I keep hearing about events that I was supposed to be invited to, but I never get the invitations.
P: Hmm, that’s odd. Is your membership in Cakeboof current?
T: …Cakeboof?
P: You know, Cakeboof, the social club. Pictures, hatching eggs. Lots of Scrabble. Don’t tell me you’re not a member of Cakeboof!
T: I guess I’m not.
P: That explains it! Nowadays, no one uses the mail anymore when they need to communicate. They just go into Cakeboof, write out a message, and yell it as loud as they can. That way, all of their friends who are members will know!
T: Couldn’t they just put invitations in the mail, like everyone used to do?
P: Oh, listen to Mr. Big over here! They’re already contacting everyone who’s a Cakeboof member; is it fair that they should have to use a whole new way of contacting people who aren’t Cakeboof members?
T: No, I mean, couldn’t they just mail everyone who they want to come?
P: How are they supposed to remember you? They never see you down at the Cakeboof!
T: That’s fair, I guess. So is it easy to be a member of the, uh, that club we’re talking about?
P: Sure! Just go down and register as a member. They’ll give you your own room, which you meticulously decorate. Then you just have to come to the club every day to see if you have any messages from your friends or from anyone who’s known you since high school. Also, watch your walls carefully in case someone comes into your room and writes something on them. It’s that simple!
T: I don’t have time to devote to some social club! I’m a very important person—I’m a widely-published author, plus the manager of two baseball teams!
P: Well, sir, I tell you what. If you won’t join Cakeboof, your friends could just mail you a picture of the message they sent everyone else via Cakeboof. That would probably be the most efficient thing.
Finis