For those of you who live in the Chicago Area:
Some of you might recall that I have occasionally suggested
that DICK TRACY is not only the most famous of all
hard-boiled detectives, but, with the sole exception of
Sherlock Holmes, the most famous detective in fiction,
period.
In fact, you could make a case that, in terms of reader
penetration, Tracy even has Holmes beaten. While everyone's
heard of Holmes, how many have ever actually read one of
Conan Doyle's stories or novels featuring him? On the other
hand, how many have, over the last 75+ years, read at least
one DICK TRACY comic strip?
Tracy, quite deservedly, was named one of the 20th Century's
100 most significant characters in hard-boiled crime fiction
by members of this list some years ago.
So much for justifying my mention of TRACY here.
Since 1990, the town of Woodstock, IL, (where the film
GROUNDHOG DAY was made), has been the home of the Chester
Gould/Dick Tracy Museum, but after many years of operation,
Gould's daughter, Jean Gould O'Connell, has decided to close
the place up. This weekend is the museum's swan song.
I think Rara-Avians would find much to interest them in the
museum, and this is the last opportunity they will have to
see it.
Woodstock is a northwest suburb of Chicago, located in
McHenry County, a bit south of the Wisconsin border. You can
find out more about the museum, and its closing ceremonies,
here:
Be nice to see a few Rare Birds there on Saturday or
Sunday.
On an unrelated subject, if I've seemed somehwat absent
lately, I've been pretty much on lurk mode the last few
months. I'm on Midnights these days, and find I have less
energy for correspondence. I'll try to make up for it, but
after a long all-night shift, bed rest just seems a lot more
enticing than bending over a computer.
JIM DOHERTY
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