Gardner's letter

oh gosh..where to start? well first of all, i think i got a little confused during this letter, yet i found it very interesting. I definitely agree with his opinions about Beowulf so that just made me really happy. He just put it in such good words and it made me think of our lit circle we had about it. i just dont see how it can be optimistic either. I also liked what he said about how they read too fast because i feel like i do that a lot. It was funny because when the kids said they thought he  believed what the dragon thought-well thats what i thought too. i guess i read like a child haha. but i also thought it was interesting to hear that he said he was actually inclined to believe theres a god. thats funny because when i read Grendel I thought there was no way Gardner could believe in god, but i guess i cant assume that whatever is in a book is what the author believes. i feel like i really would have like to read the essays that Robin, David and Teresa wrote, then maybe would i be able to understand this a little more? i dont know but although i was a tad confused during this, i still really enjoyed it. i think its really cool though that he actually took the time to respond to this class. but throughout this letter i get the feeling that Gardner is just very cocky or loves himself or something..i dont know though maybe not?