The Era -- Day By Day

[Harp]

The Era's legal/marital/extramarital prose, photos, and comics stuff never cease to amaze.
Sex quite the craze and all the stuff that gets inside the print sheets.

 

[Fading Fast]

... (And speaking of fish...)...

The Fulton Street Fish market "moved" (really more closed) in 2005, but up until then and in the '80s when I first came to New York, nothing looked more Golden Era unchanged than the Fulton Street Fish Market (it used to often be said with the "Street" in its name). It was, for obvious reasons, on a pier and in an old wharf warehouse building that also spilled into some other contiguous ramshackled structures.

The fish for sale would be in huge wooden bin-like tables filled with ice. It looked like a scene out of the '40s. In the early, early morning, the hustle and bustle was NYC crazy, but by the late afternoon, the place looked like an all but deserted battle field. Also, in the '80s, a few adjacent buildings were converted into modern stores (think mall but in cool old buildings). So you'd have the juxtaposition of New Yorkers shopping at the Gap or Pottery Barn, while just around the corner the crazy, cool, atavistic fish market would be doing its thing.

...They call Luke Hamlin "Hot Potato" due to his unsettling habit of dishing up home runs, and he was up to his old tricks in Miami yesterday, dishing one up to Johnny McCarthy of the Giants during a six-run sixth inning that cost the Dodgers the game -- and Hamlin's diminishing performance over his last couple of outings is leading Leo Durocher to reconsider Luke's place as the fifth man in his 1941 starting rotation. Wyatt, Higbe, Casey, and Davis are cinches -- and it had been hoped that Hamlin would rebound to his 1939 performance to take the fifth slot, but if he keeps going like he is going, he seems bound straight for Leo's doghouse. Trouble is, with Tex Carleton showing his age, Freddie Fitzsimmons now relegated to bullpen duty, and Van Mungo eliminated from the picture by an angry dancing matador, and nobody else seeming to be up to the task, Leo may be forced to go with Hamlin by default....

Freddie doesn't have to be relegated to bullpen duty.

"Van Mungo eliminated from the picture by an angry dancing matador..." (Page Four, oh Page Four, who got to you?)

...[ (Y'know, Doc, Warbucks would pay a bundle for this technology. I'm just sayin'.)...

That's pretty much as close to a stock '40s burglar as you can get.

... (In for a penny, in for a pound.)...

Really good illustrations. The facial features and hairlines, Ted's in particular, are very well done. Even his open collar and hanging tie are very realistic.

...[
Having been stuck yesterday with a medical bill for more than $5000 that I have little hope of paying anytime soon, I cannot in any way sympathize with anyone who can afford 50 visits to a doctor, even if it is in 1941....

I commiserate as I, too, have some bad medical bill stories (like many of us). I'm sure you know this, but most big bills in medicine are negotiable, I got (from memory) mine, which was similar to yours, down by almost 30%.

Growing up in NJ, you knew somebody truly came from Perth Amboy if they told you they came from "Poith Amboy."

...
Oooh, I hope this the first in a series of ads inspired by current Broadway hits, and in the next one we see Sheridan Whiteside bellowing from his wheelchair that "the only thing colder than this dismal midwestern hovel was last night's wretched excuse for a pot roast!"...

That's perfect, Lizzie, well done. I can see Bette Davis wearily frowning off to the side of him.

... So that's the answer to that old riddle, "how can my brother be my Father?"

Really Lizzie, you couldn't resist could you?

Lana seems to have gotten over her demure-dressing phase.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I once went to a traditional rollicking Jewish wedding in "Poith Amboy." Had the time of my life, which I seldom do at weddings.

I'm going to talk to the billing office at the hospital on Monday. Given that this is a hospital I two weeks ago had to threaten to sue over a spectacular screw-up on my patient records, I am not entirely confident that this will go well, but here's hoping. Paying for a breast biopsy shouldn't be like buying a used car.

