Good News and Bad

I will begin with the Bad News.

It seems that our new friend on Mars, Mr. Dan Haggerty, better known to viewers of a certain age as Grizzly Adams, has ceased to exist. While I am happy to report he hasn't fallen into a ravine or been mauled by a bear, it saddens me to say that investigators at JPL have revealed that Mr. Haggerty is just an interesting outcropping of rock: an optical illusion.

I suppose, like Santa Claus, or Senator Fred Thompson, he was always too good to be true. Ever since learning that the Man in the Red Suit was a fiction, I held out the greatest hopes for Life on the Red Planet. I suppose the story of Percival Lowell should have served as a warning, or at least modified the initial rush of rapture we all felt when we saw his picture.

I cannot help it if I am a naturally optimistic person at heart. Fortunately, I am not easily discouraged by disappointment.

Although, I have to admit, it is becoming harder and harder to hold out hope for intelligent life on Earth, especially when it seems to be in such short supply down here, especially in Hollywood, the press, and at our major universities.

This is why, each night, before I lay me down to sleep, I thank Heaven for you. For the good sense you show in reading my blog. And for the patient, diligent efforts of fishermen everywhere. And for fish.