Dear Scout75,

While the self-effacing and laconic Chris Matthews would possibly disagree with you on your assessment of politicians vs. warlocks, I'm sure that the thoughtful and always restrained Brian Lamb of C-SPAN would be more than inclined to concur with your well taken point.

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, avid reader of the Collinsport Star and 'McLaughlin Group" viewer.

Dear Fellow Dark Shadows Fans,

That was some heck of an exciting second episode yesterday.  What an unrestrained  display of mucho machoism, as Adam and Jeff Clark tore up the scenery/laboratory  (literally and figuratively!)

Fortunately, the measured, dispassionate and cooly logical Prof. T. Elliot Stokes was there to lend a much-needed calming presence to the ongoing mayhem.

By the way, did you hear Adam (wallowing in self-pity) complain to the learned Stokes that, if he, Adam, died that night, that there would be no one to mourn for him?  Horse Hockey!!!  Carolyn would surely mourn Adam's passing, and so would Nicholas Blair.  (However, not for the same heartfelt reasons that Carolyn would cry for the big lug.)

Adam's self-pitying "complaint" to Prof. Stokes reminds me of an old Irish joke.   This tight-fisted, misanthropic Ebeneezer Scrooge-like old guy named "Sean" finally passes away after ninety years of unrelenting, crabby life.

At the guy's funeral mass (which is being attended by the village's entire population only under threat of excommunication by the village priest, Fr. Golden), the beleagured prelate does his best to eulogize poor "Sean."

Near the end of the mass, Fr. Golden asks his parishioneers, if any one of them would like to say some final, kind words for their dear, departed brother, "Sean"?....... Nothing, but dead silence.  You could hear the proverbial pin hit the floor.  Finally, to Fr. Golden's immense relief, one guy raises his hand in the back of the church and says: "Yeah, his brother was worse!"

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, who reminds you all, that the love you take is equal to the love you make.  Right, Ringo?

Dear Fellow Dark Shadows Fans,

I just loved it when Nicholas banged on Maggie's front door in the middle of the night, explaining to the confused and half-awake young woman that he sensed that she was in trouble, so he had to naturally rush over to aid her in "her moment of need."

I'll tell you, it's a good thing that Maggie did not notice that Nicky B. "just happened" to be perfectly attired in his three-piece suit, even down to his stylish gray gloves at 3:00 in the morning.  You'd have thought that Nicholas would have been in his robe, slippers and jammies (battleship gray, of course!).

Nevertheless, with his usual aplomb, Nicholas was able to "jive talk" the lovely and ingenuous Ms. Evans.  I think that Nicholas may even be better than Barnabas or Julia in his ability to dissemble.  

Of course, we all remember how little Pinnocchio's nose grew progressively longer when the puppet lied.  Well, I have to wonder whenever Nicholas told a "fib," do you think that that prominent "widow's peak" at the front of his hairline, located on the top of his forehead, got progressively longer every time Nicky "fibbed," eventually getting to the point that the "widow's peak" extended all the way down to his eyebrows (thereby, giving Nicholas the "Leonid Brezhnev, one-continuously-long eyebrow look)?

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, who thinks that Collinsport's favorite warlock might want to pluck his eyebrows a la Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard" or Michael Jackson in "Thriller."

Dear Selby_D._ Pearson,

I did not intend to proselytize on behalf of the Catholic church.  Clearly, whatever theology and/or philosophy of life an individual professes to believe in, is his or her own business.  However, I will say that while Americans of the Catholic faith, through their comments, and, more importantly, their actions, have largely expressed compassion and tolerance for people who are not members of the Church, those admirable qualities have, unfortunately, not always been reciprocated, IMHO.

In terms of Mrs. Stoddard's depression/anxiety, it'a a tough situation.  I recall a conversation with a health care professional who remarked that you would not wish that kind of almost paralyzing angst on anyone.  It's a terrible situation for the person suffering from the depression/anxiety, and, as Kuanyin has pointed out, for the family members who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

I feel sympathy for any person who has had to deal with severe depression/anxiety.  In some ways, mental illness is even worse than a physical illness.  At least, with a physical illness, you can "offer it up" ( if I may offer a non-secular Jesuit bit of philosophy.)  People with severe depression/anxiety often have difficulty just making it through the day.

The events of 9/11 have stregthened my feelings of sympathy for people who are deeply troubled emotionally.  Here on the East coast, it's rare that someone does not know another person who lost a loved one or friend in the horrible terrorist events of that day.  People have turned to counseling, medical assistance, and, strangely enough, religious guidance in an effort to cope with their all-too devastating personal and financial losses.

I realize that we're discussing the fictional account of Liz Stoddard's emotional trauma.  And, as a kid watching these episodes, that was the farthest thing from my mind.  However, as an older guy with some life experience, I have compassion for her or any other person going through a particularly difficult period of their life.

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender  


   

Dear Fellow Dark Shadows Fans,

Sportwriter Phil Mushnick of the New York Post occasionally runs an amusing bit in his column in which he presents pictures of sports athlete/show business celebrity lookalikes.  For example, Mr. Mushnick once ran a picture of former NBA guard Bobby Hurley and Bart Simpsom of "The Simpsoms."  ( They look like twins!)

Another pair of Mr. Mushnick's lookalikes were the late, great sports announcer Howard Cosell and the late, great horror actor Bela Lugosi.  ( Like two peas in a pod!)

Well, I got to thinking.  If you took Dr. Lang's creation, Adam, and put a pair of dark sunglasses on him, and gave him a dark, shoulder-length wig to wear, you'd have the spitting image of the so-called King of All Media, Howard Stern!

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, a lookalike for Malachy McCourt in "Ryan's Hope"!  

Dear Ladies,

Isn't Ms. Winters taking this apparent "safe sex" precaution of hers, just the least bit too far and too literally?

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, who wistfully remembers the "good, old days" of Masters and Johnson (not to be confused with either Olson and Johnson or Johnson & Johnson!)

Dear Terry308,

Vicky's act of "post lip-lock" hygienics hardly portends a very happy and harmonious marital relationship for Vicky and "the man with no name," don't you think?

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, who's been known to be unlucky at cards...

It's too bad that you never heard Mr. Peck tell his famously droll joke about the "AFTRA-Shaving Laotian."

Bob the Bartender, who wonders if Willie Loomis is, in fact, the "Boo Radley" of Collinsport?