After 130,000 submissions and millions of votes were cast, teenager Sabrina Brady of Sparta, Wisconsin was named the 2013 U.S. Doodle 4 Google National Winner. Her winning doodle, “Coming Home,” was featured today on Google.

Art is interpretive, right?

Here’s how I see it: A young girl has been waiting for her soldier dad to come home. She’s joyous and runs to greet him. But the closer she gets, the slower she goes. Until she stops. He looks different . . . changed . . . more serious than she remembers. He says something familiar and smiles, and she recognizes it IS him. He drops his bag, falls to his knees, and they hug like there’s no tomorrow.

War does that, you know. Subtle, yet profound, changes show on the faces of returning soldiers. I experienced this firsthand during the Vietnam Era when the boys I knew came back changed men.

Always hug like there’s no tomorrow. Sometimes there isn’t one.

The doodle, by the way, is exquisite. [ Insert applause here ]

Google has taken its doodle to a new level for Charlie Chaplin’s 122nd birthday.

This homage to the silent film era’s greatest star features the creative Google Doodle team who not only come up with clever doodles but, it appears, also show promise as actors. Be aware: None of the mustaches in the video are real.

The creative souls at Google are celebrating the 119th anniversary of the first documented ice cream sundae with a new doodle.

The two scoops of ice cream effectively replace the two o’s in Google. And the ice cream parlor pastels, graphics, and style give this doodle an old fashioned flavor that’s hard to resist.

Once upon a time, I saw a TV special about corporate Google. I remember the boss as being young and friendly. Staff was young, too, happy and relaxed. The special was focused on the company’s liberal policies and rather generous employee benefits. I don’t recall any specifics, but I do remember thinking at the time, Wow, what a fun, creative, great place to work.

I don’t know if it all still holds true today, but I sure do like the doodles the Google folk come up with for holidays and special ocassions.

For the new year: 2-0-1-1, in Roman numerals, is a smart replacement for the O-O-G-L in Google. Very cool . . . creative . . . inspiring.