Alice

Alice the Goon

I had one of those thoughts today that gave me pause. I am of a generation that carries a unique burden, and we are a dwindling breed. I am referring of course to those of us who actually remember seeing the Alice the Goon character in Segar's Popeye creations.

Alice was originally an evil character, the slave of Popeye's mortal nemesis The Sea Hag. She was so effectively creepy that parents began to discipline their children by saying "the Goon will get you." It was indeed Alice that made the word "goon" part of our lexicon. So scary was the Goon that Segar was ordered to rework the character into something softer. That's when Alice donned clothes and became Swee'pea's babysitter and Popeye's unrequited lover.  Popeye considered goons to be "repugnank." (All of this according to the book Popeye, The First Fifty Years, by Bud Sagendorf.)

For something so iconic as to have given our culture a word as useful as goon, Alice and her kin have pretty completely disappeared. Still, there are still some vestiges about. This one, entitled Goonland is about Alice's homeland.  KEEP THE GOON ALIVE!