Memories of baseball and cougar spottings fill the mail bag

Like I and others of this trade have claimed, because there is no heavy lifting involved and its audience is first class, it’s good healthy work.

A recent call of the wild dealing with cougars, as expected, triggered a small mail return. One included the signature of a reader from Edgecomb, a summer visitor named Bart Mariposa.

Mr. Mariposa wrote that I had not shown sufficient kindness toward the cougar, America’s biggest wild cat. I should not, he said, be “so cynical” about the frequent sightings and markings left by the ghost that supposedly has come to life in the State of Maine.

Paragraphs from the Mariposa letter:

“In 1993, along with two acquaintances, we witnessed the animal in the flesh while fishing northwest of Canada Falls. The cougar’s greatest protection has been general acceptance of the theory that it was and is extinct. Its comeback has coincided with that of the white-tailed deer on which it feeds and which is now abundant in some areas so as to be a nuisance. Maine has a very rare species that is doing no harm to man and has no commercial value.

“It apparently has passed the critical population level and is on its way back, but in doing so it is once again coming more and more into contact with man.”

Obviously, judging by the length of Mr. Mariposa’s communication, he is well versed in the cougars on the prowl once again.

Before moving on, however, I should remind him that, until recently, it was a brave man who would claim publicly that he had seen a cougar track in the Maine forests.

ROBERT (BOB) FULLER of Newburyport, Mass., who confesses that he would not know a cougar if one crossed his path, says he suffered withdrawal pains when October passed without a World Series.

“Fans can claim what they want, but if the truth was known, 99 out of every 100 genuine baseball fans missed the series games like the passing of a close relative. There is no sporting event the match of baseball’s World Series. I still break out in a mild sweat remembering the Carlton Fisk home run against the Cincinnati Reds.

“And the Bucky Dent home run off Mike Torrez at Fenway Park. I still tear up thinking of that disappointing moment, knocking the Sox out of the playoff action.

“I am really writing to you for a reason, dating back to the late 1970s when you were so kind as to introduce Bob Caron, Al Mozier and I to players and writers at the Red Sox spring training camp at Winter Haven. You gave us some good credibility with the writers and Red Sox officials, all because we were three guys from Maine who knew virtually no one at the Red Sox camp. All the money in the world is not worth what good friends mean.”

Bob Fuller is the boss man of Fuller-Jeffrey Broadcasting Co. Inc., with radio stations in Maine, Massachusetts, California and New Hampshire. And the State of Maine never had a stronger booster.

He’ll turn soil or burn bridges in his quest for the Maine lifestyle, even going so far as to brag he would prefer a side of mussels over a stack of steamed clams.

JAY HANLON has arrived at Naples, Fla., after summering at his Lake Sysladobsis digs.

This man was a leader in our sports-writing flock, a clever wordsmith if ever there was one. With words, he could make a trout stream come to life or get your attention when he gracefully wrote the many nuances underlying the life of a downhill ski racer.

Say hello to old friend Jay:

“Your column touched a tender cord, regarding Ted Williams and Dr. Sydney Farber’s childrens hospital in Boston. One of my best friends in Bedford, N.H., was Roscoe Ammon. Then I was the columnist of the Manchester Uniwas Roscoe Ammon. Then I was the columnist of the Manchester Union-Leader. At the age of 40, Roscoe developed lympatic cancer. So he turned himself over to Dr. Farber and asked for a couple of more years.

“Farber took him on as a patient and tried experimental procedures. He kept Ammon alive another four years.

“One morning, Roscoe at 6-2 and 220 pounds, Dr. Farber and I rounded a corner and there was a large cot holding a man. It was Ted Williams. Dr. Farber tapped him on the shoulder and introduced us. We had breakfast in the cafeteria. Ted told us how much of a lift it gave him to spend a couple of nights with these little kids. Later, I got to know Ted Williams fairly well, and he is a great man. Your column brought back poignant memories and now, our own concerns with breast cancer. Ours, thankfully, are getting better.”

Before signing off today, this morning we have a new tenant in the Blaine Mansion. May the governor-elect please promise to give on-site attention to matters relating to fisheries and wildlife.