Thursday, August 20, 2009

My Wife, Me, and Pickles

No, I’m not talking about the Vlasic pickles marketed by a Groucho Marx emulating stork.   Nor, am I talking about Guss’s World Famous Pickles, a store who’s pickles became the staple of New York’s lower East Side Pickle district.  And I’m not referring to your basic garden variety pickles sitting beside the mustard and relish in the garnish isle at HEB.  I’m talking about the delightfully satirical relationship between Earl and Opal, the Pickles comic strip written by Brian Crane.  This  older married couple is an enigmatic recreation of my wife, Cara, and my relationship.  Every day we laugh hardily at a comic’s all too familiar reflection on our marriage.  It seems Earl and Opal eerily captures exactly the mood and discussion between my wife and myself so much so that I thought it necessary to examine the comic as a possible conspiracy.

pickles 1

Of course there is no conspiracy.  The light-hearted jabbing between Earl and Opal is a respectful representation of older married life at its very basic nature.  But the comic is not just a glimpse at the relationship between the married couple, but also captures each individual’s mood and humor.  In the comic below Earl expresses himself so well by saying he’s O.A.O.  Any person over 50 knows this feeling and will immediately see himself through Earl’s eyes.

pickles 2

The best Pickles comics are the ones that humorously depict the inside jokes that occur between older married couples.  When I saw this frame I immediately related to the jabbing between Earl and Opal.  As I relate to Earl’s old crony spirit, Cara is empathetic to Opal’s frustration; her comment to the cartoon below was “Earl’s really in trouble now.” pickles 3

Brian Crane captures the mood and humor so well that it’s evident he must have an intimate connection with each of the characters in the strip.  I encourage any married couple over 50 to read Pickles and see if doesn’t relate to them.

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