Sep 13th 2012 07:44 am Lines of communication
This old strip from October, 2001, seems appropriate somehow. I really didn’t set out on Monday to do this, but it seemed like an interesting idea when it dawned on me. All the cartoons I’m showing on the Web site this week appeared in early October, but they were drawn during the momentous week of Sept. 11. No one’s mind was on anything but the tragedies, really. I remember odd tidbits, like this one: it was reported that average temperatures in the United States spiked upward that week, presumably because the normally ubiquitous residue of vapor trails from commercial jetliners was absent, as airspace practically was shut down.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
157 Responses to “Lines of communication”
sandcastler on 13 Sep 2012 at 8:22 am #
Don’t worry that children never listen to you, worry that they are always watching you.
Robert Fulghum
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 13 Sep 2012 at 8:36 am #
There is a connection from today’s strip and the retro strip above. Having a son that is married and working in a responsible position is rewarding, but sometimes when you see a young child with their mother or father does make one think about the “good old days”. There is a certain sadness, but also a feeling of accomplishment when I look back.
Mindy on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:32 am #
Wait! Wait! Isn’t Global Warming [or Worming] due to the exhaust gases in the air? Wouldn’t the absence have lessened the chances of a temperature spike?
I once had a prissy little woman tell me how successful her son was, bragging like crazy, and then she inquired what my children were doing. Having no children, I still kept a straight face when I told her, “He’s doing 30 to life in the Federal ADMAX prison at Florence, Colorado and my daughter was last seen at a protest rally burning another woman’s bra…what it was being worn. She’s ducking the warrant, don’t y’know?” I got such a strange look. I treasure it, one of the Top 50 on my Strange Look & Response record.
Anonymous on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:45 am #
I agree Steve. My son is 22, new college grad, has a very technical job he loves and I couldn’t be happier for him. And frankly, I give myself (and wifey) a small pat on the back-we got him here w/ no major upsets (sorry to sound self serving) and now it’s time to let go. However, can’t shake that “where did the time go” feeling. Its bittersweet.
Whistling Rufus on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:46 am #
I’m the Anonymous above. For some reason my name didn’t post.
sandcastler on 13 Sep 2012 at 10:18 am #
Damn Mindy, how did you and John raise two such perfect children? Think you guys need to go on Nancy Grace
Dave in MA on 13 Sep 2012 at 11:30 am #
Mindy,
That shows you how much is really not understood about global climate change and man’s influence on it.
The greenhouse gases cause a “blanket” that keeps the earth’s heat in. So, the absence of those vapor trails would have let that heat already on the earth escape and the earth would have cooled.
The greenhouse gases cause a “blanket” that keeps the suns heat out. So, the absence of those vapor trails would have let that heat from the sun in and the earth would have warmed.
And don’t forget who invented the internet.
Dave in MA on 13 Sep 2012 at 11:32 am #
Mindy,
LOVED the story about the fictitious kids!
My response in such a similar situation would probably have been along the lines of, “my son is CEO of that company your son works for and my daughter is married to the king of (make up your own country here), so we don’t get to see her much. However, we presume she’s doing well”…….
Bob, near Mark on 13 Sep 2012 at 11:57 am #
Mindy, do those two fictitious kids like grits?
Norm in Utah on 13 Sep 2012 at 1:12 pm #
NOBODY likes grits. But Southerners can’t admit it or they will be forced to turn in their Jeff Foxworthy T-shirts.
Neal in Bahstawn on 13 Sep 2012 at 1:17 pm #
Mindy, may I borrow that response for my next book? I’m perfectly serious!
Boise Ed on 13 Sep 2012 at 2:01 pm #
Mindy, I love that story! My nonexistent son was an executive aide to Bernie Madoff, but recently took a new job with Karl Rove.
Ginger in Auburn on 13 Sep 2012 at 2:01 pm #
I felt just like Janis in 9/11 post for a long time afterward. I’ll never forget that.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 13 Sep 2012 at 2:12 pm #
Dave in MA-
Actually, jet contrails are just water vapor, which is not a major greenhouse gas. It is thought the water vapor has a net effect of reflecting heat from the sun, thus leading to the cooling.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that jet contrails could have that drastic of an effect on surface temperature- there is significantly more cloud cover than contrails at any given time. I attribute the temporary bump in temperature to the standard variances.
