Mombo’s Blog

Well, I’ll give it a try. Not exactly sure what I am doing. Maybe if I start, I surely will or should improve.
Was thinking of a game we had as kids the other day. Need to ask Jack if he remembers a game we had that was called “Big Banker”. We had to write checks, make deposits etc, and the cover stood up so it was like a teller window. Funny how thoughts go back so often. This was in childhood days, St. Henry days, in the 30’s. Quite a good learning game. Not sure where we got it. Most likely from Alma. Esther or Helen at Christmas time. One of the times Pop stopped teaching and tried it in the business world, he was a banker but always went back to his calling, being a teacher.
The other day, Josh was asking me about dominoes. He said they played it a lot in their spare time in Iraq. It is challenging if you keep track of what is still out and keep score. Told him “Yes, we played dominoes”. He wondered if any of the Clan plays dominoes. Let him know. He is taking it easy and checking out Northen Ky University, thinking of going back to school. Hope he does.

Today’s the day to start. Joan is forcing me. John and Brendan have been anxious for me to get this started and put down some memories that I have. So here we go.

Joan was reading her WRITERS’ ALMANAC and was into some Charles Schulz material. I told her about a big poster of Snoopy done by Charles Schulz when he was at a newspaper convention with Esther and Boozy years ago. Charles Schulz had sketched this big poster and as part of the program they decided to give away the poster as a door prize. Esther won it. Of course, she was real hesitant to go up in front of the crowd to get it, but Boozy got her to go. Then she and Boozy got to know Charles Schulz pretty well. I remember seeing that big poster in Boozy’s office many a time when I went out there, and I’m sure that Jerry, their son, prizes that poster today. I can’t give you a date, but I know it happened back in the ’40’s or ’50’s.

This made me think of Milton Caniff who Boozy and Derby both knew when he went to Stivers High School in Dayton, Ohio, where they went. If I remember it right, they both thought he was quite a character. He was the creator of the comic strip TERRY AND THE PIRATES which we read every day when we received the DAYTON JOURNAL up in St. Henry as kids. Later on he created the STEVE CANYON strip.
I wonder if I ever told John and Brendan this.