The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

"Dear Daily News, My wife went into labor at Ebbets Field and we want our little girl should know where she come from, so please tell them they must keep baseball going. I work at Sperrys and didn't get to see too many games last year but my wife went every time them Pittsburghs was in town because she likes that little XXXXXXXX that second base man they got from us in a trade God knows XXXXXXXXX I don't understand it but she's my wife so I put up with it you know how it is right? Thank you Jos. Petrauskas, 1760 63d St, Bklyn. PS I know Dixie wakler and he really ain't much of a square dancr."

 

[Fading Fast]

("I spoke to Francis this marrnin'," says Ma Sweeney as Joe prepares to leave for work. "Ahh, that is to say, Mr. Leary. He tells me his boys were installin' the coaaal grates at yar buildin' today, so ye shuld be aable t'go home t'morra." "Wowrn out oueh welcome, huh?" shrugs Joe. "Oh, t'at remines me, I met t'is fella t'ot'eh day, gimme t'is env'lope t'give ya. Funny lookin' customeh," he adds, bucking out his teeth and pulling at his ears. "Ahhh," replies Ma, glancing quickly at the envelope and slipping it into her apron. "Thaat would be Hops Gaffney. He does -- ah -- errands for me now that me boy Michael is off in the saarvice, you understand. Dear little Hops. He an' Michael used to worrrk on lotsa jobs togetherr." "I bet they did." "What?" "Nut'n." "Hops Gaffney," adds Sally in a sour tone. "I neveh could stan' him. He useta try an' tawk me up when we was kids, an' I couldn' take it. He awrways smelt like, I dunno, anti-freeze a'sump'n.")
...

Hops Gaffney. Somewhere Damon Runyon is smiling.

...

Finland is expected today to ask the United States to act as an intermediary in a negotiated separate peace with Russia. So far the Soviets have ignored Finnish peace feelers, and it was not believed that the USSR, riding the crest of great victories against Nazi forces, is in any mood to discuss a conditional peace with the Finns. A sign of the changing political tides in Finland is a recent easing of press censorship allowing the open discussion of peace.
...

You can draw a looooong historical line from this moment in 1943 to the announcement last year that, in the wake of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, Finland (and Sweden) want to join NATO.

...

(*snif*)
...

You can draw a loooong historical line from this wonderful WWII poster to Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 visit to a New York City synagogue, the first ever visit by a Pope to a US synagogue.

...

There are many footprints and there are many handprints impressed in the concrete forecourt of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood -- but now there's also a set of leg prints. Screen star Betty Grable, with the help of escorts from the Army, Navy, and Marines, this week impressed her famous limbs in a block of wet concrete, as publicity men from 20th Century-Fox nodded with enthusiasm.
...

And here's a picture of it:

And for reference, a better shot of Ms. Grable's famous gams.

And in the Daily News...

"Other men of my age, like Senator Reynolds, are marrying young girls..." Yeah, Gramps, you could choose a better role model than greasy old Buncombe Bob.
...

Today we're too sophisticated to think that babies are either boys or girls, but back in that simpler time, one wonders why, for three days, nobody, the mother included, happened to look at the Peile baby to discover it wasn't a boy.

...

"But sir, I don't WANT to be your butler!"
...

"Why do I have to start as a private when I already proved I could be a good sergeant?"

...

War is Heck,
...

Hard to imagine there was a time when parents would put their kids to bed and then go out to the movies.

...

He's not really that big, it's just the uniform.
...

And Andy's not really that frail, it's just the lack of a chin.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Hugh's lovely lass Lana is so exquisitely drawn. How his mind can wander away from her is inexplicable.
Terrence is a good man. The impersonating tosh begone. Enlist him at once.
Harold, for a draft deferred chap with a world at war is a lucky bloke.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Back home again on 63rd Street, Stella the Cat bats her B-17 ping pong ball around the kitchen floor as Joe leans back in his chair, the Eagle unfurled before him. "Huh," he huhs. "'At's a pretty rough crowd oveh in New Lots." "Yeah," agrees Sally. "Mickey wen' oveh t'eah oncet, I remembeh he din' come home f'a coupla days. Ma was pretty sore about it. 'At Hops Gaffney showed up at t'house wit' his cloes' awl messed up, an' Ma wen' down an' cawled Uncle Frank, an' t'ey awl wen' oveh t'eah an' brung Mickey home. Said he'd been sleepin'." "I heah y'c'n get a lotta drinks oveh t'New Lots c'n do 'tat," nods Joe. "Hmph," hmphs Sally. "You know Mickey don' drink. He was jus' stayin' ovehnight wit' a frien', an'ne said t'ey got in some kinda argument about who was gonna get which side'a t'bed." "People c'n get pretty p'ticuleh about t'at," nods Joe. "'Special' dependin' on whose bed it is." "What?" "Nut'n.")

