A change of pace, which I like to do sometimes. This quote jumped out at me this morning. What applied in 1971 applies even more urgently today. I try very hard to do my part. Even a small snowball rolling downhill turns into a giant one as it gathers momentum.
This wise little character is Pogo the Possum. A memory: my father-in-law used to read newspaper cartoons every day, and my dear other half said he remembers his father reading this one. I have happy memories of Sunday mornings spent with my in-laws on our visits; mother-in-law doing her New York Times crossword puzzles, occasionally looking up to see what birds had landed at the feeders, father-in-law reading the Funnies. I also watched the Saturday morning Westerns with her while father and son spent time in the garage chatting as father-in-law worked on his old cars. Good memories for both of us.
If you have a particular memory of spending time with your in-laws, or any special person, feel free to share, or not. I
Real life stories are far more interesting to me, and I suppose that comes from all the relatives and friends who visited us from as far back as I can remember.
Many didn't get a TV until later in life in those days. There were Saturday morning matinees at our local cinema and Hopalong Cassidy rode across the screen. My sister and I always looked forward to Hopalong Cassidy. Our TV arrived when I was not quite 13 years' old, but the stories people shared were our entertainment and I loved them. We also had sing-songs with Dad at the piano. More memories that come to mind are those told by a sweet lady who had just come back from visiting her brother. He had moved to Australia years before and lived in the Outback she said. Her stories about the kangaroos, koalas and colorful birds were mesmerizing. I must have been seven or eight years’ old, sitting on the floor with my legs crossed, totally enthralled. Her name was Mrs. Bissell. She and Mr. Bissell were older friends of my parents. They were regular visitors, kindly souls with ready smiles for everyone. Mum and Dad were very fond of them, as were we. They were like our surrogate grandparents. One time Mr. Bissell played Father Christmas at the yearly party at the town hall. Waiting patiently in line with all the other children, I finally sat in his lap. He asked me what did I want for Christmas, had I been a good girl? I took one look at him and said quietly and in amazement, “You’re not Father Christmas, you’re Mr. Bissell.” “Shhhh” he replied just as quietly, and put me down with a twinkle in his eye, finger pressed up to his lips, and a very grandfatherly Ho, Ho, Ho. I was flummoxed! I found that very strange and I think that is when I started asking Mum about who was Father Christmas and did he really live at the North Pole? And as for Mr. Bissell, I was more used to seeing him drinking a cup of tea at home. But it was our little secret, I never asked him about it and he never told. My Mum knew. She and Mrs. Bissell had a good laugh about it later, as I found out when I brought the subject up years later. Funny what pops into your head. I had no idea I was going to include any of this when I started my post.
So, what do you think about Pogo? Did you ever read his cartoon? It seems he had a lot of important messages to pass on.
This particular comic strip was drawn in 1971.
Pogo the Possum
created by
(August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973)
Added note 2:45 p.m., 7-28-23
The quote above is from an actual famous quote by U.S. Navy Master Commandant Oliver Perry during the
War of 1812, written in a letter to Major General William Henry Harrison: “We
have met the enemy and they are ours.”
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.
From Wikipedia:
"Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. was born of Irish-American heritage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Walter Crawford Kelly Sr. and Genevieve Kelly (née MacAnnula). When he was two years old, the family moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut. After graduating from Warren Harding High School in 1930, Kelly worked at odd jobs until he was hired as a crime reporter on the Bridgeport Post. He also took up cartooning and illustrated a biography of another well-known figure from Bridgeport, P. T. Barnum. Kelly was extremely proud of his journalism pedigree and considered himself a newspaper man as well as a cartoonist.
He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. In 1941, at the age of 28, Kelly transferred to work at Dell Comics, where he created Pogo, which eventually became his platform for political and philosophical commentary."
and from
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
"The comic strip Pogo, created by Walt Kelly, ran in daily newspapers from 1948 to 1973. The strip was set in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp and was populated by animals talking in a southern dialect."