It annoys me that we have yet to see an actual photo of Senor Gonzalo --surely someone by now should have latched on to one of his discarded lobby photos or something. This whole story reeks of somebody at the News wanting to protect Mr. Mungo, because not even Jimmy Powers, the sports editor, who normally will devote an entire column to any Dodger with indigestion, has said not a single word about it. It's really strange.

 

[Harp]

I'm going to talk to the billing office at the hospital on Monday. Given that this is a hospital I two weeks ago had to threaten to sue over a spectacular screw-up on my patient records, I am not entirely confident that this will go well, but here's hoping. Paying for a breast biopsy shouldn't be like buying a used car.

Ask the hospital administrative desk to print your physician progress notes; lab/test orders/results;
insurance profile; billing; telephonic notes; official hospital/physician correspondence as a verbal request,
Freedom of Information Act allowance. If the clerk is a notary public, stamp documents with date seal.
Hospital medical care cost recovery office correspondence, notes included with request.

Then, armed with these, visit the billing office.

 

[Harp]

PS If the hospital questions FOIA request; answer that any federal contractual history,
federal covid issues, or federal grants received qualifies said.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Didn't I say, "Episcopalian?" Paul definitely looks like a high church vicar, and that collar seems more Anglican than Roman. I could be wrong--- and they rarely throw you specifics on denominations in a comic strip.

 

[Harp]

Episcopalian collar, Roman collar.
My ecumenical hormones fix Lana as an exceptional and extraordinarily lovely lady.

 

[LizzieMaine]

3500 striking Manhattan and Queens bus drivers will return to work tomorrow, with Transport Workers Union members voting today to ratify a settlement of their 11-day-old strike. The compromise agreement between the union, the Fifth Avenue Coach Company and the New York Omnibus Corporation calls for a total of $1,000,000 in pay raises for drivers -- $250,000 to go to Fifth Avenue Coach drivers and the remaining $750,000 to New York Omnibus drivers -- and withdraws demands by the two companies for pay cuts and reductions in vacation time, sick pay, and holiday time. The specifics as to how the pay increases will be distributed will be taken out of the companies' control and will be determined instead by formal arbitration. All employees who struck at the expiration of the previous contract will be guaranteed to retain their jobs under the new one. Under the new agreement, buses idled since the walkout began on March 10th will return to their routes tomorrow at 5 AM.

Forty-six teachers at City College face dismissal on political grounds, it was learned today, as the Board of Education begins to sift testimony taken by the Rapp-Coudert Committee. One teacher has already been dismissed, with the name of Dr. Lewis Balamuth, a physics instructor, being stricken from the list of appointments to the evening session staff for the current semester. Dr. Balamuth was accused of being a Communist during open testimony before the Committee. Nineteen of the forty-six teachers named as Communists by CCNY teacher William Canning are at present teaching evening session classes. Evening teachers are not eligible for tenure, and are hired only on a semester-to-semester basis. Meanwhile, the Rapp-Coudert Committee announced today that teachers who had demanded the right to answer charges of Communism made against them will be permitted to testify beginning at 9:30 AM tomorrow at the Supreme Court Building in Manhattan.

A plan that would provide the State Government new revenue totalling $10,000,000 while at the same time striking a blow against illegal bookmaking was offered to the legislature today by Brooklyn Democrat James J. Crawford. The bill would pave the way for the establishment of a statewide away-from-the-tracks betting system involving licensed agencies which would handle and transmit bets on races at the various New York tracks, where the wagers would be processed according to the parimutuel wagering system established in 1940. Under the terms of the bill, twenty-three of these betting agencies would be allowed in Brooklyn. Sen. Crawford predicts that such a system would drive the illegal bookmakers out of business and bring a huge increase to the daily parimutuel wagering pool.

Twenty-two survivors of a torpedoed Standard Oil Company tanker sunk last December 21st off the coast of West Africa arrived in Bayonne, New Jersey today to declare that their ship, loaded with 30,000 gallons of oil bound for Freetown, Africa was sunk without warning. The vessel was flying the Panamanian flag, and carried Panamanian markings clearly painted on both sides of its hull, and visibilty was clear at the time of the submarine attack which sent two torpeodes crashing into the vessel. Two crew members were killed in the attack. The twenty-two men who landed in Bayonne spent seven days in open lifeboats before making their way to the African coast and then to Freetown, where they were picked up by another Standard tanker for the trip home. Eleven other survivors were picked up at sea by a passing Portuguese freighter and are expected back in the United States from Lisbon within a few days. The nationality of the attacking submarine has not been determined.

