BY JIM KNIPPENBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Oh no, look who's back: It's young Craig Shergold. Only now he has evolved into Shefford.
Whatever the name, the kid is all over town, sending People Who Mean Well into a frenzy of chain letter writing.
At issue here is the urban myth about Little Craig, a lad supposedly dying of cancer. His goal is to collect a zillion business cards and get into the Guinness Book of Records.
There's a chain letter going around detailing the story and asking that cards be sent to Atlanta.
Sweet. But not true.
It was true once. In 1989, 10-year-old Craig Shergold made the request, got 17 million cards and a place in the book. That should have been the end of it.
But no. Something about the story captured people and the letter took on a life of its own. (The last go-round was August of 1997.) Now there's another infestation. This time he's Shefford, as opposed to Shergold, Sheford, Sherwold, Sherfold or Sherman in previous visits.
As always, the letter claims affiliation with the Make a Wish Foundation, and also as always, the foundation says there's no such affiliation. The reaction when you call the foundation is, "Oh no, he's back."
The foundation, for the record, gets thousands of cards a week, even though it asked people to cool it some nine years ago.
According to a receptionist down there, cards go to a recycler. We have a copy of the letter from Cincinnati attorney Greg Delev, who's wise to the scam.
SING OUT: And this for people at the saloon wondering who's the best Karaoke singer in town.
Not sure, but we're about to find out. To wit: Sing Cincinnati!, this weekend's festival of songs and singers, has a little number called the Karaoke Klassic, a two-phase deal wherein singers square off on each other.
Phase one was last week at Rhino's off Main Street, where a raft of singers belted everything from country to Pointer Sisters to Village People in the preliminary round. Five are left: Jennifer Bray, Reading; Julie Handermann, Cincinnati; Chris McKim, Fort Thomas; Jenny Nicholson, Montgomery; Ron Spivey, Cincinnati. Phase two is noon Friday on Fountain Square -- a non-saloon? No beer? Hope they're not too nervous to sing -- when the five let fly for a panel of celebrity judges and anyone who wanders by.
Winners get cash prizes and tickets to the weekend's Sing Cincinnati! events.
Those events include: Parachute Express (11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday) at Memorial Hall; Sesame Street's Bob McGrath doing a sing-along at 6 p.m. Sunday at Sawyer Point; The Bobs (2 p.m. Saturday) at Music Hall; a Gospel Showcase (4:30 p.m. Sunday) at Music Hall. Call 621-3378.
ROLLING: Meanwhile, down at the rink, Marcia Yeager continues to be hell on wheels. In-line skate wheels, we mean.
Remember Yeager? Last October she skated an 85-mile race (Athens to Atlanta, Ga.) for a Leukemia Society fund-raiser and set a record: 4 hours and 57 minutes.
Which impressed the Leukemia Society so much it made her National Training Coach for Team in Training's in-line skate division, which does the race Oct. 4.
But first, Yeager wants skaters -- she has 15 but wants 15 more. All you have to do is skate 38 or 86 miles (she'll help with the training) and scare up $2,300 in pledges. Information: 772-5503.
Psst! appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Have an item to report? Call Jim Knippenberg at 768-8513; fax: 768-8330.
KNIPPENBERG ARCHIVE