The first daytime air raid drill using the new signals has been declared a big success, since unseasonably warm weather brought out thousands who were strolling along the streets when the sirens sounded. At Coney Island, more than 35,000 persons were walking the Boardwalk, the largest crowd of the winter, and Ocean Parkway was a parade of perambulators as mothers and babies enjoyed the first pleasant walk of the season. Strollers stopped dead in their tracks without a bit of confusion when the sirens blew, with some heading to open businesses to take shelter until the test ended. Wardens across Brooklyn reported no confusion over the new signals such as occurred during the Thursday night test, and only in Queens were there a few instances reported of confused traffic during the 44 minute drill.

The Collector of U. S. Internal Revenue is urging taxpayers to file their returns now rather than waiting until the March 15th deadline, noting that the number of persons required to file in the Brooklyn-Long Island district likely to reach an all time high of 1,800,000. Collector Joseph D. Nunan Jr. noted that only about one third of those required to file this year have already done so, and an anticipated last minute rush to file is likely to place a signficant burden upon those who will process the returns.

Mohandas K. Gandhi's condition has taken a turn for the worse, as the Indian nationalist leader reaches the midway point of his announced three-week fast to protest his present imprisonment. The 73-year-old spiritual leader of millions of Nationalist followers is reported to be "failing rapidly," amidst speculation over what may happen if he dies, with observers suggesting that Gandhi's death would make the task of reconciliation between the Indian and British nations "extremely difficult."

(Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before...)

The first accredited Negro war correspondent in U. S. history has flown more than 15,000 miles since he took on his duties last May, covering the activities of his race thruout the Middle East. Long Island resident Edgar T. Rouzeau, a staff reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier, is credited with contributing greatly to the morale of the Negro soldier and his relatives back home by writing of the heroism of the black fighting forces, and of the details of their everyday lives on foreign soil. Mr. Rouzeau was the second American to land on West African soil when American troops occupied the Negro Republic of Liberia.

("Escapades?" huffs Mr. Mungo. "Ah don' think so! Ah don' even know how to skate!")

Old Timer Mrs. Kate C. Ring declares that the best looking men in Brooklyn half a century ago were to be found in Williamsburg. Especially those young men who used to hang around the cigar store next to Shoening's Candy Store. "I met one of them a few years ago. A nice looking old man!"

(Ann Sheridan? Is she still in the league?)

Gertrude Lawrence is back on Broadway next week in the new Moss Hart-Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin musical play "Lady In The Dark," a revival at the Broadway Theatre of a show that ran for a year and a half at the Alvin. That run demanded, and got, a $4.50 top, but La Lawrence's return engagement will be conducted at popular prices, topping at $2.75 for any orchestra seat.

(Hence the importance of building your personal brand!)

(Batista would know a lot about being a ventriloquist dummy.)

("Charmed Life Charmers." Look, if you can't think of a good nickname, it's best not to try. And unless I miss my guess, that war bond ad in the footer is the work of none other than Dr. Theo. Seuss.

(How Irving Klaw got started.)

("You sniveliing little fat cat!" "You devil's daughter!" We gave up Bill's comedy relief Sundays for this? And well well well A SECRET BASEMENT LAIR! OH MY I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT.)

(That's a lap dog?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I hope they get home and find that all they got was artichokes, asparagus, lima beans, and ox-tail soup.

Oh, and minced tripe.

Careful, kid -- remember what happened to Raven Sherman.

And for the first time we a strip formerly run at full-tabloid page cut to half-tab. Say hello to the wartime paper shortage.

You can't even tell that's a stunt dog.

"I have no enemies!" "HMPH!" says Mama DeStross.

And this is the first time we've seen Walt wearing glasses -- to say nothing of a bald spot. Hell to be getting old, isn't it?

You're wasting your time, Taffs. Sit tight until Pat shows up.

I'm picking up on a recurring theme here.

MIlkman? I don't buy it. Where's your white coat??