The 28-year-old Jehovah's Witness who has refused to cooperate with military authorities at Camp Upton following his forcible induction into the Army has been moved to the base hospital after answering questions with what those authorities considered to be "gibberish." Army medical officers confined Frank Moncada of Brooklyn for observation, having deemed him to be "incoherent" during his questioning.

In Germany, one member of the "International Society of Earnest Bible Scholars" has been sentenced to death and five others sentenced to concentration-camp imprisonment for refusal to accept any form of military service, including air raid defense service. The sentences, reported by the official German news agency, were handed down yesterday in a Dresden court.

(The "International Society of Earnest Bible Scholars" was the German term for Jehovah's Witnesses.)

Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh today warned Americans that if the United States enters the war, it will suffer "defeat and humiliation." In a signed article in the current issue of Collier's magazine, Lindbergh urged readers to demand an explanation for how America intends to "impose its ideology on the peoples of Germany, Russia, Italy, and Japan," and argued that "the future of Western Civilization and our way of life" depends upon the answer. In an editorial note, the editors of Collier's stressed that they do not agree with Colonel Lindbergh's views, but that they took pleasure in presenting "his powerful statement of the isolationists' position."

("Hah," hahs Joe. "What makes 'em 'wonda?'" "Ya pay a buck anna half," replies Sally, "annen ya wonda." Joe puts down the paper and looks across the table. "Hey," he inquires. "Sumpin' t'matta? Ya look green." "Urrrrrp," urrrps Sally. "Eit'a t'is brisket ain' sittin', or..." And she never completes the sentence as she cops a hand over her mouth and runs for the bathroom. Joe takes a deep breath and sighs.)

The Eagle Editorialist reflects on the fate of Fritz Thyssen, powerful German industrialist who embraced Hitler, helped fund him, helped sell him to the German people -- and now finds himself sentenced to rot in Dachau. "He split with the Nazis over the question of war, he said. He had never approved of Nazi excesses, etc. What do you think? Hitler was preaching death when he was a greasy-collared tramp, when Thyssen gave him the nod, told him he was just the man he was looking for." But mostly Thyssen seems upset that the Nazis took his money from him. And now he waits in Dachau, where the Gestapo sent him to play with him. "God pity Fritz Thyssen!"

("It's bad enough he sent them his toupee instead of a check!")

Everyone's talking about Kirby Higbe as the big man of the Dodger pitching staff in 1941, but Whit Wyatt's having the better spring so far, and he proved it yesterday by combining with Fred Fitzsimmons to one-hit the World Champion Detroit Tigers -- and the one run the Bengals managed to scratch out was unearned, the result of an erratic throw by Pee Wee Reese. Wyatt tossed six innings and barely broke a sweat, as the lean bald-headed Georgian toyed with the powerful Detroit lineup and demonstrated that the knee injury that brought an early end to his season in 1939 and slowed him down last year is now completely healed and forgotten. Fitzsimmons came on in the seventh to finish the game, and the Tigers could do nothing whatsoever with his ever-baffling knuckleball -- managing only two walks and no hits. It was Fat Freddie's first outing of the spring, with his training-camp debut having been delayed by a sprained ankle, but he appears fully recovered and ready to recapture the form that led him to a stunning 16-2 record last summer. Fitz will be forty years old in July, but he's got the zip of a man half his age.

As for the Tigers, Hank Greenberg's ever-changing draft status remains their biggest concern, but their worries about Old Folks Charlie Gehringer appear unfounded. The elderly second baseman looked fine yesterday, with his back troubles apparently cleared up, and he seems to be moving around better than he has in years.

