Dear Marlo Morgan,

Mutant Message Down Under really touched me. Before I read this I never really gave any thought about Aborigines and had thought they were just like any other wiped out tribe. I let out so much sorrow. My interest kept me reading on and on. The cliff hangers hooked me more than anything else I've ever ready before.

How you told about your journey in the outback of Australia with only the help of the Aboriginal tribe, at first it seemed like a wonder that you survived. I was surprised that you could endure the pain in your bleeding feet as you walked through the prickly grass. I would never willingly place myself in your position at dinnertime. I prefer American cheeseburgers to barbecued insects. It was amazing that this actually happened to you. I wish I could accomplish something as great as this.

Now I know about the oneness and spirituality of these people who could almost accomplish anything with the help of nature and god. Could these people really create the illusion of duplicating and making themselves disappear? I liked the way you compared the experience of telepathy with our modern-age phone system. The events which happened beforehand made later events seem more believable.

I feel partially responsible for the Aborigines' feeling that they have to leave the Earth because we are polluting the water, wiping out a lot of food, and we are destroying the atmosphere. Even though I'm on the other side of the world, we're doing the same things over here.

After I finished the book I finally realized why the Aborigines considered us Mutants. Even after we have done so much harm to this tribe they have still sent you as a message to warn us about what our advanced technology is doing to the earth. The worst thing about it is that I don't think anybody is listening.

You can't even imagine how your book has deeply affected me.

Sincerely,

Leif Anderson

7th grade
Colony Middle School, Palmer
Teacher: Mr. Nolting

Additional comment by Leif

I am 13 years old. I am a student at Colony Middle School in Palmer, Alaska. I've lived in Alaska all my life except when I went to Arizona for two weeks. I made a treasure hunt there for my sister, but I guess I got a little too close to a cactus. You probably know what happened after that. She never forgave me for that one. I usually do pretty well with my homework except when I have, as my teacher calls it "a scheduled appointment with my Nintendo." I competed in a state-wide economics challenge and got to go to UAA. There I got to meet the famous television personality, Kitty Fox from Channel 4's Saturday morning cartoon show. I never miss that show for the world. This past summer I went on a climb up Eklutna Glacier which is located just outside Anchorage. Boy did I want to have a TV on that trip. I didn't get to see Kitty Fox for a whole week. My dad kept us entertained though, when he fell and cracked a couple of ribs while climbing up a scree slope. We had to help him get out of the tent each morning after that. This trip reminded me a little of the one Marlo Morgan took in the outback of Australia. Perhaps, some day I will write about my adventures trekking across the "wilds" of the Alaskan wilderness while watching Kitty Fox on my portable TV.

Sincerely,
Leif A.