Pardon me while I free associate.
Back in the 1940s, Chester Gould, the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, introduced a backwoods hillbilly into that crime stopper's universe.
Bob Oscar was the Christian name given this hick from the sticks, but readers knew him as B. O. Plenty. Between his penchant for spitting chewing tobacco and the frequent insects in orbit around his unwashed head, he hardly seemed like a candidate for matrimony. But Gould hooked him up with the widowed owner of a gravel pit, Gravel Gertie, a character described by Daryl Cagle of msnbc.com as a "vile crone".
Believe it or not, the eventual birth of a child to these two exceedingly colorful creations had much of America on the edge of their bus seats in that newspaper friendly era anticipating what the offspring of the unlikely pair would be like. But instead of being saddled with the looks of her disgusting father or unpalatable mother, the child turned out to be a beautiful.
And the name given this fabulous baby girl? Sparkle Plenty.
Not surprisingly when I saw the Miu Miu clogs pictured below on the Saks Fifth Avenue web site, it was that exact phrase that popped into my head. And considering that Ms. Plenty made her first appearance in both our world and that of DIck Tracy on May 30, 1947, it feels appropriate to acknowledge her as she celebrated her 63rd birthday yesterday. Or would have...if cartoonist Gould hadn't married her to Dick Tracy's adopted son, Junior, then killed her off with a car bomb intended for Tracy himself. But that's a story that goes with another pair of shoes.
_________________________________
On a side note, today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday that honors the memory of those men and women who lost their lives serving this country in our armed forces. Call me crazy, but this seems an appropriate occasion to present the latest style offered in the currently extremely popular Charlie clogs from Jeffrey Campbell. By no means do I mean to trivialize the significance of this day. Instead, I would join my voice with that of President Abraham Lincoln who on the occasion of dedicating a memorial to the fallen in the The Civil War observed that "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated [this battlefield], far above our poor power to add or detract." Consider this simply a thematic nod to those who have given their "last full measure of devotion" and thereby allowed us to indulge in whatever pursuits of happiness our life and liberty have made possible.
Camo Charlie clog from Jeffrey Campbell. Available from Singer22.
Comments