Van Mungo's situation took another twist today, with the enraged Cuban dancer-matador known as Gonzalo being held by immigration authorites in Miami for trying to enter the United States without appropriate papers. Mungo is supposed to be at the Montreal Royals camp in Macon, Georgia, but his whereabouts are still unclear. Gonzalo is suing the erratic hurler for $150,000 for breaking up his marriage and his nightclub act as a result of certain activities involving Mungo in Havana earlier this month. If Gonzalo is coming for him in person, it may be to Van's advantage to continue lying low.

The Rangers lost 2 to 1 to the Detroit Red Wings to open the 1941 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the 1940 Cup champions skated their way to defeat like a bunch of old men -- lacking the gusto and gallop that carried them to the championship last year. The series resumes at the Garden on March 23rd.

("Annette WHO?" bellows Ann Sheridan. "Get me my lawyers!")

(I always wondered as a kid why burglars wore those bee-stripe sweaters, but I guess it must be to save time and trouble when they get to jail.)

(You seem to be doing a pretty good job of levitating yourself and the couch, too. Maybe you better read the instructions first.)

("Oh, if you must! But first let me get the baby out of the trunk.")

(You're in for it now, Dan. You've disturbed the Skull's rhumba lesson!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

All over the city, parents are wondering if they should hide this page from their kids or try to explain it to them.

"Brand New 1938 Model?" Well, at least that's more honest than usual. And in case you were wondering about the make, "Delco motor" = Frigidaire.

So there.

"The Wagner Act? Never heard of it."

Leave. Now.

All aboard the Minstrel Limited. Pullman waiters didn't wear white gloves, but end men did.

Funny thing is, when Skeezix actually *is* twenty years older, he will look pretty much the same as he does now. Except maybe 20 pounds heavier, and that's from all the take-out hamburgers he eats.

You idiot.

OK Harold -- time for Confession.

What could possibly go wrong?

Annnnnnnnnd, we note that after a week's time, Jimmy Powers finally has something to say about the Mungo affair in his column: "Mungo to Montreal? Van should be right at home with a Canadian Club."

Ooooweeeeee.

 

[Harp]

Vivian Vance. I Love Vivian.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A plan that would provide the State Government new revenue totalling $10,000,000 while at the same time striking a blow against illegal bookmaking was offered to the legislature today by Brooklyn Democrat James J. Crawford. The bill would pave the way for the establishment of a statewide away-from-the-tracks betting system involving licensed agencies which would handle and transmit bets on races at the various New York tracks, where the wagers would be processed according to the parimutuel wagering system established in 1940. Under the terms of the bill, twenty-three of these betting agencies would be allowed in Brooklyn. Sen. Crawford predicts that such a system would drive the illegal bookmakers out of business and bring a huge increase to the daily parimutuel wagering pool....

And seventy years later, what became Off-Track-Betting (OTB) filed for bankruptcy because the corruption and patronage in the government-run agency made - get ready for this - the city unable to profitably run a monopolistic book where it was guaranteed - guaranteed! - a sizable cut of every dollar that came in.

The government couldn't run what should have been, effectively, a money-making machine. In my fantasy life, I want to own a private version of OTB that has all the advantages of the government one that failed.

...Everyone's talking about Kirby Higbe as the big man of the Dodger pitching staff in 1941, but Whit Wyatt's having the better spring so far, and he proved it yesterday by combining with Fred Fitzsimmons to one-hit the World Champion Detroit Tigers -- and the one run the Bengals managed to scratch out was unearned, the result of an erratic throw by Pee Wee Reese. Wyatt tossed six innings and barely broke a sweat, as the lean bald-headed Georgian toyed with the powerful Detroit lineup and demonstrated that the knee injury that brought an early end to his season in 1939 and slowed him down last year is now completely healed and forgotten. Fitzsimmons came on in the seventh to finish the game, and the Tigers could do nothing whatsoever with his ever-baffling knuckleball -- managing only two walks and no hits. It was Fat Freddie's first outing of the spring, with his training-camp debut having been delayed by a sprained ankle, but he appears fully recovered and ready to recapture the form that led him to a stunning 16-2 record last summer. Fitz will be forty years old in July, but he's got the zip of a man half his age....

