QUARANTINE BLOG # 463

July 6, 2021

Let’s start today with an awww, sent to QB from Herrington Manor:

👉  Here is an old time comic strip:

I don’t think Skippy was from Pittsburgh, but he might have been.

Skippy was written and drawn by Percy Crosby and was published from 1923 to 1945.  A highly popular, acclaimed and influential feature about rambunctious fifth-grader Skippy Skinner, his friends and his enemies, it was adapted into movies, a novel and a radio show.  It was the basis for a wide range of merchandising – although perhaps the most well-known product bearing the Skippy name, Skippy peanut butter, used the name without Crosby’s authorization, leading to a protracted trademark conflict.  Comics historian John A. Lent wrote, “The first half-century of the comics spawned many kid strips, but only one, Skippy, could be elevated to the status of classic.  [It] innovated a number of sophisticated and refined touches used later by Charles Schulz and Bill Watterson.

Here is the first Skippy (remember, you can click on the QB images and enlarge them):

And another baseball strip:

Speaking of being an influence on Charles Schulz, does this next one look familiar?

“Always belittlin’” was one of Skippy’s go-to lines.

👉  Knowing my appreciation for them, our correspondent from north of the border sent me some puns.  Enjoy.  Or groan.

• I changed my iPod’s name to Titanic.  It’s syncing now.  

• England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.  

• Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.

• This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I’d swear I’ve never met herbivore. 

• I know a guy who’s addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time. 

👉  The young midshipman needed a date one evening while he was home from the U.S. Naval Academy, so his younger sister paired him with a family friend who already had a crush.  Nearly eight decades later, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are still together in the same tiny town where they were born, grew up and had that first outing.  In between, they’ve traveled the world as Naval officer and military spouse, American president and first lady, and finally as human rights and public health ambassadors.  “It’s a full partnership,” the 39th president told The Associated Press during a joint interview ahead of the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary tomorrow.

👉  In the mid-to-late 1920s Tootsietoys started to introduce some different kinds of vehicles.  In 1926, they issued a race car with a removable driver.  In keeping with the risks of his profession, he was usually promptly lost, and most of these that survive today have a small vacant square hole in the seat in his memory. 

1927 saw a popular pair of releases – two fire engines, a hook and ladder, and an engine with a water tower that could be raised.  They were also sold in a boxed set with one chassis and the two interchangeable bodies.

In 1928, they featured farming equipment, tractors and the various accompaniments.

More Tootsietoys tomorrow.

👉  Some signs for the times before we close:

👉  Today’s close is from Jeanne Doyon.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:4-6).

Abide. This word has been on my heart lately as I study John chapter 15. We don’t use the word abide much anymore – maybe never – because nothing seems to last.

    Marriages fail.

    Riches flee.

    Cars break down.

    Health deteriorates.

    Friends fail.

    Churches split.

    Relationships cool.

    Possessions break.

    Quality erodes.

    Nothing lasts.

But, Jesus says: Abide. Stay. Remain. Trust that I AM your constant. I will never turn my back on you. I AM the one you can trust. When all else is falling apart, I will remain. I will be your rock and shield.

Psalm 91:1 says, “Abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”  To me this means: not running ahead or lagging behind.

    Under His protection

    Surrounded by His presence

    Shielded from my enemies

    Covered with His hand

    Resting in His power and sovereignty

    Sure of His knowledge and leading

    Trusting in His timing and care

So when we face shattered pieces and people around us, know that God is covering you with His shadow. This is news our world needs. It is the hope that anchors us. It is the message He wants you to carry and proclaim.

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