Wheezy and Awful? C’mon Doc. Dopey.


Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose.

Yesterday, I had my second Shingles shot. It is the new vaccination for Shingles that is supposed to be mostly fail proof. I hope. At any rate, these shots haven’t been the easiest for me to take. They make me feel crappy for a few days. Flu-like. Achey. Blllleeecccchhh. So it is a win-lose in that way.

With this feeling-lowliness, I think it is a good thing to talk about some other wins and losses.

Like Theodore Roosevelt. A lot of people liked the guy, and toy companies took advantage of this. As a result, the “Teddy Bear” was born. Sales went right through the roof. The next President after Roosevelt was William H. Taft. The toy companies gave it another go with “Billy Possum.” It was a miserable fail. Lose for the Taft Possum.

While we are in the toy area. Characters. The Seven Dwarfs. Disney played around with a lot of ideas for naming those seven. Potential candidates were Chesty, Tubby, Burpy, Deafy, Hickey, Wheezy, Awful. Now, as I look at the alternates, I have to wonder, in particular, about Chesty and Hickey. Thankfully, the guy with the editing pen won the day. Win for Disney. Loss for Burpy.

But. Coming up with story ideas, and names and such, is not always easy. In fact, it can be quite a challenge. Take Hunter S. Thompson. He retyped the entire novel — “The Great Gatsby” — so that he could feel what it was like to write like F. Scott Fitzgerald. A draw, I suppose.

Moving on to the world of pets. The world has “dog people” and “cat people.” Lots of cat people. Like Abraham Lincoln. One day, somebody asked Mary Todd Lincoln what Abe’s Hobby was. She replied, concisely “Cats.” I’d say that is a big win for cats.

Here’s another pet fact I just heard. If your dog’s feet smell like Corn Chips, apparently, you are not alone. There is an actual term for it. “Frito Feet.” Personally, I do not know about Ollie and Lew. And I am not going to find out. I see Frito Feet as a really big loss, no matter how you look at it.

We humans sure do love our animals. And stories about them. But, here is one from history. During WWII, the Nazis were on their way to invade Paris, among other places. Right before they arrived in Paris, H.A. and Margaret Rey fled on bicycles. They were carrying the manuscript for Curious George. Thank goodness. Big win for the world, and my entire childhood.

So yes. Sometimes we win, and other times we lose.
And other times, it is hard to tell the difference.

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“Fame you’ll be famous, as famous as can be, with everyone watching you win on TV, Except when they don’t because sometimes they won’t..”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

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“More powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin.”
― Orrin Woodward

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“The moment you start arguing with an ignorant fool, you have already lost.”
― Imam Ali AS

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