Fred and Pableaux

One Cranky, One Generous

A plurality of Germans have voted for the conservative-leaning party headed by Friedrich Merz.

Or, as we would have it in the U.S., Fred Mertz.

Don’t get me wrong. Like everyone except his wife, Ethel, I love Fred Mertz, the landlord and friend of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. I will never get over being jealous of my friend James for his having attended a Dodger game, as a youth, with William Frawley, who played Fred for many years on the “I Love Lucy” show — in the course of which Fred raised this question:

• Ricky: “Lucy has been acting strange lately.”

• Fred: “Strange. How can you tell?”

I just don’t want Fred to become Chancellor of Germany.