…of a literary character who changed your life.
The alarm clock blared loudly but only for a second before a furry orange fist shot out from under the blue blanket and smashed it with a single blow. Garfield stayed hidden in his cat bed for a moment, only his eyes peeking out. “Why do I even have an alarm clock?” He wondered to himself, “What do I have to do this morning that’s so important?” His stomach answered him, gurgling loudly. “Oh right. That.”
“First things first though. Need to get my daily exercise in.” Garfield thought as he crawled out of bed and hopped up on a nearby counter. “Oh Odie!” He called out in a sing-song voice.
From across the house came an excited yipping sound and Odie came barreling out of the living room. With surprising ease for a dog, he managed to jump up onto the counter next to Garfield. The orange cat put an arm around Odie in a friendly manner and asked, “Have you seen the new ball John got you?”
Odie thought about then shook his head. Of course he hadn’t since there was no new ball, but he didn’t know that. “Why, it’s right over there.” Garfield said, pointing over the edge of the counter. Curious, Odie walked to the end and looked around, letting out a confused arf. Suddenly, Garfield delivered a big boot to Odie’s behind, sending him over the side. As the dog fell to the floor, Garfield cupped a hand over his ear to catch the resulting thump. “I love the sound of a dog being put in his place in the morning.”
His exercise done, Garfield hopped off the counter. The sound of his weight hitting the ground echoed through the house as the floor sagged under the sudden weight. Garfield shrugged, “We should really get these floors checked. They’re starting to warp a little.”
Trotting into the kitchen, Garfield found John sitting at the kitchen table eating his breakfast. Shockingly, Garfield’s food dish sat empty. Annoyed, Garfield marched over to John and tugged on his pajama pants to get his attention. “Morning Garfield. You’re up early.” John said cheerfully.
“Feed me.” Garfield demanded.
“How’d you sleep?” John was clearly not getting the clue.
“Feed me.”
“What’s the plan today?”
At this point, John needed a reminder on how things worked around here. Garfield let out a powerful kick, sending John falling to the floor. As he went down, he knocked his plate of eggs and bacon down with him. As John laid there, stunned, Garfield gathered up the food and gave him a light slap on the cheek. “Pleasure doing business, John. Same time tomorrow?”
As he walked back into the living room, Garfield suddenly had a brilliant notion. “I should make a comic strip out of my life! I’m always doing something funny. I could make a fortune.” Then the moment passed and he waved it off. “Naaaah. Nobody wants to read about a orange cat that kicks dogs. I mean, I would but that’s not much of a market. And besides, I can’t draw.” He inspects his paw with a grin, “No thumbs.”
Behind the Random: I was but a wee lad when I first picked up a collection of Garfield comics. I had just learned that all those funny little symbols made up words and was practicing on my dad’s books. Instantly, my world was changed forever. It was the start of my love of reading, comic books, comedy, drawing, and eventually writing. Over the years, the humor of Garfield has waned on me, but that fat furry orange puffball still holds a place in my heart.
642 Things 