Posted by Glitterbat3113 at lan1.cmf.org on February 11, 2002 at 12:41:58:
Dear Kevin...
Sorry to be so informal, but "Mr. Smith" sounds a tad stuffy and gives me Jimmy Stewart flashbacks.
I decided I really did have to write to you, just to say "thanks". I was a latecomer to your work (I'm not one of those cool people who can claim to have known about you from the beginning), but I have to say that I enjoy your stuff immensely. Anyone who uses the words "sigil" and "paradigm" (in a MOVIE, no less) and actually knows what they mean is someone I'd love to hang with, in my book.
I was actually born in Jersey...Perth Amboy, as a matter of fact. My aunt lives in Red Bank. I only escaped the big hair and acid washed jeans because my parents moved us here to New Hampshire when I was almost 7. :)
I really appreciated "Dogma", because it encapsulated a lot of my doubts and fears about my beliefs. I was fortunate enough (please note sarcasm) to have been raised in a Catholic family from birth, then have my
parents convert to Fundamentalist Baptist when I was 12. Resulting in an extremely damaging adolescence, I assure you. I should win an award, "Person Who Should Most Be In Therapy and Hasn't Gone Yet". But what I connected with most was how you nailed down the ambiguities of established Christian belief; I'm constantly questioning the tenets I was raised on, and I feel all the more healthy for it.
Plus, there's the fact that your writing is astoundingly funny and intelligent. There's such a short supply of both these days, and you seem to have the dry, derisive sense of humor I do. And you love John Hughes. I am the way I am today because of "Some Kind Of Wonderful". At fourteen, I realized I could be Watts or Amanda Jones, and went with Watts. That's
still one of my all-time favorite movies.
Basically, I'm writing to you to let you know I admire you and what you do, but also in the hopes that you'd recognize a kindred spirit, and maybe we'd have a chance to talk via email. There's my gushing post. Thanks for your time.
Jennifer Krawiecki