'Semper fi, moon'

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - 10:43 AM Share

Doonesbury's Sandbox has this lovely goodnight prayer of a five-year-old:

God bless all our friends and daycare,
and all our teachers at daycare ...

God bless soldiers and sailors,
polar bears and penguins ...

God bless astronauts and Space Shuttles.

God bless marines and ballerinas.

Amen.

And I love their headline, which I have reproduced above as the head on this item.

On a day when the news from the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico itself, Greece, Iran, Korea and Thailand just seems low-grade bummy, this cheered me up. Afghanistan in particular -- yesterday's bombing that killed five American soldiers occurred in the neighborhood where I used to cut school and take a bus to a teahouse. As I recall the bus was 3 cents, the tea was 7 cents (with sugar) and the cigarettes were 1.5 cents apiece.

gocomics.typepad.com

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HUNTER

4:30 PM ET

May 19, 2010

Goodnight Moon is one of my favorites...

I love to read to my child. Perhaps I'll share this prayer with my kid.

And since the Doonebury poem mentions penguins I would be remiss if I failed to note the absolutely epic finale of Berke Breathed's Opus cartoons and the conclusion of his on again off again comics pages contributions.

I am not ashamed to say I shed a tear over P. Opus' departure from our lives, but those who saw the final panel (or are willing to search for it now) know that Opus is in a far, far, far better place.

[P.S. I can't be the only guy who thinks that B. Breathed and Bill Waterson (of Calvin and Hobbes) fame are genius authors and philanthropists who truly understand the human condition - both are missed)

JSINAIKO

12:40 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Hunter..

You aren't alone! Both of them. Waterson recently broke his silence and gave an interview - I can't remember where - but it was nice.

STEVEN THOMAS SMITH

5:22 PM ET

May 19, 2010

There's the Mouse

My kid loves pointing to the tiny mouse on every page, a charming idea copied by numerous children's books.

Here's some Goodnight Moon trivia I haven't shared with my kid yet. As reported in the WSJ, Margaret Wise Brown gave away the royalties from Goodnight Moon and other books to a neighbor's son, 9-year-old Albert Clarke, who as an adult, squandered away millions of dollars in royalties.

WSJ article here [joshuaprager.com/wsj/articles/goodnightmoon/]:

Mr. Clarke was a rascally nine-year-old when he inherited that jewel. Ever since, as "Goodnight Moon" has drifted toward the center of America's collective consciousness, he has floated on the fringes of society. No steady job. No fixed place of abode. Dozens of arrests. Rarely has his life traced a path through terrain even remotely resembling the world of Ms. Brown's stories. Over the years, that world has yielded to him nearly $5 million. Today, he has $27,000 in cash. … the trajectories of Ms. Brown's book and the boy who inherited it began to diverge with strange symmetry. Sales of "Goodnight Moon" climbed slowly but steadily from year to year. Albert spun out of control. When he was 15, he was arrested for smashing a traffic light. … Albert joined the merchant marines, but after a brief stint in the Caribbean was discharged for a dispute with an officer. … the publisher, now named HarperCollins, began to deal with Mr. Clarke directly. "We have a devil of a time sometimes finding him," says Ms. Buckley, the HarperCollins director of subsidiary rights. The publisher mails Mr. Clarke his royalty checks every April and October.

HUNTER

5:38 PM ET

May 19, 2010

Found it

Honestly you still need to understand the context. So search on.

But here is the final panel.

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/Miscellaneous/restricted/1995x1384_opus_final.jpg

JSINAIKO

12:43 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Thanks Hunter...

I was out of the US at the time and never knew what happened to Opus. Shhhhhh...

CHARLIE SHERPA

3:47 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Semper Fi, Tom!

Sir:

Thank you for your kind words regarding the "Semper Fi, Moon" post, which I originally wrote for my Red Bull Rising blog (www.redbullrising.com).

My family and I are currently preparing for my second deployment--my first to Afghanistan--with the Iowa Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division.

I am glad you found my daughter's words noteworthy, and of some small comfort in this dark and chaotic week.

Thank you for your attention, and for your continued work on behalf of citizens and soldiers.

/Sherpa/

HUNTER

10:35 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Hail Sherpa

Nice post on your part - with all due credit to Lena.

I've had a passing relationship with the Red Bull division. We relieved one of the Infantry Bns of their mission in 2004, and we had one of the Red Bull BDE CDRs assisting us at the MOBSITE as we prepped to go to OIF in 2008. One of those is LTC Boesen, I know/think he is currently commanding, but uncertain if he is in Second BDE. Great folks nonetheless.

Regardless, good luck and Godspeed. Like Lena, we'll be praying for your safe return.

HUNTER

10:53 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Hail Sherpa redux

Reading further into your comments ('Stetson' comments in your beret posting) it becomes clear we probably crossed paths right there in 2004. If you know what Herb's Beach is then we are sympatico.

Again good luck.

TOM RICKS

11:37 AM ET

May 20, 2010

Thanks!

If I had known I would have credited you. I'll check out your blog now.

And my best to your daughter the poet!

Stay safe,
Tom