Comic Page Reflections

I love comic strips. Always have. As a teenager I collected each Sunday's comic page from my local newspaper. I still have them all, stored in chronological order. This includes the final strips from Bloom County and Calvin and Hobbes. No doubt they'll make me rich one day.

The comic strip heyday, however, has come and gone. Not only has each strip gotten smaller and papers have crammed them all onto a mere two pages, they so rarely now live up to their colloquial nickname--"the funnies." So, as a semi-expert in these matters, I propose to all newspaper publishers that they keep only the following strips and give them the whole of their two-page allotment. For those reading this who have no pull on the content of your local paper--other than the hastily written letter to the editor complaining of their mistaken inclusion of you in their obituary section--you can use this list to keep from wasting time on other strips, which are hit-or-miss at best and are often more miss than hit. (Notice the list doesn't include comments on the excluded strips. "If you can't say something nice . . .")

1. Peanuts -- still the best, even though they are all re-runs. You can't put one over on Linus, I don't care who you are; and you'll never find a better shortstop than Snoopy.

2. Dilbert -- starting to repeat itself, but so do pointy-haired bosses, so the repetition is appropriate and still funny. Plus my dad is an engineer and actually has a pocket protector with his name on it, so it hits home. (In his defense, he doesn't wear it anymore.)

3. Garfield -- when Garfield scoops up that lasagna with his paw and eats it all in one bite . . . comic genius every time.

4. FoxTrot -- I secretly want to have a Wookie tied to me by a life-debt (Star Wars reference. Look it up). I'm sure the nerd kid does as well, so I read this one for the common bond.

5. Zits -- Great drawing. Great physical manifestations of what everyone is thinking. For instance, today the dad wanted to tell the teenager something personal, so the teenager ducktaped a roll of fiberglass insulation around his head first, then listened to his dad. Hilarious visual metaphor. Very funny. Unfortunately this overly descriptive analysis is not funny at all. Moving on.

6. Baby Blues -- I don't have kids, so I read this to laugh at how the other half lives. If it's really like that . . . hoo boy.

7. Pickles -- No idea where the name comes from, but the old guy in this strip is the smartest man alive.

8. Blondie -- How old is this strip? How many writers have had charge of it? Yet I still get a kick out of Dagwood's big dang sandwiches. Call me old fashioned.

That's it. If I didn't list your favorite strip, you have two options from which to choose: 1) I disagree with you and think it not worth your time to read the strip, or 2) My local paper doesn't carry your favorite, so I have no opinion about it; but, if I ever read it, I'm sure I would quickly put it at Number 1 on the list. Choose the second option. You'll have a better day.

Popular Instrumental Tunes

Most people, I think, don’t listen to instrumental songs. Don’t like ‘em. No words. Can’t sing with ‘em. And I think it’s a shame, because there are some really good ones out there. What most people don’t know is that those instrumentals really do have words, but the artist chose not to include them in their version. So to help you enjoy them, I’m revealing here, for the first time in some cases, the words to a select few popular instrumental songs. Possibly you will find a new appreciation for instrumental songs and will catch yourself singing the words next time you hear the music. (“Tequila” by the Champs shouldn’t really count, because they do shout, “Tequila!” once in a while, but I’ll include it anyway.)

Theme from Bonanza:

“We’ve got a right to pick a little fight, Bo-nan-ZA! Anyone of us who starts a little fuss knows he can count on me.”

Theme from The Dating Game (actually named “Spanish Flea” and performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Ol’ Herb has a bunch that fit into this category. Pick up a greatest hits sometime and see if you can figure out the words to all of them):

“I’m gonna kill a Spanish flea. I don’t know why--‘cause he bothered me.” Musical break: do do do do do do DO do do, do do do DO do do DOOOO. “Kill the little Spanish flea.”

Theme from Indiana Jones:

“Indiana! Indy Jones. India-NA! Indi-An-A Jones. India-NA! Indy Jones! Indi-ANA, di-ANA, di-ANA, di-ANA Jones!”

Theme from Gone with the Wind (“Tara’s Theme”):

“Gone WITH the wind. Gone WIITH the wind. Gone WIIIIIITH the wind. All gone with the wind.”

Theme from Rocky 3:

“Rocky three. Rocky three. Fights Hulk Hogan, and Mr. T. And he beats them u-UP. Beats them up real ba-ad. He’s Rocky. Rocky. Rocky. Rocky THREE!”

“Tequila”:

“Well I’m gonna drink tequila. And I don’t care what you say. I said that I’m gonna drink tequila. Drink so much that I’ll puke all day.” (Shout “Tequila” once in a while.”)

Theme from Taxi (Actually titled “Angela”):

“A-a-a-a-a-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-A-angela. A-n, Gela. A- a-a-a-a-a-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-Angela. A-a-a-a-a-angela. A-A-A-a-a-a-angela.”

Enjoy. Maybe they won’t get stuck in your head.

Everyone wants to live a full life. The problem is we don’t always know what that means. Sometimes we think we have to skydive, ride Harleys, or scale the North Face to truly seize the day. But the fact is that every day is worth seizing, and every day something interesting happens if we are just willing to see it.

These books aim to help you turn life into an adventure. The novels indulge you in needed escapism, whether you solve a mystery in a small, Southern town filled with eccentric characters (The Pride of Peacock, 2003 EPPIE Winner Best Mystery) or you adventure the Caribbean with a hilarious bunch of pirates (Coming Soon to Kindle: The Pirates of Solomon’s Toes, 2001 EPPIE Finalist Best Adventure, Frankfort Award Nominee). The spiritually focused books help you see life from different eyes. For instance, the newest book, The Prayer of Faith, helps you understand the purpose of prayer so that you can use prayers to change your world.

Check this blog here and at my Amazon author page (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0051NUL96) often. Some days it will be inspirational, some days poignant, and almost all days highly entertaining. In any case, it should help you live life fully every day.