And somehow, we won the war despite Col. Crittendon.
Almost a year and a half into my This Day in History series, I have yet to see a date as barren of noteworthy events as May 11th. There was the Lubbock super tornado in 1970 (of which one of my readers knows all too well about) and the ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996 (Who in the hell flies with a company named ValuJet!?!?)… but those are a bit too somber for my series. So I’ll choose to honor the birth of one of the most prominent character actors to grace the small screen in the golden age of television, one Bernard Fox, who was born on May 11, 1927. Fox was the go-to when a show needed an actor who sounded and looked British to an American audience. Pick an American TV show that aired in the 60’s and 70’s, and there’s a good chance Fox made at least a guest appearance on it. I’ll always remember him as the not-too-bright Col. Crittendon, who was a minor recurring character on one of my favorite shows, Hogan’s Heroes.
Fox passed away in 2016, but not before he had a character named for him in my Evil Squirrel’s Nest comic strip…
The fox bartender appeared in several of my comics before I finally gave him the name Bernard after the actor. Now that we finally found an appropriate anniversary to commemorate, let’s get to answering this week’s Share Your World questions from Di!
Because May 11th is bland, we’re going with the old, bland logo!
Do you feel comfortable walking in your neighborhood at night?
I feel comfortable working at a closed store at night, where you never know when you might get robbed, have someone wander in the doors at 3 AM thinking we’re open, or find some bum sleeping behind the luggage on the counter. Only the first one hasn’t actually happened yet… but if I can bravely work graveyard in an isolated part of the city at night for 25 years, I could probably handle walking through my hood at night too…
Even a mother and child feels safe out at night!
When you shop for day to day things, do you pay by cash or card?
I’ve long been a fan of cash, but since I haven’t gotten piles of small bills from the bank on payday in years thanks to $@^*# mandatory direct deposit, I use the card more than I used to. When I do my shopping after work, I pretty much always use the card (especially with the self-checkouts now), but getting sodas at QuikTrip or eating at restaurants, it’s still always good old paper cash…
Dad would want it that way…
When was the last time you dressed up for a special occasion?
Dad’s funeral six years ago, and it’s far from what people would consider “dressing up,” as I just plain DON’T dress up. I wear casual clothes all the time…
What? Do you have any idea how much it cost to rent this?
Have you ever lied about your age?
I have no reason to lie about my age, and I don’t know why anyone else would either. My Mom used to make us kids say we were younger than we actually were so we could get the “12 and under” discounts, and I hated that then as I’m pretty OCD about being honest…
And on that note, here’s your Gratitude section retro comic of the week:
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
my mom did that too and it was such a shitty feeling to be a baby in the public eyes just because my mom was the sis of e. scrooge.. man… O:((((
We were dirt poor, so I can’t blame Mom for trying to save money…. but still, when you were a kid, being older was always something to brag about!
I used to fib about my age to get half price fare on the bus, and in later years I’d say I was 18 to get into the discos, so it sort of evened out. Thanks for joining in.
Outside of getting my parents a discount, I don’t think I’ve ever lied about my age to get any special benefit. I have been given (unasked) the senior discount a few times, even though I’m not even fifty yet, so maybe I should!
These days, any discount is most welcome!
I guess you get used to working in the store at night. Seems kind of spooky to me. Glad you are okay with your neighborhood, just watch out for those cute possums!
Thanks for the remembrance of our May 11 tornado. I’ll probably re-post my post of that today. We did have thunderstorms here last night, but nothing like it was all those years ago. 🙂
It was much spookier back in my early days when we had smaller crews and 2/3 of the lights would automatically turn off once the store closed. Then again, in those days, once the evening crew left, the door was locked and stayed locked until the morning crew came in. No outside breaks, no overnight deliveries.
It’s weird how the list of events for May 11 was about half as long as it is for most other days, but I recognized your tornado immediately and remembered the post!
I’ve been in a store at closing time and they blink the lights, or shut some off, hoping the last customers would hurry up and leave. It’s a strange kind of feeling when that happens. Also once the power in town went out because of a huge storm while I was shopping. We were all stranded until after.
Oh, I forgot, I like watching Hogan’s Heroes too. 🙂
I lie about my age all the time, but, hey, I’m really old and it’s a privilege.
LOL! I’m beginning to invoke some of those “old person privileges” as well, like telling the young punks I work with what it was like back in the day, and that they’d have been out on their ear back then…
🙂 🙂
Kids…they say the darndest things. Just like Hogan’s Heros-a truly great show.
Er…make that Heroes. Guess my fingers are about as addled as my brain. Sorry for the typo.
My “last dressed up” answer will be much the same as yours.
I was intrigued by “Colonel Crittendon” as he’s wearing an RAF uniform, and the RAF doesn’t have any such rank. According to the Hogan’s Heroes fandom, he’s a Group Captain (which is the RAF’s equivalent rank to an army colonel), so that makes more sense.
Yeah, his rank was changed to the American equivalent since we have no group captain rank in our military. One of many liberties the series took, not the least of which was so many English speaking Germans….
Hogan’s Heroes was fun……AND thanks for the bumper crop (2) of comic flashbacks !
Pam
No problem! Unlike Hogan’s Heroes episodes, I don’t mind rerunning episodes of my comics completely for FREE!
Is that Doctor Bombay? Looks like him, kinda. I prefer cash to credit cards, too, but having a transaction with a cashier who doesn’t understand how to make change can be a trial. I use cards more now.
That would be him, though the show is not one I’m familiar with. I can empathize a bit with the cashiers, because the few times I got to try it at work (Thankfully only for after hours employee purchases and not live customers), I looked like a complete fool trying to give back change, and I definitely know the money and the math. It not as easy as it looks if it’s new to you…
I don’t lie about my age, but everyone thinks I am lying. I still get asked for ID and I’m 40 this year. My three favourite things when this occurred was when I got on a bus by a school and the driver said, child or adult? (child is up to 16 here)
When I went to get uniform for my teenager and the shop worker said “Which one of you is this for?” My kid laughed so hard hah
and the third most recent one was I was buying basic over-the-counter painkillers and was with my teen, and the cashier looked at me like she was going to ask for ID, but then looked at my teenager who is 18 and nodded and sold them to them. In my head I was all “come on I must look older than them, I’m their mother!!” haha.
I dont get why I look young, I do not feel it. I always look tired as hell. My gen z teen says its because “You give off the vibe of a lost puppy”.
great post, love the comics.
I worked with a girl once who was 22 at the time, but could have easily passed for 12. She’d be 33 now, and you’ve got me wondering if she’s still got the babyface to go with her small stature. While I don’t like how old I look now, I am glad I can walk into a casino now without having to show ID…
I’m in far too much back pain from sleeping wrong to be ID’ed for painkillers.
My mother lied about her age, but she didn’t expect anyone to believe her — and we didn’t. But also, age didn’t mean much to us when we were kids. NOW it means a lot, but times have definitely changed.