Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader reads on the news wire that great American playwright Arthur Miller is dead. Aged 89 years.

Your Maximum Leader will freely admit that the only Miller works he knows off the top of his head are “Death of a Salesman” and “The Crucible.” He may have seen some movies for which Miller did the screenplay, but they are incidental.

Your Maximum Leader does want to relate a humourous ancedote about Arthur Miller. A old friend of your Maximum Leader’s attended a reading/lecture by Miller at George Washington University a number of years ago. After the public portion of the program, this friend went up to wait in line to shake Miller’s hand and speak with him. He waited through the interminable line of English majors and theatre critics who were fawning all over him. When your Maximum Leader’s friend moved up to the front he stood there for a moment and stared at Miller. Miller looked back. The friend extended his hand, and shook Miller’s. He spoke thus to Arthur Miller, “Damn. I just wanted to shake the hand of a man who nailed Marilyn Monroe. Good work.” Then he walked away.

Carry on.