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Peanuts

Would you like to be an innocent kid again and not be concerned about the state of the world? (I wouldn’t.)

January 28, 2026

Shoe

That reminds me of two cartoons I drew years ago:

I haven’t thought of them in long time.

January 27, 2026

Bliss

The pup is so happy. It’s a good balance to my keeping up with what’s going on in the world.

January 26, 2026

For higher resolution click on the comics.

Calvin and Hobbes en Español

Calvin and Hobbes

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Spending a little bit of time on Spanish each day, and having fun in the process, is working just fine. I’m gradually recognizing a few more words, which is an added treat. The real reward is it reinforces the idea that patience, persistence, and enjoying the process can be the super powers of a happy life.

At least that works for me. What works for you?

January 25, 2025

https://youtube.com/watch?v=R27LLnyeDYQ%3Fsi%3DgTSbTVMdVJDtn2xs

January 24, 2026

Item 1: an article I read about 60 years ago on being “nostalgic for the present.” The author noticed that every time they moved she was nostalgic for parts of the old location. Then she realized it was often for things she hadn’t consciously noticed while she had them. She decided that was dumb, so she consciously decided to start noticing and appreciating more parts of her present life, not waiting until she lost them.

Item 2: a TV version of Thorton Wilder’s Our Town that I saw about 70 years ago. Emily has died in childbirth but is given a chance to go back to life for one day. The other dead warn her not to do it, but she chooses her twelfth birthday.
She returns expecting joy, expecting to relive a happy day. Instead, she can’t bear it — everyone is so hurried and distracted. They take life, and its everyday moments, for granted. Emily has to leave because it’s too painful to watch.

Needless to say, those two incidents made a big impression on me! And those two messages explain why a lot of people are happiest in their 70s and beyond — if health problems don’t intrude too much. They do understand how short and precious life is, so they pay attention and savor it.

January 23, 2026

Click on the comics for higher resolution.

For Better or Worse

That comic made me laugh, not just for itself, but because it reminds me of this comic:

gocomics.com/pickles

Which in turn reminds of a verse I read in the Wall Street Journal over 40 years ago:

I wish I could retain,
By some Herculean feat,
As much of what I read
As I do of what I eat.

My hats off to that author, whoever he was. I have retained those words after all this time.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about something I read about 60 years ago.

Andertoons

When I was a kid I used to worry about spiders in the foot of my bedding, so I slept curled up. I hadn’t thought of that in years. And my folks would leave the hall light on until they went to bed, so I tried to get to sleep before they shut it off. I was still afraid of the dark long after I stopped worrying about spiders.

What about you? Was there anything you were afraid of?

January 21, 2026

I posted this cartoon in June, 2017.

Bliss

For some it’s even more relevant today. A lot has happened in the past eight and a half years.

The bean plants still look as if they won’t last much longer, but one of the ones on the right is putting out a blossom.

And the birthday balloon is getting weaker.

But it is still managing to be almost upright.

They’re doing the best they can with what they have left. Just like Andy and me. 😀

January 19, 2026