NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE MAKES A POINT

Nathaniel Hawthorne put it aptly when he said: "Easy reading is damn hard writing...!"

Which calls to mind several stories that bubbled up over the last few weeks. Each has an easy-reading feel to it, and yet in each simmers some intriguing consequences for the rest of us. Take renowned physicist Stephen Hawking's warning about ET's. He was commenting on our enduring fascination with contacting alien life. Fine, said the master, but think what contact might mean? "If aliens ever do visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America. That didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans!"

Which in turn may have something to do with "Star Trek" star Leonard Nemoy retiring at age 79. Perhaps his role as Mr Spock all these years finally convinced him the Hawking's prediction made sense. But while he steps out of the Starship Enterprise, scores of Tekkie Conventions around the world will now miss his ET presence.

There's a third easy-read story which also carries consequences. A New York man is suing the police, not for what they did but for what they didn't. Matthew Ortiz claims he wouldn't have been shot in the leg from a stray riot bullet had the police intervened in time during an Italian street festival. His lawyer, perhaps implying a new precedent here, argues, "This was pre-emptive negligence.":

Finally comes one more easy-read story from Taiwan. A group of female students staged a "Boobquake Day" to ridicule the Iranian cleric who claimed earthquakes to be divine intervention for immodest dress. The students paraded bare-breasted to make their point. Later that same day a 6.5 earthquake struck the island.

Four easy-read stories each with its own consequences for the rest of us. If only Hawthorne had lived in these days of instant world-wide reporting, I am stunned at the number of tales he could have labored over. In the meantime, today's writers often have to be content with writing about the ways and wiles of Hollywood starlets and macho wannabes.

Nat, be glad you didn't make it to the 21st Century...