The Big Three: Popeye makes a comeback

The world can be a crazy place. Some times it helps to step back, close your eyes, and list out a few of the things you’re grateful for. Here’s what I’m grateful for the week of Dec. 29 – Jan. 4.

What I’m grateful for:

—Sleeping like a baby. I find anymore that so many things are trying to kill us. Of course, we’ve all been warned about the dangers of alcohol, cigarettes and vaping, and an assortment of other ills.

And then there’s the simple nap.

I read this week about a study from a few years ago that found that taking a nap can actually help you live longer. The study showed that a regular nap of 20 minutes can cut your chance of having a heart attack. In the study, short naps resulted in the healthy equivalency of a low dose of blood pressure medication.

Please excuse me now while I go take a nap!

—”I yam what I yam.” Oh, yes, have you heard, Popeye; Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, and musical compositions “Singing in the rain,” “Happy Days are Here Again,” and “Rhapsody in Blues” have all entered the public domain. Oh, what would Papa Hemingway say to that.

In short, with the start of 2025 rolling around, a slew of works of literature, songs, films and other creative works have lost their long-standing copyright and are now open to new uses and new interpretations.

Oh, copyright is a good thing. It gives artists and creative types the protections they need. We can’t all have Hemingway’s touch for the written word, but eventually opening them up creates new and interesting uses. Who knows, maybe a young writer will create a new updated version of Popeye? Instead of spinach, maybe he gets his power not from Kale, but Sour Patch Kids, a brand of chewy, fruit-flavored candy in the U.S. that’s coated with a tart and sour citric acid and sugar.

Look at those muscles pop!

—Coming out of the other end. I picked up my wife’s cold right after Christmas. I’ve been fighting it for a few days, but am finally coming out the other end. I’m grateful for feeling better. Here’s to better health.

What gave me a smile?

We have a new year. It feels like we all should have a Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general betrayed by Commodus played by Russell Crowe in the 2000 movie Gladiator, or Mel Gibson’s William Wallace in the movie Braveheart cheering and supporting us.

We all need a pep talk to start the year.

In their absence, here’s Coach Norman Dale, played by Gene Hackman, prior to the Indiana State Finals, urging his small Hickory High School team to focus on what’s important. “If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. In my book we’re gonna be winners.”

Yes, we’re all going to be winners.

The advice definitely has a basketball theme or bent to it, but sounds like good advice no matter your 2025 goals.

Related story:

• The Big Three & The Cherry On Top: Peace & Calm