Bill Mann

There’s a local angle to all-time champ Ken Jennings being named the first interim host of popular game show “Jeopardy!” 

Jennings’ father, Ken Jennings Jr., (yes, Junior) lives over at Diamond Point. The younger Jennings, whom NPR calls a “know-it-all,” is now shooting his first episodes in L.A. and could replace the iconic Alex Trebek, who died recently. 

“It would be a dream job for Ken,” says his father, a retired attorney. He says he occasionally checks legal documents for his son, who lives over in Seattle. 

Jennings père writes me clever emails and explains why his famous son is named Kenneth Jennings III. “That’s because his mother and I couldn’t reach agreement on anything original.” He adds of his famous walking-encyclopedia son, “We call him K3 most of the time. Before my Dad passed away, we were K1, K2, and K3 — a convenient shorthand.” 

“Ken often visits us ... and we have frequently met up in PT or for picnics at Fort Worden. He loves it out here.” 

Jennings the elder is also a man of impeccable taste. How do I know? He writes, “I love your column.” 

What is high flattery, Alex, er, Ken? 

— You have to look hard to find a band of souls any hardier than pickleball players here. Since they can’t play indoors because of COVID, I’ve seen them getting pickled at the Mountain View tennis courts (on a cold, wet day), and up at the high school one day when it was 42 degrees. 

The tennis-like pickleball is reportedly the fastest-growing sport in the country; it was invented down at Bainbridge Island. I played USTA team tennis for years before polio paid me a return visit, and if my ambulatory days hadn’t been curtailed, I’d likely be part of this group. I have the necessary winter clothes. 

— The comics pages are hugely popular in daily newspapers. One daily where I once columnized made the mistake of dropping the outdated “Alley Oop,” and it was pitchforks-and-torches time: A few readers were infuriated. The paper quickly  reinstated the caveman comic. 

I spend a part of each morning picking through the two biggest online comic sites, Go Comics and Comics Kingdom. I occasionally played golf in Santa Rosa, California, with the wealthiest “stripper” (that’s what comics people call themselves) of all, the late “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz. I never had the nerve to tell him I didn’t read — or particularly care for — his strip. 

Some amusing ones that I DO read daily: 

From Go Comics: 

*“The Far Side,” recently returned after a long hiatus. 

*“The Argyle Sweater” (often as funny as “Side”). 

*“Doonesbury.” Original strips only appear now on Sundays, but the old ones are still wicked clever. 

*“Pearls Before Swine.” 

*“For Better or Worse.” 

*“Frank and Ernest” 

*“Get Fuzzy” (oh, that malevolent cat).

*“ClayBennett (with the Washington Post’s Tom Toles recently retired, he’s the best editorial cartoonist going).

*“Dilbert” and also “Dilbert Classics.” 

*“The Elderberries” (this strip set in an assisted-living home is in reruns, as many strips are now, but is worth revisiting).

*“Francis” (gentle humor about ... the Pope!). 

*“Last Kiss” (1950s and 1960s romance comics repurposed). 

*Mike Luckovich (a talented editorial cartoonist).

*“Tank McNamara” (clever, topical strip about an ex-jock turned sportscaster). 

On Comics Kingdom: 

*“Zippy” (maybe my favorite strip, about a loveable microcephalic). 

*“Zits.” 

*“Bizarro.” 

*“Sally Forth.” 

*“The Family Circus” (which I once hated ... until we had kids). 

— Seattle’s KIRO-TV has a big weather map of western Washington, and there’s one Jefferson County town listed on it. Port Townsend? Chimacun, perhaps? Port Ludlow? Nope to all three. Try ... Irondale! 

— “Seinfeld” costar Jason Alexander passes along this on Twitter: 

Q. Do you know why people take an immediate dislike to Ted Cruz?”

“It just saves so much time.” 

— Speaking of Alexander, his “Seinfeld” character,  George Costanza, always marked Dec. 23 on his calendar. Why? 

It’s the date of Festivus. A holiday “For the rest of us.” 

Despite the coming expulsion of Agent Orange from the White House, we have plenty of grievances to air this year. 

(PT humorist Bill Mann can often be reached on the interwebs at Newsmann9@gmail.com.)