Sometimes ego boost costs too much

The letter was complimentary. At first read, I couldn’t help but feel my parental pride swell a little. It praised my son on his athletic achievements. Then it offered a string of ego strokes with words like “qualified” and “selected” spread liberally throughout the page, like too much frosting on a piece of cake. He was supposedly one of only 300 or so athletes across the country to be invited to join a national team of high school runners who would travel to compete next summer against other accomplished athletes their age on the other side of the globe. Woo hoo. The accompanying marketing material might as well been a pair of pom poms waving about the thrill, status and memory-making experience of international competition. We laughed and tossed it straight into the recycling bin. Two points for the Barvilles/ Jill Barville , SR correspondent. More here.

Question: Have you ever gotten a spiel like this in the mail?