Harley Hahn Newsletter #42

Harley Hahn Newsletter
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  HARLEY HAHN NEWSLETTER
           #42

     October 8, 2004

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"The real test of a person is what he will
 do when he thinks no one is looking."

 -- Harley Hahn


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Martha Stewart & Freddy the Pig
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Within all cultures, there are those who rise
above the common herd to distinguish themselves
from their fellows.  In this newsletter, I am
going to discuss two such people, Martha Stewart
and Freddy the Pig.

Martha Stewart is the disgraced media personality
who, today (Oct 8, 2004), has just begun serving a
sentence in a U.S. federal penitentiary.  Her
extraordinary career -- with its ups and downs --
has a lot to teach us, not just about Martha, but
about human nature and human frailties.

Freddy the Pig is fictional, the hero of a series
of books by Walter R. Brooks.  Like Martha, Freddy
has also had a career punctuated by the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune.  Also like Martha,
Freddy the Pig is newsworthy right now: at the end
of this month, the biannual convention of the
Friends of Freddy organization will be taking
place in upstate New York (and I will be there).

Although the juxtaposition of two such differing
personages may seem strange, there is a common
thread: Freddy the Pig is a fictional character,
and most of what Martha Stewart has described
about her life and her family is, as you will see,
also fictional.

So, to honor two people (so to speak), who deserve
a few moments of our time on this auspicious day,
please join me in discussing...

Martha Stewart

Freddy the Pig

-- Harley Hahn