 

[Fading Fast]

View attachment 491404
(Back home again on 63rd Street, Stella the Cat bats her B-17 ping pong ball around the kitchen floor as Joe leans back in his chair, the Eagle unfurled before him. "Huh," he huhs. "'At's a pretty rough crowd oveh in New Lots." "Yeah," agrees Sally. "Mickey wen' oveh t'eah oncet, I remembeh he din' come home f'a coupla days. Ma was pretty sore about it. 'At Hops Gaffney showed up at t'house wit' his cloes' awl messed up, an' Ma wen' down an' cawled Uncle Frank, an' t'ey awl wen' oveh t'eah an' brung Mickey home. Said he'd been sleepin'." "I heah y'c'n get a lotta drinks oveh t'New Lots c'n do 'tat," nods Joe. "Hmph," hmphs Sally. "You know Mickey don' drink. He was jus' stayin' ovehnight wit' a frien', an'ne said t'ey got in some kinda argument about who was gonna get which side'a t'bed." "People c'n get pretty p'ticuleh about t'at," nods Joe. "'Special' dependin' on whose bed it is." "What?" "Nut'n.")
...

One assumes Ma is checking with her connections friends on the force in the neighborhood as to how safe her game embroidery club is. It's getting so you don't feel safe having friends come over and embroider anymore.

...

(Batista would know a lot about being a ventriloquist dummy.)
...

Does LaGuardia know about this bridge game?

...

("You sniveliing little fat cat!" "You devil's daughter!" We gave up Bill's comedy relief Sundays for this? And well well well A SECRET BASEMENT LAIR! OH MY I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT.)
...

Another satisfied Basements 'r Us customer who clearly worked with our secret lair design specialist.

...
And for the first time we a strip formerly run at full-tabloid page cut to half-tab. Say hello to the wartime paper shortage.
...

If we, oh I don't know, cut out six days of "Huge Striver," then we could easily keep Sunday's "Terry and the Pirates" at full size.

...


You can't even tell that's a stunt dog.
...

"Has anyone seen Sandy, I know the stunt dog is doing all his scenes today, but I need Sandy for some publicity shots?"
"He called in sick this morning. Said he had a tummy ache."
"That's funny, when I dropped off today's script at his house last night, he seemed fine and was eating a big dinner."

...

You're wasting your time, Taffs. Sit tight until Pat shows up.
...

"She responds to the stick as if she could read her pilot's mind."

...

I'm picking up on a recurring theme here.
...

It would be really odd to have a parent only fourteen years older than you are.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Cork is a man on a mission and his lingo strictly East End London but Taffy gets pulled. Is Pat her boyfriend?

Caught the 'breed-the-seed' article. A terrible tragic consequence in war. There is a book, title forgot sorry, about the postwar British surplus of 1914-18 era and the women left loner for life.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Pat is Terry's long absent mentor, and international romantic. His heart -- and his likely offspring -- belongs to Normandie Sandhurst, but the rest of him is on long-term loan to the Dragon Lady.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Pat is Terry's long absent mentor, and international romantic. His heart -- and his likely offspring -- belongs to Normandie Sandhurst, but the rest of him is on long-term loan to the Dragon Lady.

Intriguing Ms Elizabeth. Pat is a rover. English? Sounds like an uncle of mine, a man with no sand but that I thought was the war's effect over him. Dragon Lady is Chinese I presume. Terrence is far too valuable to be cashiered. He's for the cross belts sure.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Pat is an American soldier of fortune of Irish decent, with curly black hair and brooding dark eyes, and a sardonic attitude. The DL, whose real name is La Choi San, was the leader of a band of China Seas pirates when she met Pat and Terry in 1935. She gave up piracy when the Japanese invasion began in 1937 and formed her followers into a band of resistance fighters practicing acts of patriotic terrorism against the Invaders. Pat has become one of her agents, and for a time headed her operations in Hong Kong. He was last seen over a year ago, having taken up a position as one of her leading front-line fighters, and having left Normandie and his likely daughter Merrily in the custody of the same field hospital where Taffy Tucker was first encountered, and where Terry turned up as a fellow patient after he was wounded while searching for his vanished girlfriend April Kane. See how all this fits together?

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Wha's allis?" asks Joe, pointing to a paper egg carton on the kitchen window sill, each of its compartment filled with dirt. "Victory gawrden," declares Sally. "T'at's tameteh seeds. An'nat t'eah is string beans. An'nis one is peas. An' *nis* one is cawrn." "Ya gonna grow cawrn onna windehsill?" gawps Joe. "Nah," replies Sally. "T'is is jus' stawrt'n t'plants, y'see. When it's spring, I'm gonna take awla lit'l plants down inna couetyawrd out back, see, an' I'll plant'm inna doit out'teah." "Y'betteh be caehful," warns Joe. "Awlat broken glass out'teah. An' lissen -- if ya fine any radio tubes out'teah, hold onto'm. Basebawl season's comin', an'ney'll be hawrd t'get." "What?" "Nut'n.")

