My Sunday Heroes

When I was still a growing boy,
too many years ago,
I tried to let my mind and my
imagination grow.

I read the comic strips with glee
on Sunday afternoon.
I’d wait all week and watch for them.
They couldn’t come too soon.

Prince Valiant was a favorite one.
And, oh, The Phantom too.
There were some others that I liked;
I read them through and through.

Oh, there were super heroes there
and stories that were fun.
That Beetle Bailey cracked me up.
He’s not the only one.

But there’s one guy that I still think
stood heads above them all.
Oh, not because of how he looked;
he wasn’t very tall.

But Popeye had those massive arms.
You knew that he was strong.
You knew that he would be the man
to always right a wrong.

Yeah, Bluto was the villain then.
He was a surly chap.
But Popeye always won the day
when they got in a scrap.

And Popeye was so loyal, too,
to Olive Oyl his girl.
Although she was so thin and tall,
to him she was the world.

And don’t forget that other guy.
Yeah, Wimpy was his name.
He always had a hamburger.
That was his claim to fame.

When Popeye needed nourishment,
a burger wouldn’t do.
A can of spinach gave him strength
and gave him courage too.

Yeah, spinach always did the trick.
I think that you’ll agree.
But I don’t care how good it is,
that stuff is not for me.

I’d rather have a hamburger
than spinach any day.
I’d bet the Phantom and Prince Val
were surely the same way.