Mrs. Fitzsimmons upon reading the description of her husband in the Eagle as she thinks to herself, "not another year of this 'fat' stuff."

...Van Mungo's situation took another twist today, with the enraged Cuban dancer-matador known as Gonzalo being held by immigration authorites in Miami for trying to enter the United States without appropriate papers. Mungo is supposed to be at the Montreal Royals camp in Macon, Georgia, but his whereabouts are still unclear. Gonzalo is suing the erratic hurler for $150,000 for breaking up his marriage and his nightclub act as a result of certain activities involving Mungo in Havana earlier this month. If Gonzalo is coming for him in person, it may be to Van's advantage to continue lying low....

This story truly is the gift that won't stop giving. Lizzie, you are so right, where are our pics of the angry "dancer-matador and his wife and his dance partner?"

[...
("Annette WHO?" bellows Ann Sheridan. "Get me my lawyers!")...

"First my $2000/week salary request results in my $1000/week salary being cut to $600/week and now this. I hate my life." - Ann Sheridan

...
All over the city, parents are wondering if they should hide this page from their kids or try to explain it to them.....

And yes, the actor Efren Zimbalist Jr. of 1960's "The F.B.I." TV-show (and various movies and other TV shows) is the son of the violinist.

... [ "Brand New 1938 Model?" Well, at least that's more honest than usual. And in case you were wondering about the make, "Delco motor" = Frigidaire....

Wow, thirty stores. I don't know why, but I had just pictured Devaga as a small, local chain of three or four (somewhat shady) stores.

... Funny thing is, when Skeezix actually *is* twenty years older, he will look pretty much the same as he does now. Except maybe 20 pounds heavier, and that's from all the take-out hamburgers he eats....

I'm just gonna say it, "what in God's name is she wearing on her head?"

... OK Harold -- time for Confession.....

Lana really did get it backwards: dress to attract before you're engaged and then rein it in, not the other way around.

...Annnnnnnnnd, we note that after a week's time, Jimmy Powers finally has something to say about the Mungo affair in his column: "Mungo to Montreal? Van should be right at home with a Canadian Club."

Ooooweeeeee.

A bit Henny Youngman, but that's a good one.

Vivian Vance. I Love Vivian.

You can see the "I Love Lucy" era Vivian's face in the younger one, especially the eyes.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When Ethel Mertz used to talk about her "old vaudeville act," I had no idea what it actually was.

Nina's wearing one of the pseudo-military-style berets that are unfortunately popular during this spring of 1941. Get used to it, because there's four more years of it to come.

"Lean bald-headed" Whit Wyatt just laughs and laughs. Poor Freddie.

Our Lounge Leather Jacket Boys will be so jealous of that bus driver.

 

[Harp]

And seventy years later, what became Off-Track-Betting (OTB) filed for bankruptcy because the corruption and patronage in the government-run agency made - get ready for this - the city unable to profitably run a monopolistic book where it was guaranteed - guaranteed! - a sizable cut of every dollar that came in.

The government couldn't run what should have been, effectively, a money-making machine. In my fantasy life, I want to own a private version of OTB that has all the advantages of the government one that failed. .

I spent Friday handicapping when I should have been attending to files piled atop my desk,
went home and watched basketball all night, and yesterday all the coffee brewed failed to stir me awake.
So I scratched the Louisiana Derby and its undercard. Rich stakes, handsome profits lured but last nite
a quick fix look showed the handle take rather low. The Vid is having some effect at the OTBs.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A Nazi battleship squadron has sunk 22 merchant vessels totaling 116,000 tons in the North Atlantic, according to a statement today by the German High Command. 800 survivors were reported rescued from the destroyed ships, and are said to have been taken aboard the battleships.

Buses rolled again this morning in Manhattan and Queens after a 12-day strike that tied up transportation for nearly 900,000 riders. The first buses rolled out at 5 AM, and by mid-morning the streets were again crowded with bus traffic. Meanwhile, Transport Workers Union president Michael Quill hinted at the possibility of a future strike that could shut down the city's subway system, stating "we'll take another trip to City Hall on June 30th. Strike is the only thing they understand at City Hall, from the Mayor down to the cat."

