Now then, where were we? Oh, yes...
 
Some observers are criticizing the President's behavior following the terrorist attack. After Mr. Bush was informed of the events during a school photo-op, he went back to reading to the class. Some have characterized this as a traumatic reaction, a shocked incapacitation. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
 
Lacking instructions to cover such an event, the President simply went into default mode and continued to carry out the last set of instructions given him. Not having been programmed to respond in any other area, he stayed on track -- in engineering terms a "robust recovery." In that light he performed much better than the recent Mars probe.
 
Speaking of "recovery", we were pleased to learn that Strom Thurmond is doing so well after his sudden and alarming collapse in the Senate. We dropped in to see The Stromster the other day, and he looked swell! The stitching is not at all unattractive, and you can barely see the electrodes.
 
Oh, and speaking of lasting effects, in August (about a thousand years ago) the President visited the Griegos Elementary School in Albuquerque. In a Q&A session, a second grader asked if he had ever happened upon Woodrow, the White House Mouse -- the protagonist of the charming and popular children's book of the same name. The Sage of the Sagebrush replied that it wasn't likely, since he had a cat and two dogs that took care of such things. Fortunately, Albuquerque has an excellent grief and trauma team, and it appears that many of the toddlers will pull through without permanent psychological damage.
 
In the ensuing hubbub, the president missed an opportunity to tell the children about the sumptuous hasenpfeffer feast planned for the White House's next Easter event..
 
But, in those quiet moments when children are not fleeing from him in wide-dispersal patterns, the Charmer-in-Chief puts on his trench coat, pulls his hat down over his eyes, hunches his shoulders to feel the comforting weight of his gat in its holster, and reminisces about his greatest cases, one of which we're calling "The Big Bamboozle."
 
Next week, more advice from a trusted souse, in another installment of "Back of My Mind."
 
So come on, relax! Take your mind off things for a while. Sit down and read a good book -- how about "1984"?
 
Until next time,
 
Hank