The First Dry Bones Cartoon (1973)

Today's Golden Oldie is the very first Dry Bones cartoon ever published. It appeared on January 1, 1973, on the editorial page of the Jerusalem Post. Exactly 35 years ago today.

Back then we had a (sort of) socialist government, and new immigrants to Israel had to run a gauntlet of government clerks. Most of my readers in 1973 had spent time sitting on benches outside of Israeli government offices waiting their turn to get some form stamped by some low level bureaucrat.

Particularly infuriating was the ritual of the "ten o'clock meal" ("Aruhat Esser" in Hebrew). At 10 in the morning every clerk enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea and a bit of pastry. Their food and drink having been wheeled into their offices like room service) ...while we continued to wait on the benches outside their doors. It was no surprise, then, that although the topic of the first Dry Bones cartoon was labor unrest and work "slowdowns" ...the target was the government clerks, and their 10AM munchies break.

So Happy 35th Anniversary to Dry Bones

And Happy New Year 2008 to us all.