Mayor LaGuardia has appointed a 16-year-old high school boy as one of his top advisors on the problem of Juvenile Delinquency in the city. Seymour Schantz, a student at the Manhattan High School for Aviation Trades, was appointed yesterday to serve on a committee of ten formed by the Mayor to work out city policies designed to help boys and girls toe the mark. Seymour, whose friends call him "Sunshine," is a leading member of a club called the Boys Brotherhood Republic, which meets at 290 E. 3rd Street in Manhattan, and teaches its members the principles of self-government. Seymour recently presented the organization with an 11 point plan he drafted, calling for closer cooperation between students and teachers, and the integration of students into parent-teacher organizations. The program also calls for school curriculum to be made more attractive to students, and for the construction of new schools as a means of alleviating crowding. The plan came to the Mayor's attention and he endorsed it as a "sensible and feasible" approach to the juvenile delinquency question.

A teenage boy from Queens, a boy and a girl from Brooklyn, and a girl from Bayonne, New Jersey are being held on charges of larceny and burglary after they were arrested in Flatbush yesterday while joyriding in a stolen car. 16-year-old William Gorgel of Jackson Heights, 17 year old George Diaomante and 21 year old Josephine Piccola, both of Flatbush, and 17-year-old Harriet Pierce of Bayonne appeared this morning a police lineup, after they were brought in by a Flatbush patrolman who spotted them at the intersection of Newkirk and Nostrand Avenues in a car reported stolen from Julius Levenstein of Manhattan. Gorgel told police he stole the car Friday night to keep a date he and Diamante had made to go driving with their girlfriends. While driving thru Jackson Heights, Diaomante asked the girls if they'd like some candy. When they replied in the affirmative, Gorgel pulled up to a candy store 35-80 82nd Street, and the boys broke in, returning with "an abundance of sweets." Gorgel had been arrested last November on a car theft charge, but that charged was reduced to that of being a "wayward minor," and he was released on parole. The four will be arraigned later today in Manhattan Felony Court.

Mohandas K. Gandhi rallied overnight from what his doctors are calling a crisis, and seemed more comfortable today, the thirteenth day of a planned three-week fast protesting his internment by the British Government. A medical bulletin published today warned, however, that the Indian Nationalist leader's heart is still growing weaker.

The deputy chief commissar of the Red Army's political department warned today that the Nazis have taken a beating in Russia -- but are not yet defeated. Colonel-General Efim Shadenko stated in an article published in today's edition of the Soviet army newspaper Red Star that "it would be criminal frivolity to underestimate enemy strength and to imagine that further progress of our troops will be a triumphal march. However, our final victory is approaching." Shadenko warned that 35 additional enemy divisions have been moved to the Russian front from Belgium, Norway, Germany and France over the past three months.

A roller-skating bear from Rosedale will have his day in court tomorrow, after he went on a stroll yesterday thru the Queens neighborhood, startling and frightening residents. Seventeen-year-old Thomas George of 146-32 231st Street, who is acting as the guardian of Tuffy the Bear in the absence of his father Stanley, an American "of gypsy descent" who actually owns the bear and taught him to roller skate. Thomas was arrested after Tuffy went romping thru Rosedale on his own, as neighbors screamed, children fled, and doors were slammed in the bear's inquisitive face, and was charged with harboring a dangerous wild animal. Magistrate Horn, in Adolescent Court, told George he would have to get rid of the bear, but the youth protested that Tuffy is a gentle and docile creature, who lives on a vegetarian diet, and protested that if he is sent away to live in a zoo, and fed meat, he will turn ferocious, nullifying a years' training. The youth admitted, however, that the bear clawed him in the leg while making his break for freedom, but he insisted that was an accident, and that he and Tuffy were merely "wrestling" when the bear got loose. The magistrate paroled Tuffy into Thomas's custody until tomorrow's hearing, where a decision will be made on whether or not the bear is to be banished from Queens or sentenced to confinement.

(America's Biggest Small Town reminds you that, after all, what else *is there* to buy?)

(Leonora, at least, will be pleased to know that beets are rationed.)

