The Family Circus and the Olympics

My maternal grandmother introduced me to "The Family Circus" during the late 1970s.

Tacked to a metal kitchen cabinet, wedged between family photos, magazine-clipped recipes and other ephemera attached to the door with magnets, was a Bil Keane cartoon showing a little girl standing on a tennis court, holding up a can of Pringles potato chips mistaken for a can of new tennis balls. The brother-sister pair in the illustration resembled my sister and I.

Though I don't recall the caption on that cartoon, I do recall several of the clipped Olympic-themed editions of "The Family Circus" cut from the funny pages and mailed with letters to college or my new home in Atlanta (some turned up online tonight, now included with this post). It was always fun to read these enclosures and other Keane creations over the years.

Sorry to read this family-friendly cartoonist's obituary this evening, and of the death of Olympic champion Joe Frazier earlier this week.

Cartoons located across the Web are copyright Bil Keane Inc. and distributed by King Features Syndicate or www.familycircus.com

More from New York

A couple of weeks back, I started a post about a weekend in New York. Unfortunately, it was only today that the post was completed and made public. So please scroll down to the Feb. 3 entry for some good stuff.

Also, enjoy these recent Olympic headlines:

The Chicago Tribune's Philip Hersh reports on the Chicago 2016 Bid Book sendoff, with photos.

Chicago's NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV reports on the same.

A lesson in Olympic fonts is also online from Jonathon Berlin of the Chicago Tribune.

The Associated Press reports that Michael Phelps' wrists might be stinging from today's slap courtesy of South Carolina 5-0.

Guess I won't be able to enter Olympic boxing in the future, thanks to this headline.

Today's U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) news.

The West Island Chronicle (Montreal, Canada) reports on Bombardier's part in the 2010 Olympic Torch design for Vancouver's Olympic Torch Relay.

KENS-TV of San Antonio, Texas, reports that Josh Davis' "lost" Olympic medals were located and returned (will someone give that good samaritan a medal?!).

It's Never 'Just A Game'

On the heels of the Lily Tomlin encounter last Friday (it was so cool to meet the Mark Twain Prize winner), today her name popped up in headlines as the 2008 recipient of the same honor, George Carlin, was celebrated posthumously in Washington this evening.

The are dozens of Carlin quotes I've memorized over the years, notable his monologue about the famous "Baby On Board" yellow car window signs of the late 1980s:

"... instead of 'Baby On Board,' how about an honest sign, like, 'Assh*le at the wheel!'? They could give those out free to people who drive Volvos and Saabs."

According to Wikiquotes, it turns out Carlin took on the legitimacy of a few Olympic sports, too. Given today's unfortunate incident involving a downtown Atlanta MARTA police team, Carlin's comments on boxing seem timely:

"Boxing is not a sport. Boxing is a way to beat the sh*t out of somebody. In that respect, boxing is a more sophisticated form of hockey. But beating the sh*t out of somebody isn't a sport, in spite of what the police think. When police brutality becomes an Olympic event, fine, then boxing can become a sport."

On sports, I think he punctuated his thoughts on competition with the notion that, "It's never 'just a game' when you're winning."

Just a few months ago, when George Carlin played a packed house at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, he did not really touch on sports and 'stuff' (unfortunately, his final 20 minute rant was a bit much).

But it was good to see him live, and it will be fun to search for recordings or video of more of his material, like this one my boomer blogger friend and colleague, Marilynn, might enjoy (all in good fun, though in this case, not clean).

Anything Is Possible

While researching Alabama media websites for work, a recent report popped up regarding the USA's lone boxing medalist (a bronze, as reported here) from the Beijing Olympic Games. Looks like Deontay Wilder shared a story of inspiration for a school group in his hometown of Talladega, Ala. Good stuff!