Bye Mommy

PHOENIX - Thelma Keane, the inspiration for the Mommy character in the long-running "Family Circus" comic created by her husband, Bil Keane, has died. She was 82.
She died Friday of Alzheimer's disease, the family said.
"Family Circus," which Keane began drawing in 1960, depicts the good-humored life of two parents and their four children. It is now featured in about 1,500 newspapers.
"She was the inspiration for all of my success," Bil Keane, 85, told The Associated Press from his home in Paradise Valley on Sunday. "When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the supermarket pushing her cart around, people would come up to her and say, 'Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus?' and she would admit it."
Bil and Thelma "Thel" Keane met during World War II in the war bond office in Brisbane, Australia. She was a native Australian working as an accounting secretary, and Bil worked next to her as a promotional artist for the U.S. Army.
"I had this desk alongside the most beautiful Australian 18-year-old girl with long brown hair," Bil Keane said. "And I got up enough nerve to ask her for a date."
The two married in 1948 and moved to Bil Keane's hometown of Philadelphia. They had five children and moved to the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley in 1958.
Not only was Thelma Keane the inspiration for the always-loving and ever-patient comic character also named Thel, but she worked full-time as her husband's business and financial manager. Her family says she was the reason Bil Keane became one of the first syndicated newspaper cartoonists to win back all rights to his comic.
"There was nothing that I did in the cartoon world or in the business world that she wasn't the instigator of, and she certainly deserves all the credit that I get credit for," Bil Keane said.
Thelma Keane's Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed about five years ago, and she had been at an assisted-living center near the family home for the last three years, said her daughter, Gayle Keane, 58, of Napa, Calif.
Just last month, Gayle Keane said, her mother was singing and dancing as the family visited her and celebrated her birthday.
"We all had a time to say goodbye in the end," Gayle Keane said. "I just think she's in a better place, and she's not dealing with that fog and confusion that Alzheimer's brings into your life."
Bil Keane continues to produce "Family Circus" with the help of his youngest son, Jeff. Keane sketches out the ideas, characters and captions and sends them to Jeff for inking.
In addition to Bil, Gayle and Jeff Keane, survivors include her sons Neal, Glen and Christopher, and nine grandchildren.
Keane said that although his wife is gone, she is still with him.
"The losing of Thel is a heartbreaking thing for me," he said. "However, it makes me realize how important she was to my worldly success, and I know where she is now, I feel that she's still helping me and probably giving me the inspirations you can only get from an angel in heaven."
___
On the Net:
Family Circus: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_en_ot/storytext/obit_thelma_keane/27627010/SIG=10u4c4oi8/*http://www.familycircus.com/

A Tasteful Getaway

NEW ORLEANS -- A drag queen robbery suspect is giving police a run for their money. New Orleans police say the man robbed the fast food chain wearing a dress, a necklace and a two-tone wig.
Witnesses told police the man climbed through the drive-thru window of a neighborhood Burger King holding a gun.
Security video from the restaurant caught the man in action. The suspect went to the front of the restaurant and forced a worker to empty the cash registers. The man then left the restaurant back through the drive-thru window.
Crime and Safety Specialist, Howard Robertson, analyzed the security video. He says it's possible the man is a real cross dresser

Evil Grass

Do you eyes itch? Is your nose running? Is your neighbor mowing? Are you sure it is grass? It seems that this season the biggest pollenator is "Common Timothy". This stuff is everywhere and out to get you! Beware the Common Timothy!

Kurt Kauper paints them nude

Do you like nude pictures of hockey players? Of course you do! Kurt Kauper paints fun paintings of hockey stars and actors nude. They are fun and funny paintings that are sure to make Bobby Orr blush! Check out his website: KurtKauper.com It is alot of fun!

Mr Peabody's Creator has Died!!!!

PHILADELPHIA - Cartoonist Ted Key, whose comic strip "Hazel" about a bossy maid went from magazine page to TV screen, died Saturday at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Tredyffrin Township. He was 95.
Mr. Key had battled cancer, his son Peter said.
"Hazel" was a popular feature in The Saturday Evening Post from the time it debuted in 1943. It evolved into a prime-time series in 1961 that starred Shirley Booth and ran for four years on NBC and one year on CBS.
Mr. Key also created the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman for producer Jay Ward. The time-traveling dog/scientist and his boy made their TV debuts in 1959 in segments on the show "Rocky and His Friends."
He created cartoon panels called "Diz and Liz" for Jack and Jill children's magazine, and produced a number of other animated animal characters. He also wrote a play for radio, wrote and illustrated books, and had freelance cartoons appear in Cosmopolitan, Better Homes and Gardens, and Sports Illustrated.
Mr. Key literally dreamed up the concept of his wildly popular maid cartoon.
"Like a lot of creative people, he kept a notepad near his bedside," Peter Key said of his father. "He had a dream about a maid who took a message, but she screwed it up completely. When he looked at the idea the next day, he thought it was good and sold it to the Post."
Mr. Key randomly picked the name for the maid. He was flattered that it later became synonymous with maids, according to his son.
Mr. Key acquired the rights to "Hazel" in 1969, and the comic was picked up for syndication by King Features. King still distributes the cartoon today, using those drawn by Mr. Key before he retired in 1993.
"Hazel" was so popular that when the first collection of cartoons was published in 1946, E.P. Dutton sold 500,000 copies. In all, Dutton published eight collections of "Hazel" cartoons.
Theodore Keyser was born in Fresno, Calif., on Aug. 25, 1912. His father, a Latvian immigrant who had changed his last name from Katseff to Keyser, changed his name to Key during World War I.
Mr. Key was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006 and suffered a stroke in September.
In addition to his son, he leaves his second wife, Bonnie, two other sons, and three grandchildren. His first wife, Anne, died in 1984