FWIW, here’s a pretty good summary of the study of post 9-11 contrails:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2010/0201/Airplane-contrails-and-their-effect-on-temperatures
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 13 Sep 2012 at 2:14 pm #
Ooops, I stand corrected. Water vapor is a primary greenhouse gas, although the amount generated by contrails is a lot less than natural cloud cover.
Tom (Somewhere in Georgia) on 13 Sep 2012 at 2:46 pm #
Ah, Norm, um, grits are a staple of life! Why, southerners even like grits with shrimp!
Norm in Utah on 13 Sep 2012 at 3:14 pm #
Tom –
So they say! The operative word there is “staple,” with those sharp little points.
And grits and shrimp is sacrilege. While I am in Utah now, I was raised around the Monterey Bay in California, and I know from seafood. Shrimp, lobster, crab, scallops (my favorites), clams, calamari (for those who can’t it it if you say squid), even octopus. And abalone is wonderful, but outrageously expensive. Fix up my own cocktail sauce and it is delicious, if I do say so myself.
Mary in Ohio on 13 Sep 2012 at 3:51 pm #
This strip has echoes of the song “Cat’s in the Cradle” – but, as it is turning out, Arlo and Gene seem headed to a much happier ending(or ongoing) than the son and father in the song.
Jim in NC on 13 Sep 2012 at 4:33 pm #
Norm and Tom:
I am one Eastern NC born individual that cannot stomach grits. When I had to clean out the pot for my mother growing up, I would almost get sick scraping the hardened remains into the outside garbage. Shrimp are meant to be enjoyed many ways, but not with grits for me.
Jerry in Fl on 13 Sep 2012 at 4:40 pm #
I hope that the upcoming celebration doesn’t turn out like “She was gonna be an actress, and me, I was gonna learn to fly.” Re the story of two sons, here’s mine, one is two years out of college, is making a ton of money in a high tech job, just bought himself a brand new sports car, doesn’t have a friend in the world, lives with his mother and is miserable. The other is one year out of college, ran off to join the circus, doesn’t currently own a vehicle, is very happy and I predict one day he will be as well known as his cousin who currently has her own sit-com on tv. Go for the gold!
Tom (Somewhere in Georgia) on 13 Sep 2012 at 5:08 pm #
Jim- shhhh. We need some solidarity here… ah, who am I kidding, shrimp and grits sounds unappealing to me too. I used to tease that grits and wallpaper paste were one and the same until grits aided my healing during a bout with a stomache bug. Too much information…
sandcastler on 13 Sep 2012 at 5:17 pm #
Knew we would arrive at this discussion point; grits and wallpaper paste and oatmeal. Be a great time to toss out cornmeal mush an see how it sticks to the wall.
Boise Ed on 13 Sep 2012 at 5:43 pm #
NO grits for me! Grits and warm oatmeal are just too much like fresh barf.
Bob, near Mark on 13 Sep 2012 at 6:14 pm #
When I was a kid, I loved warm oatmeal with evaporated milk and sugar on it. Still like warm oatmeal. I just do without the evaporated milk and sugar.
sideburns on 13 Sep 2012 at 6:36 pm #
I don’t know if anybody else here remembers it, but the main data center for ADSL (can’t remember the right term any more) in Manhattan went dead on the afternoon of 9/11. Pure coincidence. I know because I was doing tech support for an ISP at the time. There wasn’t any DSL available there for days, and when it started to come back up, it had to be re-routed through another city, over a hundred miles away, slowing everything down. In the end, I think, most of the equipment ended up being replaced because it was faster than fixing it would have been.
TruckerRon on 13 Sep 2012 at 6:40 pm #
I still shudder when I remember my grits experience in Japan. A friend sent me a box of grits from the states which I prepared with great anticipation. My roommates accepted their shares and (groan!) added milk and brown sugar to them. I had mine with butter, salt, and pepper, which they thought disgusting. I never shared any other treats from home with the ingrates.