(Read that last sentence in Mr. Quill's lilting Irish brogue for maximum effect.)

Congestion issues at the Raymond Street Jail may have prompted Kings County Judge Samuel J. Leibowitz to order a Grand Jury investigation of why the city does not supply Brooklyn with a probation force large enough to keep prisoners moving thru the jail at a brisk pace. While Judge Leibowitz refused today to confirm or deny that he has ordered the investigation, he was outspoken in acknowledging to the Eagle that he believes that a larger probation staff is needed for the borough so long as its prisoners are confined to that "often-condemned pesthole." Stated Judge Leibowitz, "probably a larger number of desperate men are confined in that jail now than at any time in history." The law requires that before a judge may pass sentence on a convicted prisoner, he must first be presented with a report on that prisoner's background prepared by a probation officer, and Judge Leibowitz argues that the shortage of probation officers means those documents cannot be quickly processed -- forcing a backup in the flow of convicted men from Raymond Street to Sing Sing Prison. "If there should be an outbreak with killings," declares Judge Leibowitz, "the citizens of Brooklyn will have only themselves to blame. They should have demanded a safer jail or more probation officers long ago."

("Edited wardrobe?" I imagine if anyone could edit a wardrobe, Mrs. Luce could edit a wardrobe.)

Fellow passengers aboard a 4th Avenue subway train yesterday paid little notice to a man who seemed to be sleeping his way thru the ride, but when the car reached the end of the line it was discovered that the man was dead. When the train stopped at the 95th Street terminus, dispatcher Walter Collins was unable to rouse the passenger, and a doctor summoned from Israel Zion Hospital declared him dead of a likely heart attack. Papers found on the body bore the name of 55-year-old Russell Titus of 438 E. 25th Street in Manhattan.

A Sunset Park man was arrested yesterday by Federal authorities and is being held on $500 bail on charges that he failed to respond to eight written notices to report for examination sent to him by his local draft board since last November. 25-year-old John Joseph Desarlo of 164 34th Street is being held at the Federal Detention Prison in Manhattan, where he told authorities that he had "personal reasons" for declining to respond to the notices from Selective Service Local Board No. 252, the first of which was mailed to him on November 22nd. Desarlo is unmarried and unemployed, and declined to elaborate on what his "personal reasons" might involve.

When Coney Island's famed Luna Park reopens for the season on Easter Sunday, it'll look a lot like a certain recent event in Flushing. Scores of attractions and exhibits from the defunct World's Fair will relocate to Luna Park for the summer, and have been moved from the Flushing grounds and reconstructed at the Coney Island amusement park in as close an arrangement as possible to their original layout at the World of Tomorrow. There will, however, be no Trylon or Perisphere.

Ever notice when you listen to the "We The People" program over CBS that a disproportionate number of the People featured come from Brooklyn? That's intentional, according to program host Gabriel Heatter. Himself a former resident of the borough, Heatter says Brooklyn with its widely diversified population is "a miniature cross-section of the entire country."

(You know, this just might work.)

(Unfortunately, Mr. Columbus will be sent home when it turns out that the Army can't find a helmet to fit him.)

Joe Louis might have expected Abe Simon to be just another bum-of-the-month, but Abe himself had other ideas, and managed to last into the 13th Round before the Brown Bomber put him away last night in Detroit. Simon, the pride of Richmond Hill, and a "shaggy 255-pound man-mountain" was badgered by Louis like a collie dog might badger an elephant before the referee finally stopped the fight. The Champ himself was impressed by Simon's stamina, declaring that "he's as tough to wear down as anybody I ever fought. Yes, better than Carnera." Simon's performance in the bout has already earned him a rematch, and he will again challenge Louis for the title at Madison Square Garden on May 16th.

