These mummmies are having a cup of kindness, for days of auld lang syne. "Happy You Near" is a play on words for "Happy New Year". I've always said "Happy You Near" to people, but I never thought it would end up in a cartoon. One of these days I hope to produce greeting cards, and this cartoon would be good for that. Every few months I send in a batch of cartoons to the copyright office, registering both pictures and words. No matter how many cartoons you include in a batch, it only costs $30, whether you register only pictures or words, or both. That's a bargain. The first time I registered a batch, the clerk called me from Washington D.C. I asked if that was part of the rules of copyright, to call each applicant and verify the person's existence. "No," he said, "I was just curious about your cartoons," and he proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions about where I get ideas, etc. I enjoyed talking to him, and it gave me a new perspective on the civil servants who help all of us keep our work safe. Copyright law states that my work is protected, whether I register it or not, but I like to take that extra step.