Ghost Rider 6 on 13 Sep 2012 at 6:41 pm #
Mindy’s gonna be quoted in a book. Mindy’s gonna get the big head.
I like grits. And I really like GRITS. And GNRITS, too.
Debbie in Alabama on 13 Sep 2012 at 6:53 pm #
I posted a grits slideshow early this morning, but it was on yesterday’s feed just before JJ put up today’s. Posting it again, since the grits talk is still ongoing. Dedicated to our lunch room staff.
http://bookladyspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/05/grits-slide-show.html
Mark in TTown on 13 Sep 2012 at 7:12 pm #
When I was on the Oklahoma City, I couldn’t tell the difference between the grits and the cream of wheat on the mess line. So I just put whatever i felt like having on it and didn’t think about it.
Mindy on 13 Sep 2012 at 7:22 pm #
Neal in Bahstawn, feel free you use the line as you wish. It worked well for me, perhaps it will sing for you as well. As for the perfect kids, sandcastler, raising them as we did was easy. After all, it’s all in the genes. Or is that jeans? But you’re wrong, Ghost. No big head. That’s John. I have, at any rate, already been quoted more than once in books. One of the first was in the 5th Century. The author was burned at the stake which I felt was terribly wrong since the incantations all worked perfectly. I’d used one of then in Rome while Nero plunked his gitfiddle and again when Caligula was being somewhat socially unacceptable. Those perfect kids, I might add, all loathe grits. I can’t help but believe that the one’s psychosis was due to grits as were the others’ arsonist leanings. Beets, of course, contributed to their personalities. The daughter, by the way, is soon to wed into the Addams Family. Boise Ed, you have a great family also. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw recently:
MY SON SELLS DRUGS TO YOUR HONOR STUDENT CHILD.
That was cold. But no colder than one that read: HONK IF YOU’VE EVER BEEN MARRIED TO _______.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 13 Sep 2012 at 8:24 pm #
I still trying to figure out what made Mindy write about the ficticious kids. Or why we are talking about grits. However in the spirit of Mindy’s story,(and I’m a Boilermaker) here’s an old joke:
Dear Abby:
I have two brothers. One was sent to the electric chair when I was
a child. My mother died in an insane asylum. My father is a pimp and my
sister is a very successful and highly paid prostitute. My other brother
is a graduate student attending Purdue University.
Recently I met a wonderful girl who has just been released from prison
for murdering her illegitimate child with a Zip-loc sandwich bag. We’re very
much in love and want to be married after her venereal disease is cured.
My problem is this: should I tell her about my brother at Purdue?
Sincerely,
Undecided
Abby on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:00 pm #
Dear Steve from Royal Oak, MI:
Of course you should tell your beloved about your black sheep brother! It’s not your fault that he’s a deviate and a degenerate and you are in no way responsible for his inexcusable behavior and anarchist social conduct. Your girlfriend, who appears to be highly sensitive and loving [as proven by her loving tendency to take a social disease in a saintly effort to relieve her previous partner's suffering] and if you fail to come clean your entire relationship is in peril. Besides, Zip-Loc sandwich bags are all to easily obtained by a woman who feels betrayed.
Sincerely,
Abby
Ghost Rider 6 on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:22 pm #
?
Ghost Rider 6 on 13 Sep 2012 at 9:49 pm #
Mindy, I’m not surprised to find you’ve been quoted in books. In fact, I figured as much. I would, however, have been way off on the time frame.
If we’re tired of discussing grits, how about SOS, as served in better military chow halls everywhere?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 13 Sep 2012 at 10:01 pm #
One of the cool things about living with an author is that sometimes she will quote me. But was really cool is that there are several “fans” that reply on the social networs. She has made the name of cameo or small characters after them.
TruckerRon on 13 Sep 2012 at 10:57 pm #
Piers Anthony has long relied on the puns submitted by his readers and named characters after certain fans, especially a young lady whose life and health was devastated by a drunk driver.
Adrian on 13 Sep 2012 at 10:58 pm #
What’s all this noise about grits? Around these parts (Tulsa, OK) we’re big on three way chili, i.e. chili with beans and spaghetti. But substitute grits for the spaghetti, now that’s just plain good eatin’. Yum.