Reader Elsie Carson writes in to complain that the OPA's requirement limiting households to "five cans per person" is ridiculous. "Any good housekeeper has always kept a well-stocked pantry to take care of emergencies," and she defies anyone to say that her present holdings of twelve cans of tomato soup, six of pea soup, two of chicken noodle, two of asparagus, twelve of tomato juice, six of grapefruit juice, two of orange-grapefruit, three of pineapple juice, one of apricots, ten of peas, seven of corn, three of whole tomatoes, two of asparagus, four of pineapple, two of pears, two of peaches, four of salmon, four of tuna, four of chicken, one of baked beans, four pounds of prunes, four pounds of dried peas, two of pea beans, one of marrow beans, and one of lima beans constitutes hoarding.

("What, no Boraxo?")

(Mr. Cox is clearly a man of faith. On the other hand, if the Browns can finish third, anything can happen...)

(See, this is why felons make the best butlers.)

(Actually, what she really said was "****blub!****")

("OK, stop me if you've heard this one. Burma, Lord Plushbottom, and Adolphe Menjou walk into an underground lair...")

(He who turns and runs away lives to fight another day...)

(Wait'll the zoot suiters show up.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Look, what's the point of being "New York's Picture Newspaper" if you don't even have a picture of the bear?

Mortimer Jenks, soda shop operator, Covina: "Eh, you get used to it. Now you gonna buy something or what? I could use a cash customer."

CUT! Somebody tell that stupid stunt dog not to look at the camera!

"Seriously, kid," warns the Ghost of Raven Sherman. "It's really gonna hurt."

"Quick, let's get a better view!"

"Hmph! Don't you know that mimeograph paper will win this war?"

"And here's your instructor, Capt. Bucky Wing." "Well, well, if it isn't the Yellow Haired One! Wait'll I tell Hu Shee!"

HAW!

A 22-year-old boy whose only real work experience before this was as a butcher shop apprentice, and who has a history of erratic behavior, in charge of a major war contractor? Yep, Mr. Nelson will be right on board with that.

"Sigh, maybe this Dan Dunn thing will turn into a full time job. I think I'd like that."

 

[Fading Fast]

("Wha's allis?" asks Joe, pointing to a paper egg carton on the kitchen window sill, each of its compartment filled with dirt. "Victory gawrden," declares Sally. "T'at's tameteh seeds. An'nat t'eah is string beans. An'nis one is peas. An' *nis* one is cawrn." "Ya gonna grow cawrn onna windehsill?" gawps Joe. "Nah," replies Sally. "T'is is jus' stawrt'n t'plants, y'see. When it's spring, I'm gonna take awla lit'l plants down inna couetyawrd out back, see, an' I'll plant'm inna doit out'teah." "Y'betteh be caehful," warns Joe. "Awlat broken glass out'teah. An' lissen -- if ya fine any radio tubes out'teah, hold onto'm. Basebawl season's comin', an'ney'll be hawrd t'get." "What?" "Nut'n.")
...

Joe should quietly buy a Davega radio to put in reserve if the store has any left.

...

A teenage boy from Queens, a boy and a girl from Brooklyn, and a girl from Bayonne, New Jersey are being held on charges of larceny and burglary after they were arrested in Flatbush yesterday while joyriding in a stolen car. 16-year-old William Gorgel of Jackson Heights, 17 year old George Diaomante and 21 year old Josephine Piccola, both of Flatbush, and 17-year-old Harriet Pierce of Bayonne appeared this morning a police lineup, after they were brought in by a Flatbush patrolman who spotted them at the intersection of Newkirk and Nostrand Avenues in a car reported stolen from Julius Levenstein of Manhattan. Gorgel told police he stole the car Friday night to keep a date he and Diamante had made to go driving with their girlfriends. While driving thru Jackson Heights, Diaomante asked the girls if they'd like some candy. When they replied in the affirmative, Gorgel pulled up to a candy store 35-80 82nd Street, and the boys broke in, returning with "an abundance of sweets." Gorgel had been arrested last November on a car theft charge, but that charged was reduced to that of being a "wayward minor," and he was released on parole. The four will be arraigned later today in Manhattan Felony Court.
...

How'd the girl from all the way on the other side of two rivers and a state line get tied up with this Queens-Brooklyn cabal?

My grandparents live in Bayonne (what a dump) back in the '40s; believe me, Miss Pierce didn't have to go all the way to Brooklyn or Queens to find bad boys to run with.

...

