Look up, Dixie

"If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I'd worked for all my life..."
--Lee Greenwood
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In other news, the Boopadoop-Bumstead union is going strong:

Now one of the most famous married couples in the world is one of the most widely read strips in comic history, Blondie and Dagwood are celebrating the milestone anniversary this summer in a running story line featuring cameos by their comic-page cohorts, whose creators also will pay tribute to "Blondie" by inviting the happy couple into their own panels.

Garfield, Beetle Bailey, Hägar the Horrible, baby Marvin, Dennis the Menace, Dilbert, the kid from "Zits" and others -- a virtual Who's Who of the funnies -- will drop in and out as the Bumsteads plan a huge party for an unspecified wedding anniversary to be celebrated in the upcoming Sunday comics. President Bush and his wife, Laura, are also set to make an appearance.
...
Young attributes the strip's longevity to the quality of the art and the gags, but also to Blondie and Dagwood's strong bond over the years.

"You need to have lovable characters for people to like you," he says. "And I think a lot of that has to do with the love that Dagwood and Blondie have for each other in the comic strip. Look at all the dysfunction that's going on everywhere, and here's a man and wife -- they love each other and they've loved each other all these years.

"The passion continues undiminished. And hopefully it's funny, too."