Every now and then you come across a website or a web comic that says, “Pay attention to me.” I am delighted to have found two such sites.
Margaret and Helen – There is a certain wisdom that comes with age and Helen Philpot and Margaret Schmechtman show that they still got it. Helen and Margaret have been friends for more than 60 years and aren’t afraid to tell you their views on anything. You may not always agree with their politics, but you’ll always be amused at their frankness because they call ‘em as they see ‘em.
I’ll be blunt: if you believe the current President of the United States is flawless, you won’t want to read their blog because these women, who are in their late 80s, don’t share that opinion. But if you want to read two old ladies communicating with each other and their families in no holds barred language, you will enjoy reading their posts. In fact, Helen’s Thanksgiving post will serve as the template for one I will write to my family this Thanksgiving. All of her posts are treasures, but the Thanksgiving ones are pure gold.
Helen lives in Texas and Margaret lives in Maine. Their blog is maintained and moderated by Helen’s grandson. Be prepared for some of the reader’s comments to be less than civil and sometimes “spam” sneak in. But don’t let that swear you off the site because anyone who seems overly abusive will be banned. That said, honestly, this world is a better place because these two old friends decided to share their world with us via their blog. They are the people I want in my family.
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Intelligent Life
– You would think with all of the projects syndicated cartoonist, David Reddick is involved in, he couldn’t find the time to create another strip, but he did and it’s a pleasure to read. Reddick, who is best known for his work on the comic strips Blondie, Garfield, The Trek Life, Gene’s Journal, Rod & Barry and Legend of Bill, has created a comic strip about geeks and it’s a joy. Suddenly, ‘geeks’ is not a bad word.
Intelligent Life follows the lives of Skip, Gwen, Mike and Barry who work at a marketing firm. Gwen, who has been in several bad relationships over the years, has just started dating Skip in real life after unknowingly establishing an online relationship with him. The comic is fun, pointed and a great read. (You can click on the sample comic below and see the comic on the Comic Kingdom website.)
The two websites, Margaret and Helen and Intelligent Life present a pleasant diversion and show who we are as a people – serious, determined, funny and optimistic. They are both worth putting on your reading list.
