Write a blog and you find out all kinds of things about the world around you.
Yesterday, I wrote a posting about comic strips and how interest in specific strips tends to follow us as we age. Among the strips that I have dearly loved over the years is Bloom County. Who would have ever thought that a strip about a penguin, a schizophrenic, drug-addled cat and various and sundry other tawdry characters would garner such a following?
Well, after I posted the comic strip entry, good friends Wendell and Cheri, who live in the D.C. suburbs sent me the following picture. As Wendell says, “We are such big fans of Bloom County and its creator, Berkeley Breathed, that we named our son after him.”
The picture below is of Wendell and Cheri’s son, Berkeley, with Bloom County creator, Berkeley Breathed, at a book signing where the two had the opportunity to meet.
Small world, eh?
Berkeley and Berkeley
fighting damien 
June 15, 2011 at 8:19 PM
Pulitzer prize winning Berkeley Breathed is as spectacular in person as he is on his ‘strips’.
He is soft spoken, self deprecating, wicked funny and engaging. I sent him an email many, many years ago, letting him know that Wendall and I loved Bloom County and Opus so much, we named our son after him. That, plus, he had a great name. I never expected to hear back from him.
He responded: “That’s so cool. I’m honored. I hope to meet your son one day.”
Well, one day came a few years ago.
We sat quietly in a very small audience (30 people). We lined up to meet him. When he saw Berkeley and realized the connection, he said “Come around the table and let’s get a picture together. I’ve never met another Berkeley! You even look like me as a child. So Berkeley, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
My son, who has a gift of drawing and art, shrugged and responded “I want to be an artist.”
“What? An artist? Whatever you do, don’t tell your mom”, Berkeley Brethed teased. “Moms want you to get real jobs. My mom still hasn’t accepted that I’m not a Doctor.”
We handed him his magical, tear jearking book “Flawed Dogs” to autograph. He wrote the following to my Berkeley:
“To Berkeley! NO FLAWED DOG!! BBreathed
It was a wonderful serindipitous moment we’ll never forget.