A roller-skating bear from Rosedale will have his day in court tomorrow, after he went on a stroll yesterday thru the Queens neighborhood, startling and frightening residents. Seventeen-year-old Thomas George of 146-32 231st Street, who is acting as the guardian of Tuffy the Bear in the absence of his father Stanley, an American "of gypsy descent" who actually owns the bear and taught him to roller skate. Thomas was arrested after Tuffy went romping thru Rosedale on his own, as neighbors screamed, children fled, and doors were slammed in the bear's inquisitive face, and was charged with harboring a dangerous wild animal. Magistrate Horn, in Adolescent Court, told George he would have to get rid of the bear, but the youth protested that Tuffy is a gentle and docile creature, who lives on a vegetarian diet, and protested that if he is sent away to live in a zoo, and fed meat, he will turn ferocious, nullifying a years' training. The youth admitted, however, that the bear clawed him in the leg while making his break for freedom, but he insisted that was an accident, and that he and Tuffy were merely "wrestling" when the bear got loose. The magistrate paroled Tuffy into Thomas's custody until tomorrow's hearing, where a decision will be made on whether or not the bear is to be banished from Queens or sentenced to confinement.
...

How can there not be pictures with this story? And the Eagle calls itself a newspaper.

I assume the Daily News won't let us down. Did I mention it is a bear on roller-skates.

...

(Actually, what she really said was "****blub!****")
...

Her lungs will not care whether she's invisible or not.

And in the Daily News...

Look, what's the point of being "New York's Picture Newspaper" if you don't even have a picture of the bear?
...

I'd threaten to cancel my subscription, but it's 1943 and that would be like cutting off part of my access to the internet today.

"The shapely entertainer, who is growing blonder with the years..." Nice.

...

"Seriously, kid," warns the Ghost of Raven Sherman. "It's really gonna hurt."
...

Gould truly has a frightening mind.

...

"Quick, let's get a better view!"
...

It's 1943 and Africa is importing jewelry from Japan? That's a bet I would have lost.

If anybody deserve a punch in the nose, it's Wilmer.

...
"Hmph! Don't you know that mimeograph paper will win this war?"

"And here's your instructor, Capt. Bucky Wing." "Well, well, if it isn't the Yellow Haired One! Wait'll I tell Hu Shee!"
...

So, since the US Army seems to approve of Terry enlisting in the Chinese Army, does this count as his war service or will he still be drafted into Uncle Sam's army later?

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Pat is an American soldier of fortune of Irish decent, with curly black hair and brooding dark eyes, and a sardonic attitude. The DL, whose real name is La Choi San, was the leader of a band of China Seas pirates when she met Pat and Terry in 1935. She gave up piracy when the Japanese invasion began in 1937 and formed her followers into a band of resistance fighters practicing acts of patriotic terrorism against the Invaders. Pat has become one of her agents, and for a time headed her operations in Hong Kong. He was last seen over a year ago, having taken up a position as one of her leading front-line fighters, and having left Normandie and his likely daughter Merrily in the custody of the same field hospital where Taffy Tucker was first encountered, and where Terry turned up as a fellow patient after he was wounded while searching for his vanished girlfriend April Kane. See how all this fits together?

Ms Elizabeth, I greatly appreciate your considerate operational summary. And reading between lines, the assumption is this Dragon Lady and Pat have more than a merely professional association? And she's a beautiful vixen, all of which adds to plot.??? Now tell me who is Bucky and HuShee? All pieces falling in place. I've heard of the name April Kane somewhere. So Terrence needs to do the honourable and propose to Ms Kane when he finds her.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hu Shee -- not her real name, which remains undisclosed -- is another of the DL's agents, a young American-educated Chinese woman who has astonishing skills in any number of fields, including weaponry, hand-to-hand fighting, sabotage, daredevil driving, seamanship, disguise, and stenography. She looks enough like the DL herself that she can and has impersonated her when occasions demand it. Capt. Bucky Wing is an American-educated Chinese pilot who was for a time in pursuit of Miss Hu, who had only eyes for Terry. He was last seen operating in league with a cunning Resistance saboteur known as the Blue Tiger, who poses as Dr. Ping, a frail, elderly linguistics professor, with whom Terry also for a time operated. This whole story spanned the latter months of 1940 into the early part of 1941, and is well worth rereading in its entirety some rainy afternoon.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

So, since the US Army seems to approve of Terry enlisting in the Chinese Army, does this count as his war service or will he still be drafted into Uncle Sam's army later?

Terrence at present awaits induction physical and intelligence-aptitude battery. After passage he will be taken US Army. Then loaned to the Chinese for flight school. Then given back to the Americans a trained pilot sergeant.
After all this, Terrence will be detailed private rifleman in an infantry squad hunting renegade Japanese down.

