…The Ruben Bolling/Tom the Dancing Bug nod to Calvin and Hobbes shown above is just plain funny.
And, yeah, a damn fine lesson in satire as well.
Social satire. No politics here, nosirree!
In other words:
>he-he-he<
LYMI
LB
Category: Guest Post
Why I Love Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
…I know what most people think, but, nope, it’s not Kareem’s astounding basketball career that makes me a true believer (with apologies to certain guy named Stan Lee), it’s that Kareem is as good a writer as anyone in this day and age could ever read.
Especially his non-fiction – most easily found on his substack website – which gets right to the heart of things, demonstrating a rare combination of clear thought and warm heart.
For example:
Life in the Red Zone (May 19, 2023)
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Life in My Seventies, Study: Billionaires Not that Smart, Study: Loneliness as Dangerous as Smoking, NBA Social Justice Champion Finalists, Elon Gets It Wrong (Again), Joan Baez Sings, and More
I recently turned 76, and for the past six years, I’ve been living in the Red Zone. The Red Zone is when famous people keep dying at around the same age as you are. (Last month Tim Bachman, co-founder of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, died at the age of 71. So did Lasse Wellander, the longtime guitarist for ABBA. He was 70.)
The Red Zone is like the section of a car’s gas gauge just past E that, when the needle hovers over it, you’re never sure exactly how many miles you have left before the car conks out. You’re still going strong, but you’re not sure for how long.
Of course, it’s not just famous people dying, but those are the ones I read about with their 70-something ages prominently displayed like flashing warning lights directed at me.
I don’t dwell on death. I don’t fidget over impending doom. I’m not crafting pithy last words. (I might just use Oscar Wilde’s last words: “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go.”) Quite the opposite. Like most people over sixty, I’m actually happier than when I was younger (“Older Americans upbeat about aging, future”)….
LYMI,
LB
As Close as I can come to a Thought for Today
by LB
Reading and then posting last week’s “Live! From Paradise!” about the death of Rosie the Romantic young mare brought back so many strong memories and feelings that I haven’t been able to bring myself to even look at what happened (“happens?”) next in the column. And I admit that at this time I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go back to the final 20 or so episodes.
In other words, it turns out I have more old pain to deal with than I ever suspected. My apologies to those who’ve been following the story of Gwendolyn L. Brody‘s and my Ozarks education, adventures, and misadventures. I do believe that I can safely tell you that as soon as I know I’m ready to continue the project, so will you all.
For now, I offer everyone this bit of more worldly wisdom from cartoonist John Hambrock via Comics Kingdom:
LYMI,
LB
Today’s Wisdom for the Ages, Part 2
Once upon a time I actually believed my biggest death bed regret would be that I hadn’t spent more time working. Now my big regret is that I ever entertained that most foolish of notions.
>sigh<
Doffing me cap to GoComics again!
LYMI,
LB