I think Izzy should have done something in panel 2 to warrant Hammy’s invasive procedure. Cause and effect. This is just effect.
Hindsight is 20/20. Cartooning for me is about 10/40/40/10. 10% walk off. 40% Good enough for government work. 40% Coasting. And 10% WTF. As you can see, the bar for a reasonably successful cartooning career is not set very high. Yet somehow, I still trip over it all the time.
Oh. Today is my birthday. I’m 52 today. I read today that Babe Ruth died at 53 on this date in 1948. The Babe accomplished a great deal in 53 years. No doubt he would have preferred to live longer, but he got what he needed to get done in the time he had. I’ve accomplished a lot, but I’m no where near done. Learning that the Babe died at 53 makes me feel a little anxious about how much time I’ve got left. I’m sure I’ll push through 53 just fine. But then what? 10 more years? 15? 20? 30? Who knows?
Kinda scary.
Then again, I’ve always worked well on a deadline.
Over the Hedge 
Some insight from one who is partway ¨there¨. You´ll be working
your posterior off for the next ten years, then wish to coast a
little and find out you´ll be putting every creative impulse to
use keeping up home and hearth. This is a good thing,
for the rest of us. This is how growing puts one in focus
(sheer desparation, to get it done — that stuff we´ve
packed out mental attic with, to ultimately bestow our best,
on mankind, and meanwhile feed and house ourselves
with a nest that reflects what we know and want to share.
It´s a good thing. (At least yours will make sense, with
a large dose of the ironic, still intact.)
Happy Birthday, Mr. Fry, and thank you and Mr. Lewis for the years of enjoyment you’ve given me, and others.
as long as the deadline is not a dead line
Happy birthday! If it makes you feel any better, almost everyone that makes it into their 90’s manages to accomplish very little with their lives. Although that all depends on how you define accomplishments.
Happy birthday! You could go on for… oh 40 or more years easily.
Happy birthday! Another year wiser, another year better looking, and another year richer.