Winning Words 2/29/12
“Good is better than evil, because it’s nicer.” (Al Capp) Al Capp, the cartoonist, is famous for his Li’l Abner comic strip which included Daisy Mae, Moonbeam McSwine, Joe Btfsplk, Marryin’ Sam and Sadie Hawkins. Sadie was that girl who chased after single men on Feb 29, hoping to catch one and marry him. The “funnies” seemed funnier in those days. Today I like “Pearls Before Swine.” ;-) Jack

FROM RI IN BOSTON: Al Capp, Walt Kelly, George Lichty, and others from those bygone years were very imaginative. I'll simply say I agree with you, the "funnies" seemed funnier in those days.////FROM JACK: Just as reality shows seem to be popular on TV, so the edgier comics seem to be popular in today's newspaper world.

FROM HONEST JOHN: "PICKLES" is my new favorite....and FRANK AND ERNEST////FROM JACK: You forgot Crankshaft and Plugger, all favorites of the AARP-set.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: The only one I read daily is The Family Circus. I remember my father reading me the funnies before I learned how to read. A long time ago, of course.////FROM JACK: I read them all. I even read a few favorites online, which aren't in our papers...like The Fusco Brothers and Duplex. Our "Family Circus" only appears on Sunday.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS: In later years we called Clifford "Marryin' Sam" because he had so many weddings at the chapel. Ha!////FROM JACK: Yes, he related to lots of people who were married and buried by him.

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: Ah, the funnies. Do little kids now grow up having had their dad read them the funnies on a Sunday afternoon. That's one reason I'm such an avid reader. In fact, I used to imagine that dad was somehow cranking those funnies out at his hidden factory overnight because he seemed to know everything back then.////FROM JACK: You might even remember when the funnies were read over the radio on Sundays, for children whose dads didn't read to them. What were some of your favorites?

FROM BM IN MICHIGAN: Do you remember the Sunday morning radio program, “Reading the Funnies”? I would lay on the floor with the funnies & follow along with the reading of them. I hadn’t thought of that memory in, maybe, 60 years or more. ////FROM JACK: Yes, that memory came back to me as well. One comic that I liked was Smokey Stover, because it had a lot of puns. It was very punny.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: Al Capp's work was classic but my favorite of all time is Pogo's, "We have met the enemy and they is us."////FROM JACK: That was avant garde, when it went after Senator Joe McCarthy. At the time, it was my favorite. But I thought that you were a Prince Valiant fan.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: We loved to read the funnies on Saturday mornings. We all clambered to be the first to get to the newspaper. My favorite: B.C.////FROM JACK: Alley Oop was B.C.'s grandpa.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: It's good to know someone who still remembers about Sadie Hawkins Day! ////FROM JACK: ...amd someone who can make the transition from those funnies to those of today.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Was your "Pearls before Swine" about not frying your twinkie as a fitness regimen? I don't suppose they are uniform throughout the country...Yes, Al Capp contributed a lot of merriment through his absurd cartoon, Lil Abner, We can't forget Mammy and Pappy Yokum (sp?) ! The Musical Lil Abner was nothin' but Fun! On the serious side, a quote by Rob't. McCracken, the NY minister (1904-1973) fits:"A man can be as truly a saint in a factory as in a monastery, and there is as much need of him in the one as in the other." I think in his time, that was quite a revolutionary thought. More accepted today.
So, let do good, because it IS nicer! :-)////FROM JACK: You see the Pearls that I see. That Twinkies one was funny. We have a Lutheran Monastery in Oxford, Michigan, near to our town.