[Long] Story about soldier and friend A soldier named Peter is deployed overseas for war and stay in contact with his friend Ben by writing letters. In the first letter to the soldier: Dear Pete: I'm sorry to say, but your favorite cat Fluffy keeled over dead yesterday. Sincerely, Ben Peter is obviously shocked and writes back to his friend. Dear Ben: I can't believe your last letter. Here I am trying to cope with a war, and I get this letter from you just telling me that Fluffy keeled over dead. You just don't do that kind of thing to a guy, Ben. You need to break that kind of news to a guy more slowly. You might start off with a letter telling a guy that his cat is on the roof. In your next letter, you might add that the cat won't come down and that you're starting to get a little worried. In the 3rd or 4th letter, you might let a guy know that you had to call the fire department to get the cat down, that they finally retrieved her, and that she is in intensive care at the veterinary hospital. In your 5th letter, you might let a guy know that his cat's chances of pulling through don't look very good. And in a 6th letter, you might finally tell the guy that they did everything they could for her but that Fluffy just didn't pull through. Then, in the 7th letter, you tell the guy about the wonderful memorial service everyone had for Fluffy and remind him of what an inspiration she was to you. I hope you will be more careful about these matters in the future. Sincerely, Pete A few weeks later his friend writes to him: Dear Pete: Your wife is on the roof. Sincerely, Ben