The Two, The Only: Calvin and Hobbes
The best goodbye in the history of goodbyes is the final strip of Calvin and Hobbes, after a ten-year run in thousands of newspapers across the country. The final words of the final panel of the final strip appeared on Sunday, December 31, 1995:
“It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy.
Let’s go exploring!”
And off they go, boy and tiger, down the hill on their sled. The world is white with new snow.
At the end of this month I am saying goodbye to writing these Friday columns. The coming days are full of possibilities, and I want to explore what else I can do with my “big sheet of white paper.”
Should you be unfamiliar with Calvin and Hobbes, there are eighteen books of the comic strip Bill Watterson wrote for ten years. The entire strip is about the theme we’ve been discussing this year: Perspective.
Six-year-old Calvin sees Hobbes as a real tiger. Everyone else sees the feline as a stuffed animal. That’s it—that’s the whole gag. From that simple premise springs Spaceman Spiff, Calvinball, Yukon Ho!, Miss Wormwood, a snowman house of horrors, Rosalyn the babysitter, Susie Derkins, Calvin’s unnamed but longsuffering parents, and a cardboard box with endless potential.
I own many Calvin and Hobbes collections, and I opened one of my books at random and found this strip, which illustrates why I’ve enjoyed writing these book review columns. (Depending on the year, they have been called Reading in the Wild; Reader, Come Home; A Ritual to Read to Each Other; Reading Generously; and Perspective.)
[Hobbes reads a book, under a tree.]
CALVIN: While you’re reading that boring book, I’m going to do something fun.
HOBBES: OK.
CALVIN: I’ll be having the time of my life, while you’ll be sitting here yawning and wishing you were …
HOBBES: AIEE!!
[Hobbes holds the book away from himself, at arm’s length, while jumping and shrieking. Calvin is startled.]
CALVIN: I’ll just kind of read over your shoulder, OK?
HOBBES: No. Go do something fun.
This column has been about letting you read over my shoulder. Sometimes I let out an occasional AIEE, and my old puppies, resting nearby, are startled. It’s OK, I tell them, This is fun.
In an earlier Tweetspeak post, Will Willingham catalogued some Calvin and Hobbes poetry. During the years the strip ran, I was in high school and college, and then newly married without kids. I didn’t know how important poetry would become for me. Back then, it was just fun. Calvin & Hobbes reminds me that poetry can still be plain ol’ fun.
Here’s a poetry ditty a beloved professor recently sent me:
[Calvin sits at a desk, composing]
A Quandary
Mom once said she loved me
Just the way I am
So I wonder what would happen
If I became a clam.
If her son was gray and grimy
Slippery and slimy,
An oversize hors d’oueuvre,
Would Mom still have the nerve?
[Calvin looks at the reader.]
Good poetry gives me goosebumps.
Reading this golden oldie did give me goosebumps … and giggles. Suddenly it was morning in Waco, decades ago, and I was reading this strip in the newspaper and giggling. Nothing bad had happened yet. Reading it now, in an email, maybe nothing ever would.
And seriously, Watterson, way to pair SAT-words with silly, slimy clams.
Watterson gave a commencement speech to his alma mater, Kenyon College, halfway through the strip’s life, on May 20, 1990. Titled Some Thoughts on the Real World by One Who Glimpsed It and Fled, the speech remains great advice on maintaining creativity.
To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy … but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.”
This, from a guy who painted a section of Michaelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” on his dorm room ceiling, then, at the end of the semester, painted over it and moved out. This, from a man who never let his beloved characters be licensed or merchandised. This, from a creator who pulled a Salinger and went quiet, somewhere in suburban Ohio.
There are many ways to disappear. My favorite way will always be with a book, exploring what comes next after reading these magical words: chapter 1.
Thank you for letting me play in this poetic sandbox. I would not be the writer I am without the gift of Tweetspeak and T.S. Poetry Press. I’m off with my Tyger, Tyger for a “new year … a fresh clean start!”
Happy almost-2023, everyone. Happy exploring.