 

[Fading Fast]

Hu Shee -- not her real name, which remains undisclosed -- is another of the DL's agents, a young American-educated Chinese woman who has astonishing skills in any number of fields, including weaponry, hand-to-hand fighting, sabotage, daredevil driving, seamanship, disguise, and stenography. She looks enough like the DL herself that she can and has impersonated her when occasions demand it. Capt. Bucky Wing is an American-educated Chinese pilot who was for a time in pursuit of Miss Hu, who had only eyes for Terry. He was last seen operating in league with a cunning Resistance saboteur known as the Blue Tiger, who poses as Dr. Ping, a frail, elderly linguistics professor, with whom Terry also for a time operated. This whole story spanned the latter months of 1940 into the early part of 1941, and is well worth rereading in its entirety some rainy afternoon.

Just noting, of all the impressive women in Caniff's world, my goal is to leave my girlfriend of 25 years and marry Hu Shee. I've told my girlfriend this and her unemotional and dismissive response was, "Good luck with that, she won't have you."

(Autocorrect really wants to change Hu Shee's name.)

 

[PrivateEye]

"Seriously, kid," warns the Ghost of Raven Sherman. "It's really gonna hurt."

A painful memory. Still shocked by it.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Just noting, of all the impressive women in Caniff's world, my goal is to leave my girlfriend of 25 years and marry Hu Shee. I've told my girlfriend this and her unemotional and dismissive response was, "Good luck with that, she won't have you."

(Autocorrect really wants to change Hu Shee's name.)

Is Caniff the strip pencil, then? Very well sketched literate historic take, Terrence and crew.
I am with Keynes now, tracing back his general economic theory. Between pandemic and invasion this world economy has been thoroughly skewered, all prior history turned on ear. China has unproductive soil that desperately needs phosphate fertilizer; fortunately she is a world supplier of phosphate but has stopped its export. With swine flu having eradicated Chinese pork farming, the pig industry there is on its knees. Should China side with Russia in Ukraine, sending arms to Moscow, she incurs agrarian retaliation among other economic sanctions. Without American farm aid and assistance China will incur famine. Millions within its interior will perish. Because of Ukraine wheat and corn spoilage millions on the African continent will also be lost. After this year, beginning next hunger will sweep eastern Europe to Southeast Asia. China is now a major actor on the world stage. Beijing furiously buys gold but the real gold is corn and wheat.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("So I din' getta ask ya when ya got in," says Sally, as Joe yawns his way to the table. "How wazza fois' day at Bush Toimenal?" "Ehhhh," grumbles Joe. "Tawk aboutcha crime wave. T'is guy comes oveh t'wheah I'm sitt'n at lunch an' says, 'outta my way ya dumb bohunk, t'is is my spot.' I ask ya. So it's my fois' day inneah, I do'wanna stawrt no trouble'a nutt'n, so I don' say nut'n. So I stan' up, so he c'n sit down, an' jus' as he's lowehin' t' load, I kin'a kick t' bench back an'nee lan's onna floeh, drops 'is san'wich, an' cawfee, an 'awlat. He comes roarin' up ready t' fight, an' I pernts t't'is posteh onna wawl an' I says -- sorry, brut'eh. We should'n otta fight, it's Bruttehood Week! Pretty good, huh?" "Bruttehood Week was las' week," notes Sally. "Oh. Well, *I* say Bruttehood Week is *ev'ry* week. So t'eah!" "Well," warns Sally, "He might not agree. Tellya whatcha do. Make sueh y'got a t'inga keys in ya han' nex' time ya see him, an' if he takes a swing atcha, jus' happ'n t'f'get t'drop'm." "Uncle Frank teach you t'at?" "Nah, I picked it up at Erasmus. Lotta fresh guys t'eah." "Some education.")

The Navy announced today the destruction under dramatic circumstances of two Axis submarines, but Secretary of War Frank Knox warned that Germany is continuing to build U-boars "much faster than we can sink them." Knox's warning was made at a press conference in Washington shortly after disclosing that a U. S. destroyer had blasted one submarine to the bottom of the Atlantic, and that a merchantman's armed crew had sunk a Japanese submarine in the Pacific. The Secretary also noted that negotiations are underway to bring the demilitarized French fleet now at Alexandria, Egypt into the Allied cause. He noted that "negotiations and discussions" are taking place between British authorities and French Admiral Godfroy, who commands the demilitarized fleet units berthed at Alexandria as neutrals since the fall of France in 1940. A battleship, four cruisers, five destroyers, and at least two submarines make up that fleet.

