By Rosie Moore
When I was eight years old a classmate of mine talked me into going to Woolworth’s 5 & 10 cent store “just to look around.” We came to the comic book section and she quickly stuck a thick book in a purse she had. Then she told me to get one too. I quickly picked one up and we ran out of the store. That night was one of the worst in my life. I expected the police to pound on the door. I wondered if they would put handcuffs on me, if I would go to jail. The next morning I ran to the store and surreptitiously put the comic book back where I got it and breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn’t helped matters that my great-Uncle was the first manager of the store at that time. The book I took wasn’t even a comic book actually. It was very thick, around three inches square and, I think, had pictures of the Smith Brothers and there wasn’t anything to laugh about in it. Which brings me to the question, why don’t comics make me laugh any more?
I remember well Etta Kett, Nancy and Sluggo, Calvin and Hobbs, Alley Oop, Marmaduke, Archie, and a lot more that I can’t think of right now, and most of the time they made me laugh out loud, or at least made me smile. Today’s comics don’t come close to that. Zits is a strip devoted to a teenager coming into adulthood but not very amusingly. I am not a political person so Doonesbury doesn’t attract me at all. I tried reading it once, but it was hard to understand. I do realize that it would appeal to people who are politically inclined but why is it presented as a comic strip? The person who at least gets a smile from is Crankshaft, perhaps because I know someone who is very much like him Snuffy Smith does make me smile, but I don’t like poor Beetle Bailey always getting picked on. Garfield is a must because I’m a cat lover. Dagwood and Peanuts are old standbys that I can’t miss. Sally Forth and For Better or For Worse are family related, which is okay but they don’t catch my attention. I realize that cartoonists like to express their views but why do they have to do it on the Comic’s page??
An added note: several people have asked me where I was when I wrote my “I’m Back” column a few weeks ago. They didn’t realize I was away, I guess. On December 12th of last year my car hit a pole. It isn’t clear if my heart missed five beats before I hit the pole or after I hit it. I sustained a broken ankle which they operated on Dec. 13th. Dec. 14th they put a pacemaker in and on the 15th they took my gall bladder out. I spent two weeks in the hospital (including Christmas) then sixty-seven days at the NHC physical therapy building. It was rough going for a while but God has been good to me. I appreciated all the prayers, cards and gifts. I thank Him for each day.
Thought for the day: One foe is too many and a hundred friends are too few. A Native American Proverb
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