Recent Comments

1. 3 months ago on Nancy

   Remember when Nancy meant you WOULD see Nancy – Nancy had friends – Nancy’s friends SMILED – and just enjoyed being average third-grade kids?

   FROM THE OLDEN DAYS WHEN NANCY ACTUALLY APPEARED IN THE NANCY STRIP, SHE HAD FRIENDS WHO SMILED, AND ALL THE KIDS ACTUALLY ENJOYED BEING AVERAGE THIRD-GRADE KIDS

   https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/1996/02/02

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2. 3 months ago on Nancy

   Still more Nancy Without Nancy – Ho Hum!

3. 3 months ago on Nancy

   More Nancy Without Nancy – Ho Hum!

4. 3 months ago on Nancy

   There is a cartoon strip called GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD – they need to re-name this one – NANCY – WITHOUT NANCY.

5. 4 months ago on One Big Happy

   ON September 11 this year, I went back to all of the strips which said “Never Forget” on September 11, 2002 – and it was disappointing to see how many of them made not a single reference to September 11 this year – it’s really sad. I was there, but I was pretty your, 75 years ago when World War II officially ended – but not a single strip made mention of that event. NEXT YEAR will be the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor – another time which everyone claimed they would never forget. Can’t help wondering if there will be any strips which remember then. Most of them forgot the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor – and that includes strips like Gasoline Alley – which was in publication in 1941. Saying stuff like “never forget” doesn’t mean much if the next thing you do is forget. The “greatest generation” is truly gone! Sad!

6. 4 months ago on Nancy Classics

   I Started first grade in 1948 – which was the first year that kids from the country were bused in to town to attend a consolidated school. The year before, we would have attended a one-room school, with all 8 grades learning at the same time in the same room. When they began busing all kids in to one consolidated school. At that time, one teacher would have TWO classes in one room – First grade and second grade would have one teacher. If there were 15 to 20 kids in each class, one teacher would be teaching between 30 and 50 kids at one time. As previously observed – in those days – ALL kids were expected to teach all teachers with great respect. If you failed to do so, you would end up in the principal’s office. In the event that you had a telephone at home (we didn’t!) the principal would call your home and request to speak to your FATHER! Since most fathers were farmers, that would mean that your mother would have to find a way to travel out to the field, where he was working. By the time your father arrived at the school, he was going to be too perturbed to pay any attention to any claims you might make that you were innocent of all charges—No matter what the problem was, you knew going in that your folks were going to agree with the principal and your teacher about whatever punishment you deserved. It usually took only one experience like that to convince most kids that it simply would do NOT good to act up in class – so most kids were quick to mind the teacher, the bus driver, the principal and even the school janitor! There were 25 kids in our graduating high school class – so, back when we were all in first grade, the first grade teacher would have been teaching 50 kids in first and second grade. Also, of course, in those days, the teacher WAS allowed to counsel you on the seat of your pants with her ruler – and many did just that!

7. 5 months ago on Gasoline Alley

   I MISS Walt remembering things like the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II!

8. 5 months ago on On A Claire Day

   What happened to the trip to Paris? This goes all the way back to when she first began working at the library!

9. 5 months ago on Mutt & Jeff

   LOVE the pot-bellied stove – but how “uptown” can you get – they’re all so rich, they’re using COAL in that stove. We used dry cow pies – went out every morning with gunny sacks and brought home the dry cow pies! Only many years later did we learn it was better for us to use the cow pies – the cow pies had fewer carcinogens than wood or coal!

10. 6 months ago on Nancy Classics

    Try this again – Actually, For a long time, Thanksgiving was on the LAST Thursday in November. But, during the Depression, there were SOME Novembers which had FIVE Thursdays – so FDR changed Thanksgiving to the FOURTH Thursday in November – to make sure that shoppers would have an extra week for shopping – which merchants hoped would help to pull them out of their financial hole – which is how the Friday after Thanksgiving came to be known as Black Friday. Christmas, as it is celebrated in the U.S., is actually a shopping period. Many researchers believe that it is more likely that Jesus was born some time in September – among other reasons, because the shepherds were still grazing their sheep outside – and spending the night outside with the sheep. As a general rule, by December, it would be too cold – even in Israel – for shepherds to be sleeping outside while they watched their sheep. During the Depression, it was considered the patriotic thing to do to shop at Christmas. So, at least as early as 1939 – 1941 – Thanksgiving was the official ‘kick-off day" for Christmas shopping. But is was considered OK to tie Thanksgiving and Christmas together. Unfortunately, nowadays, stores begin promoting Christmas at Halloween! It isn’t unusual to see a witch with a caldron, pilgrims with turkeys, Santa and Christmas trees with lights all in the same space in some stores – Promoting Christmas shopping by the end of November is not so bad – Making the end of October through the first of January as one long shopping extravaganza is what makes people weary of Christmas long before it arrives.