Since I was born in 1958, I suppose I was reading Mad magazine until 1974 or so.
They used to feature wordless cartoon strips by some artists whose style was rather distinctive. One of his comics seems rather important to me, and I would like to find it online.
In the first frame, a boy walks into a fireworks store. He goes past huge rockets. He looks at the pinwheels. He smiles at the huge mortar bombs. He goes to the front desk and gives the man a small coin. Looking down his nose, the shopkeeper gives the child the only thing he can afford, a small firecracker.
The boy, dejected, leaves. He lights his firecracker and tosses into the shop on his way out. In the last frame, we see the lad sitting on the curb enjoying the show he set off.
Thank you all so very much. Obviously my Google-foo is quite weak. The quick answer is the sort of thing that reflects the best traditions of this board.
It might be browser related. For me the link leads directly to one specific image from the search, with an “x” in the upper left that closes the specific result and goes back to other search results.
Can I tag on with another old Mad comic strip that I would like to see again? It’s another wordless strip with a series of vignettes showing the evolution of a pie store (and the evils of commercialization, I suppose). The last time I saw it would have been around 1981.
The first panel shows a grandmotherly-type woman selling pies from her kitchen with a sign saying “Mom’s Pies” or something similar. Then proceeds to succeeding panels with her in a small store selling pies (and natural ingredients all around, like sugar and apples), then a larger store, and so on and on, until the last panel shows a huge factory with the name “MOMCO” with all kinds of rail cars entering the factory with artificial ingredients for the factory pies. In each panel, the same woman is happily directing the action, even in the big factory. Also in the last panel is another woman selling pies out of her kitchen and doing a brisk business with a sign out front saying “Auntie’s Pies” or something similar.
Unless someone else has already coined it, I’m naming this phenomenon Commasense’s Rule:
“If, after an extensive but unsuccessful Web search for a certain piece of information, you post an online request for help, a stranger will find exactly what you were looking for in less than five minutes.”
I’m looking forward to joining the exalted pantheon of Occam, Murphy, (Hi, Opal), Peter, Parkinson, Godwin, and our own Gaudere.
I once ran across a notation on my calendear for “MSH”. I had no idea what I had meant by that, and I scratched my head about it for a good long while.
Trying to be funny, I posted on the Dope and asked if anyone knew what I’d meant by MSH. It didn’t take long before someone said, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”?
And danged if that wasn’t it. I was reminding myself to practice that tune on the piano.
I know my username gave a little clue, but I still think it was remarkable.
Dean: I’ve had some dramatic experiences for sure. Some of them were in childhood. One of them, the most dramatic, the most fun one to talk about, I actually gotta plug another one of my books. This book’s actually out of print, but you can find copies online, “Why the Chicken Crossed the Road” and other hidden enlightenment teachings.
Rick: You finally answered that question, huh?
Dean: Yeah. And this is chapter one of the book, which is “What Me Worry.”
Rick: Alfred E. Newman.
Dean: That’s right, so here we go, true story. I’m 12 years old and my mom sends me out to the garage because we’re going to be going to a drive-in movie later that day, which dates me, and I go out to the garage, to the Nash Rambler station wagon.