Photo by Tony, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Megan Willome.
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“Megan Willome has captured the essence of crow in this delightful children’s collection. Not only do the poems introduce the reader to the unusual habits and nature of this bird, but also different forms of poetry as well.”
—Michelle Ortega, poet and children’s speech pathologist
- Perspective: The Two, The Only: Calvin and Hobbes - December 16, 2022
- Children’s Book Club: A Very Haunted Christmas - December 9, 2022
- By Heart: ‘The night is darkening round me’ by Emily Brontë - December 2, 2022
Glynn says
My oldest son loved Calvin and Hobbes, except he thought of the cartoon strip as a how-to manual.
50 States of Generosity. By Heart. Children’s Book Club. Pages. All of it. We’ll miss your posts, Megan. And we’ll miss you.
Megan Willome says
Thank you, Sir Glynn. I will miss you all too, but Tweetspeak will always have a part of my heart.
Yes, I also had a child who seemed to take Calvin’s antics as inspiration.
L.L. Barkat says
Seriously, did you have to make me cry? 😉
Knowing that you’ll occasionally still grace us with articles—though not on a regular basis anymore (but maybe even with topics we can’t yet conceive, that you find when you go off to “Ohio”)—comforts just a little. Though I’m with Glynn… all the great columns… will be missed. And YOU will be missed on the core team.
If ever there was a swan song, this one is perfectly Megan. A bit of wit and whimsy and a gentle smile (I can see it 🙂 ) and a book on the way to some nook or hill or knoll.
Love & sparkles,
Galinda
Megan Willome says
Thank you, Galinda, for your love and sparkles. I always knew that I would go out on Calvin and Hobbes, and though I am flattered that I made you cry, the strip will make you laugh.
It has been a joy to be part of the core team. Such an amazing group of creative folks!
Bethany Rohde says
What a fitting and beautiful farewell. Thank you again for the bounty of clever and fun writing you’ve offered the reading and writing community here. As I mentioned to you before, your writing both sparkles and sparks. I read your insights and questions and they generate creativity and possibility in my writing life. Thank you, Megan. Filling up your teacup as you prepare to explore!
Megan Willome says
Bethany, it means so much to me to know that my work has occasionally sparked something in you. That’s all we writers can want, don’t you think?
Yes, bottoms up with everlasting tea and happiness!
Katie Spivey Brewster says
Megan,
What a blessing and privilege it has been to read over your shoulder.
You have taught me so much about poetry, perspective, and life.
Gratefully,
Katie
Megan Willome says
Katie, thank you! And it’s been a joy to have you in my workshops. You really have a flair for haiku.
Will Willingham says
Ah, my friend. When you speak Calvin, you speak my language.
I will miss simply knowing you are here with us and hope to see you pay a visit now and then. 🙂
All the best!
Megan Willome says
Those of us who speak Calvin are a rare breed. Very creative. A little mischievous. Perhaps we are troll children.
Yes, I’ll be paying TSP many visits. 🙂
Cynthia Crisson says
🌬❄️🌬☃️✨❄️⚡️🌬❄️☃️
Megan Willome says
Well said.
Callie Feyen says
That boy and tiger walking off in that new snow (and I bet not being careful about it), sure reminds me of a certain last sentence in a certain book that I would’ve never read (again) if it hadn’t been for you. Thank you for your friendly and steady hand in making me a better writer and reader. Thank you for your friendship. I don’t want to claim that I’ll miss you the most, but I do believe I’ll miss you the most.
Megan Willome says
Ah, friend. Let’s go be uncareful in that snow together, shall we?
For everyone else, here’s the last sentence she’s referencing: “Without thinking, they both walked as lightly and carefully as they could in the new snow.”
Mr Richard Tavana says
Thank you for reminding me of my youth reading Calvin and Hobbes. The three of you are inspirational, thought provoking and comforting.
Megan Willome says
That is a holy triad indeed, Mr. Tavana: inspiring, thought-provoking, comforting. Thank you.