Ghost Rider 6 on 13 Sep 2012 at 11:48 pm #
Mindy started the conversation about grits…yesterday…with her “Personally, what I think is grossly unhealthy are beets and grits.” Why am I not surprised?
BTW, Mindy, I don’t think you mentioned why you dislike grits…other than being the cause of your two imaginary kids’ psychosis, of course.
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 12:42 am #
Janis makes “dressy casual” look good.
Anonymous on 14 Sep 2012 at 2:02 am #
Janis makes anything (or nothing) look good!
Bob, near Mark on 14 Sep 2012 at 4:43 am #
I liked SOS. It LOOKED horrible, but gravy is one of the major food groups, isn’t it?
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 6:33 am #
Definitely, Bob, definitely.
Definitely, Anonymous, definitely.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:10 am #
I personally like SOS, having eaten it as a child. One thing I’ve never thought of, though, is can one substitute grits for the toast? I’ll have to try that one of these days. For now maybe I’ll stick to sausage gravy and biscuits.
Today’s discussion of children reminds me of the story of the three men talking whilst playing a round of golf. The first man tells of his son’s successes and that he just bought his friend a new sports car. The second man has a similar story, and his son bought a friend a new house in an exclusive neighborhood. The third man was a bit hesitant, and finally admitted his son was gay, and an entertainer…but he was a nice boy and evidently his friends thought the world of him; one friend just bought him a new car and another a new, very nice house…
Mindyy on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:10 am #
I started it????? Well, I never!
Nodak Wayne on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:29 am #
I had the feeling that our local “paper” skipped something today. We must have gotten tomorrow’s A&J. It jumped too far.
John in Virginia on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:30 am #
Mindyy [that's her words, not mine] finally let me see today’s A&J. Arlo? You really missed a chance by not being in there with Mindyy…..I mean Janis….while she was trying on that dressy casual dress!
I’m going to be in copious and endless amounts of trouble for that, aren’t I?
sandcastler on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:32 am #
Ahhh, biscuits and gravy; one of the major food groups. With another being corned beef hash topped with fried over easy eggs.
Galliglo in Ohio on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:48 am #
sandcastler… you are giving me the urge to have “breakfast” for lunch… either of those suggestions would be winners!
Galliglo in Ohio on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:55 am #
RE: Todays episode… the dress is really cute, but the big question is – what is Arlo going to wear?
sandcastler on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:16 am #
GiO,a sailor suit?
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:17 am #
I know, Mindyy; that’s so hard to believe. Especially since you’ve never started anything here before.
Gal, I suspect Arlo’s interpretation of “dressy casual” is a button-up shirt rather than a tee.
John, the only thing I’d change about the strip is (occasionly) the POV.
Norm in Utah on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:31 am #
SOS is indeed a delicious military (and civilian) delicacy.
Mindy – What do you mean you never started anything? You start lots of things, you just never finish them. Maybe we can get Congress to pass a resolution specifying that a certain date will be known as “Another Day.” That way you will finish some of the stories you have started. And don’t worry about Congress wasting time with another silly resolution. It keeps them from passing other silly laws!
Bob, near Mark on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:37 am #
These “stories for another day” are really piling up. I imagine they will soon exceed the local zoning limits on building heights.
John in Virginia on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:50 am #
Mindy would be instantly in contempt of Congress. More so than she now is, even She does, I gotta admit, finish a lot of things, Norm, and she does it with energy, enthusiasm and pizzaz.
I do remember “stuff on a shingle” very well. The Navy [he said, smirking righteously] fed better [for the most part and except in certain commands] than the other services, excluding the Air Force, so we had SOS not as often. I loved it at home as a kid, I loved it in the service, I love it now [because Mindy fixes it better than I've ever had it!]. SOS and eggs, primarily fried, but scrambled or poached as well. Replaces corn beef hash.
Russell Way Out There on 14 Sep 2012 at 10:39 am #
Ah, yes, a story for yet another day…Man, I really enjoy the plot twists here, but I don’t think Mindy or Mindyy, whatever you prefer, is being deliberately evasive. I think she just says whatever comes to mind, and, boy! That’s refreshing! And then blushes and steps aside. John? Should we surmise that you tend to go into the changing room with Mindy?
