First came the news that Archie, who had been on the fence for almost 70 years, had picked Veronica over Betty. This decision was not well-received by Archie’s fan base, which is legion and universal. The consensus seemed to be that Veronica, rich brunette vixen, was the darker choice while fair & forgiving Betty was a safer bet. (Talking about all that dough Mr. Lodge had was considered gauche.)
Now comes word that Archie, in an alternate universe, is also marrying Betty. Aw, come on! What kind of lessons does this teach our children? That would be like Gilligan getting with Ginger and Mary Ann. Life isn’t like that! You can’t have both!
Unless you’re a comic book character. Or a rock star.
For kids who grew up reading Archie comics, which is pretty much every kid in America, the eternal fence-sitting was the stuff of pre-adolescence. You didn’t have to choose because, frankly, neither of those girls was getting any older and school was never getting out. Forcing Archie to choose is like forcing him to grow up, which seems rather unfair (even if you can now read his exploits in graphic novels). I think of young Mick Jagger, who has never quite grown up himself, singing “Sitting on a Fence,” a song I listened to incessantly about the time I traded Archie for Zap Comix: “All of my friends from school grew up and settled down/And they mortgaged up their lives/One things not said too much but I think it’s true/They just get married ’cause there’s nothing else to do.”
Of course Mick — and his Jughead, Keith — don’t exactly look the same. Seeing those two is kind of like Dorian Gray in reverse. Somewhere there are portraits of them, fresh and innocent as babies.
Hello
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your writing, found myself laughing out loud several times….
Had done a Google search for Chris Whitley got your blog as a hit and then could not find the reference to Whitley. Waded thru your posts rather free associatively. Just when I was going to navigate away I noted the archives again and knew Whitley’s passing date to be November ’05 and indeed there was your entry. Probably one of the more interesting bits I’ve read on him, certainly revealing much about his character in your observations, descriptions. I had heard of him but honestly as much a music fan as I am did not know his work. An Australian artist posted a video of his daughter Trixie Whitley in a performance w/ Daniel Lanois. It is quite beautiful. So I looked her up and of course was quite taken with this poetic man who hails from Texas as did I and Oklahoma. We both left. I was saddened by his drug problem as he just ruined his incredible beauty and shortened his life.
I also have struggled not w/ hard drugs although I have certainly been around most all of it in my life (never heroin) but finally after a very messy divorce, protracted custody battle, slipped into drinking, mostly wine or microbrews. I live in Seattle, didn’t even like the taste of beer when I moved here in ’87 from SF. I freelance as a script supervisor on features and commercials but have grown weary of how mean the business is. I went to SF State where I did master’s in Film Production. What was I thinking? I also have a post master’s in Archives & Records Mgmt. I did return to script supervising when I found the world of archivists to not be about “saving the public memory,” but rather bureaucratic and ironically quite self-conscious about how they’re viewed and who they are. Not quite sure what that’s all about. The pay is miserable too. Decided to go work w/ the carnies in the movie business again.
Suddenly also find myself wanting the clarity of not drinking and I don’t do massive amounts but it is too much and strange as I didn’t care for it in high school where I preferred psychedelics, like you. I just started to laugh now thinking of your story about having the bad acid trip when the reporter on TV said something about being able to see into the future….after of course the boy w/ the shaved head and the girl in the wave suit smoking a hash pipe and saying, to paraphrase, “we’re all washed up.” I also enjoyed all your bits about SF working in the sandwich shop in the Haight, the house in Bernal Heights that looked like something out of a Symbionese Liberation Army scenario. Great stuff.
Also the piece about your father there and mother and coming to terms w/ what you never had w/ your father. Much humanity in your writing. I also note the entry about Maureen Dowd and Judith Miller? I just wrote a letter to Dowd telling her what for due to her piece on Obama winning the Nobel Prize. Something like Ghandi Got Screwed? whatever. I found it in such bad taste and such an example of a woman who thinks she’s in the vein of Dorothy Parker or “writing like a man, ” or an asshole. I found it not clever and felt compelled to tell her so. Warner, (forget her first name) is amazingly out of touch I think, for the most part. She did do a good piece on Hilary Clinton in her defense that was smart. I read the NY Times most every day thus my comments. I will keep an eye out for your work. Forgive the lack of paragraphs, sloppiness….
It’s late and I can’t believe I have just written all this to you!!!
Again…thanks for the great writing. I enjoyed it very much.
best to you,
Kay Taylor