Earlier today U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer denied bail to the imprisoned Anthony Pellicano, Hollywood’s hotshot wire-tapper of the ’90s. But the highlights of Frank Swertlow‘s Wrap story (filed at 11:43 am) about the decision focus on the sadly diminished figure of Anita Busch, the former L.A. Times entertainment journalist who was famously intimidated by someone allied with Pellicano when a dead fish and a rose were left on her car windshield along with a note that said “stop.”

A “frail, frightened-looking” Busch delivered an “emotional appeal” at the hearing, Swertlow reports. On top of which she “limped” and “had a wheelchair with her, which she did not use to enter the courtroom.” Busch said her life “has been hell” and her career has been “destroyed” because she “lost sources” over her phone being wiretapped, and she has “lost health.” Swertlow writes that Busch “seemed scared of Pellicano and by the thought of his being released,” calling him “a domestic terrorist” who “has terrorized people for years.”

That may well be the case, but every time I read and think about Busch I feel badly for her, and I shake my head a bit. She’s had a very rough time over the past ten or twelve years, and I’m sorry for her hard luck, physical and otherwise. But the two basic rules about dealing with adversity and tough times are (a) if you’re thrown, dust yourself off and get back on the horse and (b) as hard as things can get someimes, always try to strike a match. Cursing the darkness can get old.