We've really gotten to appreciate Arthur Miller.

STOP! Says faithful reader. What do you mean... "gotten to". This is Arthur Miller! The man who bagged Marilyn Monroe, possibly the top shiksa of all time! The man who proved that smart Jewish boys can get that impossible dream girl!

Don't worry, faithful reader. We've always appreciated Arthur Miller the man. It's Arthur Miller the playwright that we have newfound admiration for.

You see, our first encounter with his works came in high school English and "Death of a Salesman". Can a bunch of bored teenagers really appreciate the poignancy of a story about the death of hope? High school is about youth and possibility, not dead ends and regrets.

But as we've gotten older, and life has had its way with us, we've come to appreciate the emotional complexity of Miller's work and understand why Miller deserves our highest respect.

On the other hand, Thornton Wilder and "Our Town"? We still think that's lame.