Waiting on the Sunday Comics

 

When I was a kid, one of the best parts of the week wasn't Saturday morning cartoons or summer vacation. It was the Sunday newspaper.

Every Sunday morning, I'd be waiting for that paper like it contained the secrets of the universe. My parents probably wanted to read the news, but I had only one mission: get to the comics before anyone else did.

The first page I looked for was always Garfield. That orange cat was living the life I dreamed about. He hated Mondays, loved food, took naps whenever he wanted, and somehow managed to get away with everything. Looking back, Garfield may have been my first role model, which probably explains a lot.

Then there was Dennis the Menace. That kid could turn a normal day into complete chaos without even trying. As a kid, I thought Dennis was hilarious. As an adult, I realize Mr. Wilson deserved some kind of lifetime achievement award for patience.

The funny thing is, I never really cared about the rest of the newspaper. Politics? Nope. Stock market? Not interested. World events? Maybe later. I was there strictly for the comics.

I'd sit at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal, carefully spreading those giant newspaper pages across half the room. Sometimes I'd laugh at a joke that probably wasn't even that funny, but when you're a kid, those comics hit differently.

Today's kids have YouTube, video games, streaming services, and phones that can do just about everything. Back then, we had to wait an entire week for new Garfield and Dennis the Menace strips. And somehow, that made them even better.

There was something special about knowing every Sunday brought a fresh batch of laughs. No notifications. No endless scrolling. Just a newspaper, some cereal, and a kid trying to read the comics before someone stole his section of the paper.

I still smile when I see an old Garfield comic. It instantly takes me back to those Sunday mornings when life was simple, the comics were king, and my biggest concern was whether Garfield was going to outsmart Odie again.

Some people looked forward to the sports section. Others wanted the coupons.

Me?

I was there for the chuckles.

I don't sell newspaper but you can find some funny shirts at Shop With Chuckle