John in Virginia on 14 Sep 2012 at 10:52 am #
I just read that they finally buried Neal Armstrong YESTERDAY. I thought he’d been put to rest on the anniversary date of his first step onto the moon? Someone actually had the disgustingly bad taste to say that the burial had been delayed to allow time for Annie Glenn to say a few words over his grave. I’ve been known to cross the tasteless line from time to time but personally I think that’s totally unforgivable. Mrs. Glenn has always appeared to be a fine lady and I understand that a therapist helped her overcome her problem and now she speaks quite “normally.” Even if that wasn’t the case, to mock her, especially at the occasion of a true American Hero, should be cause for the so-called jokester to be taken out behind the shed and stomped until he could only grovel for forgiveness.
[John now passes the soapbox back to Mindy.]
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 11:38 am #
If true, you’re right, John…unforgivable.
So Mindy finishes things with energy, enthusiasm and pizzaz, eh? Any comment, Mindy? Piceous imaginations want to know.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 14 Sep 2012 at 11:53 am #
Here’s an interesting topic for the weekend (and appropriate for the current A&J story line): Feeder or pusher?
Confused? Check out the discussion at the wonderful CIDU site:
http://comicsidontunderstand.com/wordpress/2012/09/13/wedding-cake/
Feeder and 29+ years.
Galliglo in Ohio on 14 Sep 2012 at 12:36 pm #
I have ALWAYS thought the smashing wedding cake in the other’s face was the most tasteless, bizarre wedding ritual imaginable. To start married life with violence and humiliation does not bode well for mutual happiness and contentment…
Mark in TTown on 14 Sep 2012 at 12:41 pm #
So will the Bumsteads, etc, be guests at this wedding? Or was it to avoid this sort of scene that Mary Lou decided to have a small wedding at the restaraunt?
(realistic reason for a small comic-strip wedding-papers have made the strips so small there is no room for guests, and very little for the main characters).
Do we count as guests? If so, this is going to be a very big wedding. Where’s my cake?
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 14 Sep 2012 at 12:52 pm #
My MBH – an Ohio country girl – within a half-hour of our wedding, introduced the cake-smashing tradition to me, a very naive city boy from NY. No kidding; I had absolutely never heard of such a thing. Sheeesh.
Dave in MA on 14 Sep 2012 at 12:57 pm #
Blinky the Wonder Wombat,
Feeder 23+ years.
Mary from Mt on 14 Sep 2012 at 1:04 pm #
I know it’s done all the time in all parts of the country, but I just can’t figure out what is so fun about smashing cake in your best friends face on one of the most important and memorable days in your life.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 14 Sep 2012 at 1:38 pm #
“I suspect Arlo’s interpretation of ‘dressy casual’ is a button-up shirt rather than a tee.”
I will be attending an Alumni Assn. “gala” banquet soon, and speaking briefly after the feed. The invite says “Black tie optional.” I will be dressy casual: my clean slacks will not be cargo pants, my clean turtleneck will be tucked in, and my shoes will be my newest Velcro tennies. Others at my table of eight will probably be dressier, but they will not be surprised at my attire, nor will a good fraction of the crowd. A few other males may also not be wearing jackets.
The occasion is an annual awards ceremony for several alums, probably > 5, with PowerPoint presentations. I supplied 20+ photos, including one of wife and me in Philly in ’69, she in a leggy party dress [she said, "If you got 'em, flaunt 'em"] and me in a tux. That will surprise most people. Photos will be accompanied by a recorded narration; same narrator voice for all. There will be printed programs listing awardees’ accomplishments, and I will have 5 minutes to respond when accepting a posthumous award. I will write my remarks down and probably take < 3 minutes.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 14 Sep 2012 at 2:20 pm #
eMb-
You’re accepting a posthumous award? You must have a really good internet connection!
TruckerRon on 14 Sep 2012 at 2:50 pm #
OK, time to confess–I did NOT smash cake in my bride’s face. I have never been at a reception where that has happened. Perhaps I run with a better crowd than others? Or maybe it’s the fact that in my crowd the happy couple tended to be over 25? And why waste perfectly good cake?
