Alley Oop

This weekend we changed our profile pictures in support of the prevention of child abuse and its effects, to show cartoon characters important to us in the past. Ally Oop is my avatar, Veronica's Swee' Pea took me back...

When I was a teen I discovered the microfilm version of my local paper, the Bozeman Chronicle, and began to work diligently backwards through time, cranking the plastic handles of the reader as fast as I could to read every single one of the daily Popeye comic strips (don't try this, it will give you a severe headache and tell you much more about your home town than you ever wanted to know). You're right, Swee' Pea's now 77, having been left on Olive Oyl's doorstep in 1933.

One of my absolute favorite episodes was one in which Popeye's gang return home after months of adventure in pursuit of the "Sea Hag". "Wow, the place sure has changed," Wimpy says, "Look at this lake, this is fabulous, I don't remember this being here!" People are picnicking on the lawn at the edge of the water, water-skiers are being towed by a motorboat, it's a beautiful summer's day. The intrepid troupe walk homeward along the lakeshore, finally discovering the stream that feeds it, begin to follow its long wandering course. "Wal, Blow Me Down," Popeye exclaims, "I don't remember this river either, it runs right back to our old neighborhood!"

"Look, there's our house! Wait a minute! The stream is coming out of our basement window! But what are those papers plastered all over the front door??! A WATER BILL--for $10,000! Someone forgot to turn off the kitchen tap when we left!"

While I was destroying my eyesight anyway I read all of my other favorites. You know now about my secret identity as a time-traveling caveman, the other comic strips were L'il Abner, Dick Tracy, Joe Palooka, sometimes Little Orphan Annie. Great memories. Do you remember "Moon Maid," from Dick Tracy? or the "Schmoos" from L'l Abner? Great stuff!