Hazards of the She-Driver

     As you may recall from our last thrilling episode, we were discussing the Women Driver Joke.  I was noting that there are mighty few traces of that sort of traditional male humor among my inventory of comic postcards.  In fact, in THAT column, I showed how many early cards I have which show perfectlyContinue reading “Hazards of the She-Driver”

The Woman at the Wheel

     After the wave of popular applause for the column posted hereintofore on the history of the Mother-in-law Joke (did I say “wave”? I meant “trickle”.  Okay, maybe a comment from one drip.) I thought we might consider the postcard history of a younger old joke.  We are going to consider Women Drivers.      ThisContinue reading “The Woman at the Wheel”

Brainstorms…and Drizzles

     When my age was still in single digits, a time shrouded in mystery because we had only just invented numbers, I had to figure things out by myself.  This COULD be attributed to intellectual curiosity: I was an omnivorous reader, characterized by some as “precocious”, some as “gifted” and some as “smart-aleck” (to putContinue reading “Brainstorms…and Drizzles”

Beverage Sauce – Today and Yesterday

     Life goes on teaching me things when I least expect it, which is Life’s normal teaching method.  A couple of days ago I encountered the phrase “beverage sauce”.      This is not a new phrase; perhaps you knew about it.  This is a serum, or potion, or what-have-you, which can, in this case, beContinue reading “Beverage Sauce – Today and Yesterday”

FICTION FRIDAY: There and Back Again

     “This is the shop with the magic devices and legendary weapons for heroes of quests?”      “I don’t insist on heroes, sir.  Just customers.”      “You would give magic weapons to a grim lord of evil?”      “No, sir,  Sell them.”      “Well, that’s your business.  Do you have time travel rings?”      “Well,Continue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: There and Back Again”

If You Don’t Ask….

     Along about 1904, that is, just before the first Golden Age of postcards, an author published a novel featuring a heroine who was looking for a man.  The book gained some notoriety (and sales) because she was not looking for a good husband, a good provider, or a good father for her children.  TheContinue reading “If You Don’t Ask….”

Dark History, True Facts, and Mother Goose

     I am seeing an uptick in the number of articles the Interwebs has to offer on the True Story Behind various works of literature, and it is obviously time to take advantage of the trend.  I shall therefore indulge in a pastime which has obsessed people since the early nineteenth century, and enlighten youContinue reading “Dark History, True Facts, and Mother Goose”

Summers Behind Us

     Labor Day no longer means an end to the vacation season, of course.  Like wearing white or buying watermelon, vacations are available at any time of year.  In fact, we are moving right into the season when the snowbirds will start their annual migration away from snowy parts of the world to those withContinue reading “Summers Behind Us”

FICTION FRIDAY: Holiday Good

     “Ah, Heinrich!  I’m glad you’ve arrived.”      “It sounded urgent, Vincent.  You have located your creature?”      “The reports must be about him: eight feet tall, wearing a lab coat too small for him, and still dragging one of the electrodes that was attached when he broke out of my lab.”      “So weContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Holiday Good”