Ever type a hasty reply to an email that you later regret sending? Well, join the club! I’m sure I’d need more fingers and toes to count up all the time I’ve sent a knee-jerk reaction to a letter that necessitated a more thoughtful response.

Like the time I forwarded a woman’s very polite email request to me on to another writer friend and added some pretty petty and snide remarks about the first woman’s boorish character and lack of talent. You guessed it… Instead of hitting the “Forward” button, I had pressed “Reply.”

So I’ve come up with a solution to such a literary faux pas. I’m going to petition all the computer companies to add a mandatory “Pause” button to the menu bar. And if I have my way, it’s going to be in BOLD letters and ALL CAPS and BRIGHT RED. I might even see if they could make it a mandatory step before the Send button can be employed.

Yeah, like I said, I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth so many times by not thinking things through before replying that I’ve learned to talk between my toes with the best of them.

A “Pause” button is a great place to start. And maybe there should also be a button that says, “Think” for those of us who need to be reminded of the ramifications of reacting too hastily.