DOLLY HAD A BIRTHDAY!

“and all the days of Methu'selah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.” (Genesis 5:27)

I don’t know if you comic strip readers out there noticed this, but “Dolly”, the little girl in “The Family Circus” had a birthday and turned 6 years old on Wednesday, September 23! Dolly joins the ranks of all sorts of people in my family and my extended family who have September birthdays! In fact, my sister-in-law Sandy’s birthday (Mary Ann’s sister) is September 23. Also, September 23 was the birthday of my mother’s cousin Connie who was born in 1936 and died in 1993.

It’s unusual for cartoon and comic strip characters to age. Many times the artists let them remain the exact same age for decades. Mike Judge, the creator of the animated cartoon series (which JUST ended after twelve years) had his characters age just slightly...about 18 months in 12 years. Bil Keane (who is going to be 87 in early October) had kept Dolly at 5 since the strip began in February of 1960. I wonder if he’s going to add a year to all of them in the next few months, and then he and his son Jeff who will eventually take over the strip totally, will perhaps keep them the same age for another forty years or so!

I think Dolly is perhaps the funniest kid in The Family Circus! My favorite was a cartoon that appeared several years ago. Dolly is smiling and enthusiastic as a television game show is visible in the background. She proudly announces, “When I grow up I want to be an intestine on a T.V. game show!” When I read that I laughed so hard I nearly threw up!

Another funny with Dolly is tacked up on the wall in the Secretary’s office at our church building. It shows a wet, confused, and dismayed Dolly announcing, “I just learned a lesson: Don’t ever try to baptize a cat!”

So, Happy Birthday, Dolly! And, Happy Birthday, Bil Keane, in a few days!