Book excerpt: Growing old is great fun when you keep your sense of humor and never forget the wonder and energy of childhood. Let's Get Pickled!, the latest collection of Pickles cartoons, feeds on unconditional love¿of pets, old friends, and, of course, family¿to provide zinger-filled humor. Earl and Opal, a wise-but-spunky loving couple, have been married for 50-plus years. The Pickles' 30-something remarried daughter and her son round out this sweet intergenerational comic that appeals to both sexes and all age groups. Pickles appears in almost 500 newspapers and has steadily grown in popularity since its debut 16 years ago. Readers nationwide turn to the strip again and again for its good-natured wit and wry humor.