Umbert's Birthday

This is Kevin writing to you from Kentucky. Every time my mom gets out the Catholic newspaper I read Umbert the Unborn. When is Umbert going to be born? I really like Umbert and I hope he will be born soon. I think it is time he got out of his mommy's tummy.

KEVIN MARDELL, age 7,

Home schooler and Register Reader

Paris, Kentucky

Gary Cangemi Replies: Thank you so much for your letter and kind words about Umbert. Your concern for Umbert touched my heart and put a smile on my face. I have never had a 7-year-old leave me so speechless with a single question, but I shall try to answer it as best I can.

With a stroke of my pen, I could very easily have Umbert be born but then, he would no longer be Umbert the Unborn and the comic strip would be over. What makes Umbert so different from other cartoon characters is that he is the only one who hasn't been born yet and that makes him (or her) very special. That is why I created Umbert, so that I could show grown-ups and children alike that unborn babies are special people too, that they are alive and that God has a lifetime planned for each and every one of them.

This is an important message, Kevin, and I want everybody to meet Umbert and love him as much as you do. If enough do, maybe all babies will have a chance to be born healthy, happy and loved.

You see, Kevin, the wonderful thing about a comic strip is that you can take a moment in time and make it last as long as you want. That's why Chuckie from the Rugrats is still a baby, Charlie Brown is still a kid and Beetle Bailey is still in the Army after all these years. People love these characters and don't want to see them grow up or change. And that is why Umbert can stay in his mother's tummy for as long as we want him to. Now, do you really want Umbert to leave his mommy's tummy just yet or would you like to keep reading Umbert in the paper?

I will promise you this, Kevin. The day when every unborn child in America is safe in his mother's womb and has the right to be born … that day will be Umbert's birthday.

Thank you for writing to Umbert and me. I think you are a fine young man and I'm sure your parents are very proud of you. God bless you and your family.