Pizen Bluff, Dutch Ludwig, Strobl

[Rob Klein]

Oops !!!(oeps!!!) Sorry!!! to Simon, Sonia, Gary and all the others for my lack 
of English vocabulary!  I have never been exposed to the English verb Wizen (to 
wither or shrivel). Actually, I had been exposed to it, but even in context, I 
always assumed it meant "to point out", or "to inform". I should have realised 
by context, that something was wrong. I had always heard the Dutch 
word "wijzen" in Holland, and my Dutch family in Canada (newly arriveed when I 
was growing up) always used that word mixed in with their English (as if it 
were an English word). Early learning (even if incorrect) makes a strong 
impression. Apparently, Michiel made the same mistake. 

For Simon: Tony Strobl was my SECOND favourite Duck artist while growing up. 
So, I can understand someone choosing him as their favourite. However, I refer 
only to his work which was printed from 1947-1958. His work starting in 1959, 
became progressively worse, because he needed to crank out as much artwork as 
possible, as he was in desparate need of money.  Also, the work of later 
artists, Daan Jippes, Freddy Milton, Ben Verhagen, Jan Gulbransson (at his 
best), and Mau Heymans have now surpassed Strobl in my pantheon. Even so,I 
still like his work very much.

For Sonia:  Yes, I see now that the "Pizen" was meant to give flavour of the 
Old American West, as many of the waterholes were alkaline. The "Bluff" was 
just to use a landform that could be identified with desert or steppe areas. It 
could also bring the double meaning, adding the element of deceipt/trickery, 
but that is of lesser importance.  Barks often put two unrelated words together 
which provided the feeling of what he wanted.

For Michiel: My newly-Canadian chauvanist cousin changed his name from Klein 
to "King".  The Irish name "Kline" has NO connection/relation to the Dutch Name 
or the English word "little".  If I am not mistaken, Kline comes from a Keltic 
root word which is not shared by the Germanic languages.

For Harry: I remembered Donald having addressed Ludwig as "Uncle" in Dutch 
Disney. Although that is not stating SPECIFICALLY that Ludwig is, indeed, 
Donald's legal Uncle by blood or marriage, it does imply that he PROBABLY is 
desired to be taken so, by the Dutch Publisher.  Ludwig was not an unrelated 
family member during Donald's childhood. So, he wouldn't be UNRELATED and yet 
called UNCLE by Donald in THAT context.  Donald wouldn't call Ludwig "UNCLE" as 
an Older man, as he has an official title of "Professor". If he IS unrelated, 
Donald would be disrespecting him to call him "Uncle" only because of his age 
(and friendly disposition). So, I think we can consider him an actual uncle of 
Donald, and great uncle of the nephews.  My gut feeling, however, is that he is 
more likely to be a more distant relative-a distant cousin. But how interesting 
would it be if we all always thought the same way and agreed on everything!

Rob
Klein

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