I AM YOUR WORST ENEMY, by Author Unknown, or is it, WHO AM I, FRIEND OR FOE.

Note of 20140217 :
If you search the net, you will find this material was being used as broadsheet advertising in advertisements in newspapers to tell folks, be careful. I AM CARELESSNESS, is therefore the true answer to the question of what is the title of this work below; and we now say, the woman who claimed ownership of this material lied to us. Imagine that !! Someone lied for their own 'benefit.' Sad, that.

Example and Proof : https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19170619&id=ghwbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W0kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2535,1489634
This link will bring the Pittsburgh Press, dated Jun 17, 1917, to view, showing the poem in use.
Notice there is no author, and that its use is in a campaign of safety.
At this point, all below is historical information, including our error.

Note of 20131126 :
We first posted this page in the year, 2003.
We thought we had found the original author of a work of words entitled, WHO AM I?
It turns out we were incorrect, and all that you see below is plagarizations of an original published in 1916, far as we can tell so far.

This writing below, entitled, I Am Your Worst Enemy, is being used by folks in various ways ..

Note of 20131126 : turns out, that is not the original title. More on that, below.

The author appears to be unknown, and ..
The answer to who is your worst enemy is different, across the internet, and no one identifies the author.
Some folks use this writing below to call the worst enemy, alcohol, and surely it fits best.
Some use the answer, FIRE, to promote their Fire Prevention products.
Some use the answer, CARELESSNESS.
Alcohol seems to be the most accurate answer to these descriptions below ..

HOWEVER .. all is not as it seemed, as we shared below, inside the border.
This version below is not the correct wordings of the original, nor the correct title of the original.
We have since found the author, and the original writing.
So, you can either read the bogus, incorrect and plagiarized version below, or you can jump to one author's original version which she claims is the original original. It is not.

I Am Your Worst Enemy!
~ Plagiarized Version ~

I am more powerful than the combined armies of the world.
I have destroyed more men, women and children than all the wars of all the nations combined.

I massacre thousands of people every year. I am more deadly than bullets and I have wrecked
more homes than the mightiest guns. I can destroy the mightiest of buildings and the best of homes.

In the United States alone, I steal more than $5.5 billion each year.
I spare no one, and I find my victims among the rich and poor alike, the young, the old, the strong, the weak.
Widows know me to their everlasting sorrow.

I loom up in such proportions that I cast my shadow over every field of labor.
I lurk in unseen places and do most of my work silently.
I am relentless, merciless, and cruel. I am everywhere, in the home, in schools, in factories, on the land and on the sea.

I bring sickness, degradation, intense, and everlasting pain and death, yet few seek me out to destroy me.

I crush, I maim, I devastate, I terrorize - I will give you nothing, and I will rob you of everything you have.

You are warned against me, yet you heed me not.

I am your worst enemy.

I AM ALCOHOL

We first asked our readers if anyone knew who the author of this writing
is and if you do, to please contact us with the information.
We have since found the original author.

The author is not respected at this site, a site for alcoholism:
https://www.geocities.com/quikkfastt/WorstEnemy.html : link no longer operating
They took the writing and identify the author as unknown.

This company fixed their site to remove the mis used poem of another. NO BURN, INC.
was indeed using the mis named and mis worded poem. We informed them of the name
of the true author and they changed their site, removing the plagiarism unknown to them.
These folks, No Burn, Inc, have a non-toxic product for use on live indoor pine trees that
makes them fire retardant without affecting the tree. Keep yoursElf safe, use a live tree
over the Holy Days if you wish, and make it fire retardant. Details at their web site:

No Burn Fire Prevention
P.O. Box 299
Wadsworth, Ohio 44282
1-800-989-8577
Office 330-336-1500
Office 330-336-5800 Fax
https://www.noburn.com/
We thank you for making the changes.

The above No Burn is not to be confused with the below No Burn

NO BURN
We found these folks while doing No Burn Researches

https://www.no-burn.org/
Those folks are doing things right.
Visit NO-BURN.org

Now back to the plagiarisms

The author is definitely not these folks ...
they say the answer is UNCONTROLLED FIRE
not recommended :: https://www.firebusters.com/sprforhome/theenemy.phtml :: not recommended
Fire Busters does not give an author of the writing, yet ...
they claim copyright to the page contents.
We have not written them.
They are simply another plagiarist, it seems, uncaring with their words.
How good can their business be if they are so careless with the words to which they claim copyright?
We emailed them - here is the response:
The original message was received at Tue, 16 Dec 2003 11:57:09 -0800 (PST)
   ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
:[email protected]:
    (reason: 550 5.1.1 :[email protected]:... User unknown)
:[email protected]:
    (reason: 550 5.1.1 :[email protected]:... User unknown)
Not very good, it seems! None of their email works.
Why would anyone order from such a company?
My question is why does google allow such an answer?
Do they know?