Kirby Higbe took a sound pasting from the Yankees yesterday down in Clearwater, with Red Rolfe slamming the second pitch of the game over the fence and off toward Tampa Bay. It went like that for the rest of the afternoon, with Tommy Henrich racking up a couple of circuit clouts for himself , and Joe Gordon and King Kong Keller getting in on the fun as well on the way to a 7-0 Yankee win. Hig left the game after six innings, and didn't want to talk about it afterward. The loss was Brooklyn's fifth straight since leaving Havana, and the general feeling among the Flock is that they "shoulda stood in Cuba."

(There were Americans fighting the hard fight against social and cultural racism in 1941, but most of them were written off as Reds and Commies by people who thought "Simon Legree On Ice" was acceptable family entertainment. Rapp-Coudert Committee please copy.)

(I've always seen Sparks as a rather snappy dresser in the collegiate manner, which makes it all the more surprising that he and Willie Mullins use the same tailor.)

(George wisely never showed her how to turn off the safety.)

(REALLY MARY? REALLY? Before you grow bangs and start smoking cigarettes, Sue, you need to get a second opinion. I suggest you ignore this meddling old biddy and write to Helen Worth.)

(The way the Skull's perfect and gleaming white teeth shine out of the shadows is a nice artistic touch.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News,

This may be the most unsettling Page Four ever.

You can't please anyone.

You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen a bald-headed magician. THERE MUST BE SOMETHING TO IT!

It's not that Kiel is so great at chess, it's that Terry is so bad at checkers.

"That's lovely, Bert. He's such a fine man, a fine man indeed. Although I do wish he wouldn't keep wiping his fingers on the tablecloth."

Yeah, Granny, when your crooked butler bails on you, it's a good sign the game is up.

It might seem like today's strip is just another bit of character-building office color, but it could also be seen as a deep allegory on the current political scene: Chigs and Wilmer are Germany and Russia, and Snipe and Skeez are Britain and the US hoping they'll get into a war and end up destroying each other so they themselves can have a free hand to run the office. Mr. King should win a Pulitzer for this one.

Other than having a healthy appetite, what exactly has Mother-in-Law done to earn Andy's ire? A man who walks the streets with an ashtray on his head instead of a hat has no business riding the high horse.

You know, as long as Lillums is hanging around drinking sodas, you'd think Pop would at least try to give her a hint that something's up -- but maybe he doesn't want to risk Harold getting killed. After all, that would be bad for business...

I seem to remember, Emmy, that you had your eye on Moon for a while before landing Plushie. He'd have probably run off with your money even sooner, but he'd also have been better protection against burglars.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
("Edited wardrobe?" I imagine if anyone could edit a wardrobe, Mrs. Luce could edit a wardrobe.)...

I'm a big fan of Rosalind Russell, but never thought of her as one of the more fashiony Hollywood stars, but there you go.

....
(REALLY MARY? REALLY? Before you grow bangs and start smoking cigarettes, Sue, you need to get a second opinion. I suggest you ignore this meddling old biddy and write to Helen Worth.)...

"...and you whine too much!" LOL, Mary was on a roll.

...
You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen a bald-headed magician. THERE MUST BE SOMETHING TO IT!...

This guy could make a good living just treating the men from Lichty's world.

...
It's not that Kiel is so great at chess, it's that Terry is so bad at checkers.....

Perfect "sorry dude, I tried, but it is what it is" moment.

 

[Harp]

The Prussian suffers amnesia from that bonk to his skull.

 

[Haversack]

("Edited wardrobe?" I imagine if anyone could edit a wardrobe, Mrs. Luce could edit a wardrobe.)

I don't know, but I think Gypsy Rose Lee could have given her some competition

 

[ChiTownScion]

I used to say that the only way THAT tune would be performed at my wedding would be if we could afford to hire the full orchestra and chorus to sing it in German the way that the good Lord- and Wagner- intended. So of course, 'twas not to be.

Just as well: things don't play out so Happily Ever After for the bride and groom in Lohengrin.

 

[Harp]

Puccini floats like a butterfly around the majesty of eros and betrayal, whispers portending doom.
Wagner to my lights is a more direct thunderous rapture. Lyric Chicago calls to my heart.