The Far Side

An article by Don Quixote    2 Comments

To say that Gary Larson had a profound effect on my life would be an understatement. Thanks Mr. Larson and Mr. Yankovic, I am the man that I am today.

My senses of humor, of timing, and of poetic justice were all derived from daily dose of The Far Side.

Some might argue that Peanuts was the greatest cartoon of our time. Well, they’d probably be right ‘cuz man, that was a dang great cartoon strip. But if they were wrong, it would only be because of the Far Side out shown it.

I haven’t thought about the Far Side for many years. I used to get an Off-the-wall calendar every year for Christmas from my sister, occasionally I would get the monthly planner. Every part of life was touched by the Far Side.

For those of you who attended college with me you will recall that one year Nathan and I wall papered our entire wall with Far Side Cartoons. We also had that really cool orange couch (that was totally ultra-modern), an auto-graphed Papa Johns pizza box (from the deliver guy) and we tacked up a 6 foot sub box until the old lettuce started to smell a bit.

Oh there was also the pillar and the Wile E. Coyote that we had as well.

But I digress.

So years go by, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of any Far Side related material. He just dropped off the face of the planet (much like Barry Sanders did when he retired).

Enter January 2005.

I had to make a trip over to Barnes and Noble to pick up a new Uncle John’s Bathroom reader as the one currently in use was almost out of paper… umm to read that is. Any case I was walking through the humor section I saw this monolithic sized book sitting out on display, much in the same fashion has the Webster’s dictionary was in High School.

Low and behold it was the Holy Grail of humor; the complete two volume set of The Far Side.

Hard bound in the classic old school fashion and weighing nearly 35 pounds, there is was in all its glory.

When I enquired of the kind sales woman what would it take for me to bring this marvel, this tome of understanding into my own home she replied, “$135.00″.

I quickly closed the book and walked out.

Enter eBay.

What a blessed place this eBay is. For a mere fraction of the cost this kind person in California sent me a sealed copy of my very own. Where it sits on display on the coffee table, sadly due to its weight it I cannot use it to replace Uncle John. So it’s back to B & N I go.

Ah The Far Side, is there anything it cannot do?