Long-time followers of my blogging, (see: dad, Eamonn) will know my infatuation with Raymond, the Tampa Bay Rays mascot. Mainly, this is because he/she/it (actually, it’s an undiscovered species of dog found at sea known as “Canus Manta Whatthefluffalus,” if we want to get technical about it)  somehow managed to keep a blog with its fat fingers and what I could only assume is an impossibly feeble brain. Also, the mascot is an expert in the art of dance.

So, I was absolutely SHOCKED to learn there’s actually a person in some sort of suit that pretends to be a Canus Manta Whatthefluffalus. It’s all a hoax. Gasp! Also: this person has just been let go:

Performer Kelly Frank, the woman who perfected Raymond’s trademark butt shimmy, said she does not know why she was fired Monday after five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I’m just as confused as everyone else,” she said. “I really didn’t get an explanation.”

Frank said she was praised as recently as three weeks ago, when her supervisors told her she out-enthused the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, during the World Series.

I’ve been rocked to my core. What’s next? Am I’m going to find out Santa Claus isn’t real and there’s no Tooth Fairy? Or maybe that babies don’t come from a stork?

I sure hope not.