American fliers striking anew at both ends of the Pacific battle line raided Kiska in the Aleutians and two Japanese bases in the central Solomons, it was announced today by the Navy. The Kiska attack was made yesterday by fighter-escorted medium and heavy bombers, while the raids on Japanese positions at Vila on Komboranga Island and at Munda on New Georgia Island were made on Sunday (Brooklyn time.) All American planes returned safely from all operations.

Archbishop Francis J. Spellman of New York is discussing church matters during private conferences in the Vatican with Pope Pius XII. In a broadcast from Switzerland monitored by the Federal Communications Commission, it was stated that Bishop Spellman has had three audiences with the Pope since his arrival. "Vatican circles have emphasized," it was stated in the broadcast, that the matters under discussion were "exclusively ecclesiastical." The broadcast seemed intended as a response to rumors that the visit to the Vatican by the Archibishop pertained to issues relating to the war.

In Moscow, Premier Joseph Stalin warned today that, despite the loss of 9,000,000 men in their failed invasion of the Soviet Union so far, the Nazis remain a formidable enemy. "It would be stupid," declared the Soviet leader, "to think that the Germans will abandon without fighting even one kilometer of out soil. The Red Army has before it a severe fight against a treacherous, cruel, and still strong enemy. The fight will demand time, sacrifices, and endurances." The Premier's remarks came as part of an Order of the Day marking the 25th anniversary of the Red Army's formation.

("PS -- We don't do business with Hitler any more.")

A Brooklyn bombshell destined for Berlin or Tokio was autographed today by purchasers of War Bonds, as five persons alone purchased $29,000 worth of bonds in just the first five minutes of a rally on the steps of Borough Hall. First to place his name on the 2-ton shell was Brooklyn borough president John Cashmore, who purchased a $1000 bond and stepped up to sign the bomb, adding above his name "Not Kindest Regards." The largest single purchase of the morning was by Milton Damman, president of the American Safety Razor Company, 315 Jay Street, who added above his name the toast "Here's how!" The Kingsway Jewish Community Center added a $5000 purchase. The bomb will be escorted to banks in each of Brooklyn's 40 communities today by radio actor Arthur Boran, who impersonates President Roosevelt on "The March of Time" broadcasts over WEAF. Mr. Boran will act as official auctioneer for bond and stamp sales during the tour. A quota of $14,000,000 in bond sales is set for the campaign, which will continue thru March 15th.

A fake radio broadcast convinced a 42-year-old Manhattan man accused of trafficking in stolen gasoline rationing coupons to confess his crimes this morning at Police Headquarters. Louis Mongno was under questioning by detectives concerning the theft of a vast quantity of gasoline coupons from a Long Island City ration board office, as a radio in the room played soft music in the background, when suddenly a voice interrupted the music to announce that American boys are dying in Tunisia because of a shortage of fuel to operate planes and tanks, a situation, the voice went on accusingly, brought about by the reckless waste by civilians of gasoline. Mongno heard those words and cried out "I didn't realize this! I didn't realize this when I stole the stamps! I'm a traitor!" Mongno then led police to his apartment at 215 W. 18th Street where stamps worth more than 11,000,000 gallons of gasoline were hidden, out of more than 15,000,000 gallons worth stolen in the burglary. Little did Mongno realize that the broadcast that motivated his confession wasn't a broadcast at all -- but rather the voice of a policeman in the next room, Lt. Raymond McGuire of the Safe and Loft Squad, injecting his voice over a microphone wired to the radio set.
The coupon thief and his accomplice, 30 year old Jack Steineck, will be arraigned today in Brooklyn Federal Court.

("Truth or Consequences" -- live on stage?? I guess vaudeville really *is* dead.)

(When you laugh at the joke in spite of the joke.)

A veteran pickpocket who has dipped in cities from coast to coast admitted to being arrested 34 times and convicted 31 of them, when arraigned today in Long Island City Court. Asked by Judge Joseph M. Conroy if he had a trade, 47-year-old William Brown of Jamaica declared that he considers picking pockets less a trade than "an art." "It's a lost art to you," replied Judge Conroy in remanding Brown to Queens city prison for sentencing on March 5th.

(I'd like to see Camilli get it, because he seems like a genuinely nice guy who deserves a chance. But that's probably exactly why he won't.)

(You know, "miracle working" can be a nice racket if you do it right.)

("And to think I used to make fun of Aquaman.")

(And thus began her tragic addiction to paregoric.)

(THAT'S RIGHT TRIX IT PAYS TO BE AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG. BY THE WAY HOW'D THAT STUNT DOG THING WORK OUT? YOU GET THE DYE OFF YOUR FUR YET?)

(YAAAAH! A ZOOT SUITER! CALLED IT!!!!)