short takes (1)

Speaking of animations, an important birthday happened the other day: Woody Woodpecker turned 40 years old! It was 1940 when Woody made his bow, guesting in an Andy Panda cartoon. Since then, some 250 Woody movies have poured from the pen of animator Walter Lantz -- going strong at twice Woody's age -- with his wife, Gracie, on the sound track, giving that inimitable woodpecker laugh. I was at the birthday party, and Woody looked great. There's lot more fun in store.