Apartment 3-D, Where Are You?

Earlier this morning a thought ran through my mind: when was the last time I'd seen a comic strip? How could I have forgotten comic strips for such a long time, especially the importance they had in my father's and my daily life?

As long as I can remember, my father was a lover of the comic strip. Each evening, after he'd get home he'd sit and read the paper, finding the comics first, then reading the front page, the political page and wrapping up with the obituary page. The sports and entertainment pages were left unread and used for cleaning supplies or trash.

My father didn't learn to read very well until after we children entered elementary school.  I remember him taking night classes (because he made us attend too) to learn to read, and how proud he was after receiving his Reading Proficiency Certification. He was so proud and happy. We kids were too because that meant no more classes lolol!

Reading comics every night strengthened his skill and allowed him to understand what he had missed some forty years of his life. And soon I grew to love the comics too. I can remember them now:

Apartment 3G

Mrs. Worth

Beetle Bailey

Family Circus

Dennis the Menace

Little Orphan Annie (with the scary eyes)

Doonesbury

Dick Tracey

There are others but I can't remember them right now, but remembering makes me miss Daddy.

Daddy and I weren't close during most of my adult life. We coexisted as peacefully as we could but that closeness was never there.  Reading the comics was one of the few common experiences we shared so as I remember and miss reading comics, I remember and miss my daddy.