It certainly isn't these folks:

not recommended : : Integrated Publishing : : not recommended
26838 I-45 North,
PMB 102
Spring, TX 77386
USA
not recommended :: https://www.tpub.com/content/et/14086/css/14086_21.htm : : not recommended
They identify the I Am answer as CARELESSNESS in regards to electricity in a 'publishing.'
We are not recommending your visiting their site.
They show no author, not even the author to be UNKNOWN.
This is not only carelessness on their part, it is plagiarism to boot.
We informed them of their plagiarism on 20031216 at their
Contact Web Page : https://www.tpub.com/contact.htm : No reply.
We again informed them of this plagiarism on 20040224.
2nd Notice, so to speak, because this publisher still
does not honor the author of the poem.

It isn't this fellow, either.
He doesn't give credit of any kind.
He gives the appearance of an alcoholic who acts the author of the writings.
We cannot recommend visiting this site, for this is nothing of value there at this time.
http://hometown.aol.com/ocelott1220/
( 20131126 : we noted this is no longer a valid address )

My question is why does AOL allow plagiarism?
Do they even know?
The author can inform them, or her attorneys.

Did you know who the author of the writing was,
and did you notice these users changed it?

We now know who first published this writing.

We can now give credit where credit is due,
and we have let the author know others are perhaps blindly and unknowingly stealing her work.

We found the author, ( however: on 20131126, we found this to be a no longer operating link :
http://hometown.aol.com/mgi0313/friendorfoe.html
This means we can no longer offer the proof of the first creation of this poem.)
This woman, name of Mare, is claiming copyright
and stating she is the author of this writing.
We have emailed her for confirmation.
When we get her answer, we will share.
Email sent to her on 20031215

If she is the author with copyright claim
all of the rest of the web sites are stealing
her work without payment to her, nor
credit as to author. And then, some of
these web sites are changing the poem's
answer to their own selfish uses.

We don't recommend visiting these other sites at this time.
We can't.
Their authors, their web masters ...
They aren't playing the game right.
How do we know the company is?
Unless they fix their site.
And give the credit due
where credit is due.
Including payment to the author for their mis use of her material.
If, the writing is indeed of her hands.
We found the author
It appears to be so for her writing is more eloquent
than what the others have changed it to.
We received this answer to our email that same afternoon.

20031215

Dear Lexigram,

Thank you very much for the information in your email.
My name is Marigrace Iodice and I am the author of 'Who Am I? ... Friend or Foe?'
The poem was written in 1979 as a school project for Health Class regarding alcoholism, in which I received an A.
The poem was submitted by my Health teacher, Miss Vitalie, in a poetry contest in which I received an honorable mention.
She also submitted the poem to the Reader's Digest, and it was published in 1980, for which as of then, I own the copyrights as of February 1980.
The poem has also been published in the local town paper, The News Tribune, in 1979.

I thank you very much for informing me of the other web sites who have plagiarized my words.
(( The plagiarists also took one line from Mare's poem and made that line the title! ))

The poem, 'Who am I ... Friend or Foe', as well as my other poems, will be
republished in my book due to come out in the summer of 2004.

Thanks again, Regards,

Marigrace Iodice
http://hometown.aol.com/mgi0313/friendorfoe.html
no longer operating : noted on 20131126

Note of 20131126 : Keep in mind that EVERYTHING ON THIS PAGE is a plagarization of the original, as noted directly below.

The following poem is not the original work as claimed by Marigrace.
The original was first published in 1916, by a newspaper, titled, WHO AM I?
It turns out that we were incorrect, and everything on that page is a plagarized version of that earlier writing.
We are currently creating a new page to show the original work in full,
and showing the references to the newspaper that first published this work of words.
We hope to have that page ready for showing here as of 20131127.

"Who Am I . . . Friend or Foe?"
by :
Marigrace Iodice

I am more powerful than the combined armies of any continent,
Myself & the forces of law know how many lives I have spent!

I have destroyed more homes than all the wars among creation,
I've caused millions of accidents & wrecked more lives
Than all the floods, tornadoes, hurricanes & earthquakes
Put together from this nation.

I am the world's slickest thief
I steal billions of dollars each year
I find my victims among the strong & the weak
The young, the old, the rich & the poor
Because of me, they feel no fear.

I appear and loom up to such proportions
I cast a shadow over every field of occupations
By my 'overcoming sensations'
I am taken everywhere . . . even on vacations.

I am unpredictable, inconsiderate, and relentless
I come in different colors & different smells
I'm affordable to most, but to others - - I am PRICELESS!

I am everywhere
- - On the sea - - In the air
- - In the office - - On the streets
- - & even in your own home.
I am mostly a 'crowd-pleaser'
But can be enjoyed when you're alone.

I give NOTHING . . . But take ALL!
I am your worst enemy!
Did you figure me out yet?

I am ALCOHOL!

Poems by Mare (c) 2000 All Rights Reserved.

This poem above is not an original work of words, and has in fact taken lines from a poem published in 1916, the first publish date we have so far found. You will be invited to see this original work when we have the webpage ready to share publicly. The original title has been verified as being: WHO AM I?

Did you know, in 2003 ..
A person is killed EVERY 32 minutes by a drunk driver!
And in EVERY 22 minutes, someone will die in an alcohol related traffic accident!

Because the writing was about the description of
what alcohol does do to folks ~ we invite you to see the
Star Art of ALCOHOLISM
https://goodworksonearth.org/alcoholism.html