Mary in Ohio on 14 Sep 2012 at 3:46 pm #
Loved the Grits show! (Beats eating them, IMHO. I agree with the Cream of Wheat comment above.) However, like zucchini, eggplant, etc., what you put on or in or with them probably is the key!
Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 14 Sep 2012 at 3:54 pm #
I believe that the “delay” in Armstrong’s burial was partly because they wanted to wait until after the official memorial service. He had requested to be buried at sea so the logistics were probably a little more complicated as well. Too bad the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, the one that retrieved the Apollo 10 capsule when it returned from the moon, was not available for the task.
Mindy on 14 Sep 2012 at 3:55 pm #
We didn’t even have cake but ours was an unusual wedding from start to now. Personally, anyone shoves a piece of cake or anything else in my face like that I’m probably going to forget everything I ever knew about being a prim and proper Southern lady and go for the throat. I remember the first time John fed me anything [no comments, Ghost or sandcastler!], a shrimp, and I was a little put off at first because that just wasn’t done in my family. Now it’s not at all unusual and I suspect the poor man might ever regret having introduced me to that casual little intimacy. He never knows what I’m going to put in his mouth now but I’ve promised, no beets or grits since we share that aversion. I’m like TruckerRon, though. I’ve never seen the cake shoving done at a reception although I do remember one time when it appeared the groom was going to be silly enough to try. The bride’s two brothers, both about the size of an NFL middle linebacker, snarled and groom retracted his hand while it was still attached. The bride didn’t seem all that receptive, either, come to think of it, and they parted ways in about 18 months. I don’t care if a couple have lived together for five years, that first day, the reception alone, can set the mood for all that is to follow.
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 4:16 pm #
eMb: Happy you had a wife like that. Almost as happy, I’m sure, will be the audience at the gala, because you will not be “Clintonizing” your remarks.
I know we discussed the subject of high heels a couple of years ago (hence my recent remark about Eugenia’s [Trapper's] five-inch dress sandals). And I know some expressed some health and safety concerns at the time. But I gotta say, a flirty skirt three or four inches above the knee, with heels three or four inches tall, still strikes me as being an exceedingly feminine look. And it certainly doesn’t hurt if the legs that go with them are flauntable.
Now, if I may borrow Mindy’s soapbox for a moment, I see that the Fed has decided we can print our way out of our economic problems. I believe that last time that was tried, we ended up with a little situation now known as the “housing bubble.” Dumbos or jackasses, it seems the powers-that-be in Washington have amazingly short memories, at least when it’s convenient for them to do so.
See, Mindy, no comment. (I don’t shoot fish in a barrel.)
Robin in Fl on 14 Sep 2012 at 4:21 pm #
Galliglo in Ohio and others
I agree about the cake smashing being a bad idea. I was very surprised when my niece did that to her groom, since they are playful but very loving. Hope it doesn’t bode well for their long-term happiness. It’s been 2 years.
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 4:47 pm #
Never seen a “cake smash” at any wedding reception I’ve attended, only on TV. But haven’t given it much thought, as you can see loons doing almost anything on TV these days.
Mark in TTown on 14 Sep 2012 at 7:53 pm #
GR6, except displaying good behavior and intelligent thought!
Mindy on 14 Sep 2012 at 7:58 pm #
Does this mean you guys don’t think the Kardashian drivel is intelligent thought, good behavior and socially informative? Oh! Say it’s not so! [Mindy swoons at this point to emphasize her disbelief and shock at the rejection of such social icons of the 21st Century...or maybe the 12th Century bc?]
Bob in Orland Park on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:17 pm #
The wife and I didn’t do the cake smash. Matter of fact it was so casual it was pizza and beer. So far we’ve lasted 51+ years.
Mindy from Indy on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:21 pm #
“SOS” – ewww!
