"Thanks a Bunch!" I Gratefully Replied as a 100-Watt Light Bulb Appeared Over My Head

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." --J. Wellington Wimpy

IT WASN'T UNTIL much later in my weird, little life that I would realise Wimpy was called "wimpy" for a reason, and that this man, who I thought had something important to say, because, to a very young me, it sounded important--PLUS, why would he repeat the McSandwichy line as often as he did, if it wasn't?--wasn't saying anything heed-worthy important at all. In fact, he was actually encouraging bad habits: red-meat eating AND procrastination! ("I've been a fool," dejected a then minaturized-because-of-her-age SparkleFarkle, whose daubers were suddenly headed South. Thank-you very little, WIMPY.)

YEP, AS A SMITCH, I was quite the Popeye aficionado. But it wasn't so much about me being keen on The Sailor Man per sePeepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye or Poopeye? Your guess is as good as mine. I think the labels were interchangeable, as it was all done with mirrors. And, seriously, was this kid(s) afflicted with maritime Progeria?!)

(or his look-alike nephews Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye and Poopeye, because what in the heck was up with that?! Nautical mutant children are never appealing, not even to other children. Especially "one in particular," who was afraid of everything --including

(Aflac! DUCK! Here come those four godforsaken names again!-->) Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye and Poopeye's strangely-odd faced uncle's inked-anchor clad, strong-guy forearms.

TO ME, the Hindenburgesque upper boughs belonging to Popeye looked like they were capable of doing a whole lot of damage. I mean, who knows where Swee'Pea actually ended up when the a.a.p. cartoon editor cut to another scene after "Dad" Popeye gave the swing one last punch "push." Yes, I shudder even now.). Rather, I was glued to the show because

I liked Olive Oyl (I thought she and her clothes--even the early-day blanched Doc Martens she wore--were to die for!); Swee'Pea, Popeye's foundling-baby-in-the-mail, whom he adopted, yet, somehow, he belonged to Miss Oyl; Brutus (I didn't think he was that bad. He was just ultra-moody, is all. Yeah, it was because Popeye, who always got on my last nerve, was doing likewise to Brutus, and Brutus was just acting out. He seemed to ignite plenty of

--Brutus and Popeye having at it, above. (Popeye's the one who is careful NOT to drop the corn cob "smoke." Brutus is in there somewhere, NOT smoking. <--Admirable with a capital "A"! Uh-huh, even back then, nicotine-types repelled me. Hear that, Mom? Yeah, well, we're lucky we don't all have asthma, AREN'T WE?!)--

fierce tangling,

and broke a lot of chairs and stuff (Rumor has it, he was also the one behind the endless array of villain plots, asking the Popeye writing staff to "Keep 'em coming," so as to facilitate his cathartic Spinach-Eater Attacks.), because Popeye was annoying and Brutus was obligated by contract to be around him so much. "There's no escaping a cartoon," I back-then thought to myself, glowingly because I was usually only inches away from the television screen, where I soaked up invisible Glow Rays like I was a sponge. (BACK TO BRUTUS: But, Cripes. Can you honestly blame the guy? He had to do something. It's called survival, man.); and, of course, Wimpy --but especially

Eugene the Jeep,

because who doesn't want a yellow, vaguely dog-like animal from Africa with magical powers, whom if asked a question regarding the past, present or future, he'll answer truthfully by signals (<--It has been said that a Jeep has a "fourth-dimensional brain"! )?!?!

Helen Shaw played Parenthood's "Grandma,"
whom my market place mentor looked an awful lot like.

ANYWAY, WHAT I really mean yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen I'm trying to get at, is to tell you some really solid advice I took away from one of my semi-weekly visits to the local grocery store's produce department last week. It happened while I was looking for some just-right fruit, so I could make a favourite yummy bread recipe of mine when I got home:

"THERE ISN'T a lot of time between green bananas and speckled bananas," said a simply-splendid-to-behold elderly lady, eye-balling me through the two wise and trusty ones she was wearing.

Another SparkleFarkle 2012-y
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

FOUR WORDS:

Olive Oyl shoes courtesy of Kobi Levi Footwear Art
Live it up!
NOW.

On with the show-ly yours,
SparkleFarkle~~~~~*

P.S. Room for one more? Great!
I can't resist sharing the best dialog ever
from one of my favourite movies,
Parenthood:

What? Too lazy busy to read?
Lol, you slay me!
Not to worry, I've got it covered:

[Gil has been complaining about his complicated life; Grandma wanders into the room]
GRANDMA: You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.
GIL: Oh?
GRANDMA: Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!
GIL: What a great story.
GRANDMA: I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

Yet another SparkleFarkle 2012-y
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION:

Really listen to old people.

Rest in peace, my Mollo and ZuZu,
and Miss Helen Shaw (July 7, 1897 - September 8, 1997).

IMAGE CREDIT: Aflac Duck = Neilson Barnard, Getty Images