By Chris Cosci

I am one of the luckiest men on the planet. Every day, I am showered with gifts, blessings, and tons of opportunities - usually from people I've never met before.

Some of these wonderful things come to me through e-mail. A lot of times, my e-mail account is filled with letters and messages from people I know and talk to. But amidst these mundane messages and run-of-the-mill correspondences, there are dozens of e-mails telling me how special I am. I get e-mails offering me special gifts I can't get anywhere else. Pasta pots, hovercraft toys, weight-loss pills - all for me!

And there's so much more waiting for me when I surf the Internet. The Internet is like my own personal wonderland of attention. Everywhere I go, windows pop up offering me cruises and relaxing vacations. I'm one of the privileged few who can get an exclusive deal on the world's smallest camera. And I'm always being asked my opinion on special, important surveys. How did I get so lucky?

The generosity I get from strangers continues long after the computer has been shut down. Every day, when I return home from work, I find letters and brochures in my mailbox from all sorts of people. It means a lot to me to know how much credit card companies want me as a customer. They have such a high opinion of me, they're willing to skip their usual approval process and just give me a credit card. Isn't that incredible? Some credit card companies even send me three or four letters every week. They really know how to make me feel wanted.

And it's not just credit card companies. There are banks that actually send me checks to become a member. Real checks! They find me so special that they are willing to offer me money to join their programs. Can you imagine that? Even though I would be paying them for their services, they still want to give me money for signing up. I don't think they give this kind of consideration to just anybody.

All this attention can be overwhelming at times. So many people want me to be happy and to have all the things they say I deserve. I occasionally have to turn some of them down. It hurts a little, because I can only imagine how much effort these people went through just to get in touch with me. They took precious time out of their day, putting together all of these packages and deals, just for me. They sent letters congratulating me, thanking me, and telling me how important I am. I just don't have the time to respond to all of them.

But what really makes me realize just how lucky I am is when these people call me. It makes me feel so wonderful when these people go out of their way to find my telephone number, and then call to talk to me directly. I am almost embarrassed sometimes to think how much these people want to talk to me. They even call me during dinner, sacrificing their own meals and family time just to offer me more. It makes me feel like royalty.

I don't know what I did to deserve all this attention. There are days I wish everybody was as lucky as I am. It would be so nice if I could share my special gifts with other people. It would be great if my friends and family could also receive the incredible amount of attention that I receive.

Until that day comes, I can wake up with a smile on my face, knowing how fortunate I am. And as I go through my day, I try to stop and think about how blessed I am that I get so many e-mails, pop-ups and phone calls. It's nice to know that there are so many people out there who are always thinking of me. In fact, just today I was online looking at one of my favorite sites, and a screen popped up telling me I was a winner. And you know what? I feel like a winner.