Every wedding I’ve ever attended (save one and a half) has done the cake-smashing thing. I don’t see the point either. And yes, half. The couple didn’t smash cake, but playfully dabbed th other’s nose with frosting. (I’d let that slide.) The one that didn’t was a ultra fussy, formal affair that I hated; I left an hour into the reception to finish a paper. But then, I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a wedding I’ve truly enjoyed – I’ve always viewed them as a huge waste of money. All you need is the stupid paper. And yes, I’ve been told I don’t have a romantic bone in my body, but in my opinion, romance doesn’t equal a massive debt just for a foofy dress and giant cake.
I don’t need to watch reality tv. I work in retail, reality tv comes to me.
Robin in Fl on 14 Sep 2012 at 8:42 pm #
Mindy from Indy
I never could handle reality so I joined the military. Now I’m retired so I have to deal with it.
Mindy from Indy on 14 Sep 2012 at 9:45 pm #
Robin in Fl – Reality has become surreal. I live in my own world, it’s stranger there, but it still makes more sense than “the Kardashians.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 14 Sep 2012 at 10:57 pm #
Mark, there’s still The Science Channel, and at one time I’d have added The Learning Channel and NatGeo, but apparently the latter two now have some “reality” clunkers on them, also.
Dear Mindy, I think I may possibly detect a note or two of sarcasm in your “reality” post. Don’t you just love the way they can over-dramatize the most trivial events, which becomes very obvious if the subject is one about which you have some knowledge.
“The C-46 crew only has a two-hour fuel reserve, and if they can’t get the whatsit switch to reset before they are forced to touch down at their destination, the distraction caused by the balky switch could cause them to ground loop, crash and burn on the runway, resulting in the fatalities of all crew and passengers on board. Fortunately, that didn’t happen…(ominous pause) this time.”
Lady Mindy, your points are well taken. About weddings, if not about Chipped Beef on Toast. (Does that make it sound more palatable?) You know I don’t care what they say…you and Dear Mindy are a couple of sharp gals.
Mark in TTown on 15 Sep 2012 at 12:53 am #
GR6, I was talking about the “reality” shows.
None of the weddings I have attended so far did the cake smash. As far as I know, all (except mine) are going strong.
I just looked and the new strip is up! 1250am CST. No I won’t tell you what it is. Just walk on in.
Jerry in Fl on 15 Sep 2012 at 1:24 am #
I prefer the taste of wedding cake to that of my own foot. That apparently is not a universal feeling. Fair warning, I operate under the naive notion that if I use short words and common sense I can change the opinion of a hatrack. A brief example: Sen. John McCain was not born in the United States, but that isn’t and obviously shouldn’t be an issue. Now Mindy, you do realize that when Gene gets married we will have another Day. Are you prepared?
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 15 Sep 2012 at 3:35 am #
Jerry/FL: Yep, the “another Day” will be Gene’s wife, so I suspect Mindy will relate her stories “for yet another day” only to her. That’s our loss, I guess.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 15 Sep 2012 at 7:31 am #
Ghost-I wish I still had those sandals. I must admit though, I usually wore them with evening dresses instead of more flirty skirts, but there were a few times…
I have personally never seen the cake-smashing thing, but I have seen photos and YouTube videos so I know it’s been done. My dear husband had the good sense not to even try it as he knew my hand was still quite near the cake knife.
emb-in over 20 years of marriage I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen my husband in a suit, and one of those was our wedding. He was a technician for Scientific Atlanta many years ago and had been sent to a site to fix some catastrophe and says that when he walked in the room one of the Suits (an executive) said “He’s wearing blue jeans; now we can get the problem fixed!” He also maintains that a tie is an executive tool for pulling one’s head out of one’s…ahem…(don’t want to end up in moderation here.
Mindy From Indy-the one piece of advice I gave my daughter and her fiance when they got married was to not start their married life deep in debt. They did pretty well and still had a lovely wedding. Unfortunately they didn’t quite make their third anniversary, but at least they weren’t still paying off wedding debts.
I gave up Reality. It has no background music.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 15 Sep 2012 at 7:38 am #
Is the woman Gene is talking to at the reception anyone we should recognize? If so, is it ominous?
