[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13411-13412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRATULATING GARFIELD ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 30TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2008

  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 30th birthday of 
arguably America's favorite feline friend, Garfield. From a humble 
beginning in Muncie, Indiana on June 19, 1978, Garfield and his 
creator, Jim Davis, have combined to bring laughter and cheer to the 
lives of millions of Americans over the past three decades.
  It would have been easy for the bright spotlight of fame to have 
drawn our good friend Garfield away from his humble Indiana roots. Yet 
as the Muncie Star Press writes in a June 19 editorial, ``Garfield is a 
hometown cat at heart.'' Remaining true to his roots, Muncie's favorite 
fat cat appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's 
most widely syndicated comic strip character, appearing in around 2,580 
publications each day.
  Madam Speaker, as we struggle with another Monday and find ourselves 
longing for a lasagna dinner, Americans have turned for thirty years to 
their friends Garfield, Jon, and Odie. Born at five pounds and six 
ounces, Garfield ate so much pasta that he threatened to put an Italian 
restaurant out of business, and was rescued to the relief of millions 
of Americans who have been touched through his inspiring blend of 
cynicism, complacency, and mediocrity.
  As Americans have gone from typewriters to BlackBerry and hatchbacks 
to SUVs, Garfield has remained a symbol of stability in an ever-
changing world. Despite the turbulence of the past 30 years, Americans 
can still open their local newspaper to be greeted by the smiling face 
of Garfield. Nine lives or not, Madam Speaker, Muncie's favorite cat 
continues to live beyond all expectations.

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