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Well, now I only have two things to look forward to this summer. One is my birthday, and the other is when the last "Li' l Cutie" comic runs in the paper. I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but "Li' l Cutie" is the worst comic ever. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here's what ran in the paper today— Daddy, is rain just God sweating? But here's the thing: Even though I hate "Li' I Cutie," I can't stop myself from reading it, and Dad can't, either. I guess we just like seeing how bad it is.

"Li'l Cutie" has been around for at least thirty years, and it's written by this guy named Bob Post. I've heard Li' l Cutie is based on Bob's son when he was a little kid. IF I EAT THIS GWEEN BEAN, WILL ITS MOMMY AND DADDY BE SAD? But I guess now that the real Lil Cutie is all grown up, his dad's having trouble coming up with new material.

A couple of weeks ago the newspaper announced that Bob Post is retiring and the final "Li'l Cutie" is gonna be printed in August. Ever since then me and Dad have been counting down the days until the last comic runs. When the last "Li'l Cutie" comes out, me and Dad will have to throw a party, because something like that deserves a serious celebration. Monday Even though me and Dad see eye to eye on "Li'l

Cutie," there are still a lot of things we butt heads over. The big issue between us right now is my sleep schedule. During the summer I like to stay up all night watching TV or playing video games and then sleep through the morning. But Dad gets kind of crabby if I'm still in bed when he gets home from work. Lately, Dad's been calling me at noon to make sure I'm not still asleep. So I keep a phone by my bed and use my best wide-awake voice when he calls. I think Dad's jealous because he has to go to work while the rest of us get to kick back and take it easy every day. But if he's gonna be all grumpy about it, he should just become a teacher or a snowplow driver or have

one of those jobs where you get to take summers off. Mom's not really helping improve Dad's mood, either. She calls him at work about five times a day with updates on everything that's going on around the house. Tuesday Dad got Mom a new camera for Mother's Day, and lately she's been taking lots of pictures. I think it's because she feels guilty about not keeping up on the family photo albums. When my older brother, Rodrick, was a baby, Mom was totally on top of things.

Rodrick's first time trying peas Rodrick's second time trying peas