Although many things about Russ Reardon's life eluded me, he was more than happy to supply brief responses when asked. He did clarify something of his intriguing history in broadcasting, as snippets from a few of his letters demonstrate. He actually went through a succession of typewriters as years ensued, and at least one machine failure resulted from a male household cat urinating on and converting its parts into rust (no, I can't imagine this either!)
All in all, by the time we began corresponding, I know he was restless about retirement and projects he might not be able to complete because of his age. As a post WWII serviceman, the passing years would hardly be kind to one with boundless ideas interrupted by slowly waning energy. He also smoked, a lot I believe, and smoking would turn out to be one of just several demons working to defeat, to borrow from writer Ernest Hemingway, the old man and the scene.
On three occasions over the years, Russ admitted to taking trips to Mexico and even to the area of the ancient Palenque (Mayan) ruins, where he obtained artifacts of some nature for collectors. He wrote about this to me in May of 1977, but provided no specific details (such as, oh, I don't know -- was this legal?).
As you might guess from his letters, Russ had become rather partial to a concept that Jesus could still be very much alive in body, kept relatively "young" by traversing the universe in a spaceship where time barely squeaks along, while planet Earth time advances concurrently by hundreds or thousands of years. He would subsequently write an article about this, but in the meantime (April, 1978) he was quite happy when, recalling his interest in the Palenque ruins, I referred him to an article in the Winter, 1978 issue of Pursuit, journal of the (now defunct) Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU). The piece referenced something with which I think Russ was already familiar -- a particular skeleton entombed below ground at ancient Palenque.
By his own admission (August 10, 1980), Russ Reardon had become more the heretic than a Christian regarding religion in general, and appeared quite intrigued with certain aspects of the "ancient astronaut" theories. In a few years, his infatuation with such things would drive his curiosity to the max. Why? Maybe because sitting around and watching the clock of age advance as you admire endless photos of yourself, the cat and the flowers (shown here) outside just isn't enough for a curious mind on the loose.
