In fact, I'm starting to wonder if....

Have a look at these two images of Maynard G. Krebs, the beatnik character played by Bob Denver from that 50-year-old TV series, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The website bobdenver.com has a special section on Maynard that is worth a careful read. Maynard was extremely popular; some people even say he's a role model. I used to hear his name all the time when I was small, though I had no idea where it originated. (I don't recall watching Dobie Gillis.)

The slim, unkempt Maynard was a musician who liked to recite very bad beatnik poetry. He hated work and was very lazy. He had dark hair, a goatee and a soul patch, way before soul patches became popular. He became a cultural icon beloved by many.

Maynard doesn't look familiar to you, does he? Just a little bit? Suppose you were a height-challenged nerdy girl with no friends, then one day you met this really cool artist girl who became your best and only friend, and she had this older brother who was tall, slim, unkempt, loved music, recited awful poetry, did his own thing without worrying about the larger world, didn't like authority or hard work, slept all the time, had dark hair and a goatee and a soul patch, said "Like" and "Man" a lot, was kinda handsome and cool....

Are you still with me?

Do you think that Bob Denver was the role model for anyone else you know?

I'm really starting to wonder.


LATE ADD: Well, shoot. Here I thought I was coming up with something original, then I do a Google search and find that someone came up with this idea long before I did. Dang! And I was so sure I had a unique thought for once! I should take my brain back to K-mart and get a refund. I would if I could find the receipt. Must have thrown it out.

Oh, and here's another Daria fanfic that makes reference to the great Maynard. It's a pretty wild read. I liked it. Maybe Maynard and the Lanes do have a connection.