At the wedding of the former nun* and former priest in 9 Chickweed Lane, Seth is carrying the shaking-in-their-shoes couple up the aisle, one under each arm. We are therefore looking from the chancel toward the congregation. The appropriate guests are sitting in the front left pew [stage right, which is where we sat and I still sit at church], and the front right pew is occupied by Dru, Pibgorn, and other characters, most of them from Brooke’s online-only comic, “Pibgorn”. Is JJ doing the same thing?
*She is the one who, now the mother of their firstborn, asked Amos recently if he and Edda had been “dancing the mortice and tenon without benefit of holy matrimony?” Lovely. [I think I have all the words right.]
Mindy from Indy on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:03 am #
No wedding pictures? Now I’m bummed. (And if you read my post above, I am a woman of many contradictions.)
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:08 am #
Ah, Eugenia, yer a lassie after me own heart.
I don’t see any buttons on Arlo’s shirt, but at least it has a collar on it. Of course, it’s apparently the same one he was wearing when Janis was shopping for that “sexy casual” dress she’s wearing.
Just part of your mysterious allure, I’m sure, Lady Mindy.
Mindy on 15 Sep 2012 at 10:21 am #
Mindy from Indy, it’s a woman’s right and duty to contradict.
John on 15 Sep 2012 at 10:44 am #
What ever happened to “Chip” Gene’s older brother in Arlo and Janis? I thought for sure he would be brought back for the wedding.
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 12:45 pm #
I’ve heard that, contrary to what Arlo tells everyone, Chip is not a piano player in a house of ill repute, but in fact graduated at the University of Alabama and is currently enrolled in the MBA program there.
sandcastler on 15 Sep 2012 at 1:30 pm #
GR6, you comment reminds me of a bumper sticker.”Please don’t tell my mother I work in the oil patch, she believes I play piano in a house of ill repute.”
TruckerRon on 15 Sep 2012 at 1:35 pm #
eMb: Is the woman Gene is talking to at the reception anyone we should recognize? If so, is it ominous?
I believe Gene is talking to Mary Lou whose hair isn’t pulled back in a ponytail since she’s not working but is currently dressy casual (isn’t that her daughter below her?). So it portends nothing to me.
Boise Ed on 15 Sep 2012 at 2:07 pm #
About those “stories for another day”: I’ve just finished reading the second novel of a delightful series by “Spencer Quinn,” in which the first-person narration is by detective Bernie’s dog, Chet. Chet often gets sidetracked into thinking about something he likes, then comes back to the point at hand with a “some other day” line. One of them, involving a cat, actually became a separate “e-story.”
Mindy on 15 Sep 2012 at 4:07 pm #
TruckerRon is correct, that is Mary Lou. I wonder what they’re talking about? The expressions aren’t, “Oh. God! What have I done?” Nor are they, “Let’s sneak out of here and go to a motel.” Does one get the impression that the happy couple has long been married prior to the nuptials? That, to me, is the best way to go! Congratulations Gene and Mary Lou…and Arlo and Janis…and Gus. Is there to be a second Jimmy comic in the making now? Or does the storyline continue to bounce artfully between the two families?
Galliglo in Ohio on 15 Sep 2012 at 4:34 pm #
Definitely Marylou and Meg.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 15 Sep 2012 at 4:48 pm #
You’re probably right, it’s Mary Lou, especially with the kid there. I know women change their hair styles often, but it doesn’t occur to me. Is ML taller than Gene, or just wearing dumb heels?
“Married” or actually married in a quiet, often civil ceremony before the wedding are both common. Decades ago I was seated with a grad student and her boyfriend and the college president at an informal luncheon, and she introduced him as “my husband”. Since, in a traditional ceremony, the bride and groom actually wed each other [the cleric merely officiating], and since they were both experienced divorcees and in their 30s, I decided they were then married. I may have told Peg that later, but don’t remember. I know I told my wife later and she agreed. Both of the public weddings I attended recently were of the quiet civil ceremony sort, and, though they were quite different ceremonies, they were both great.
Mark in TTown on 15 Sep 2012 at 4:50 pm #
Mindy, I hope the second option. Jimmy has said he wants the strip to still be running 10 (or more) years from now. What better way to keep it fresh than to add another family with a young child? By the way, I see the name of the restaraunt is The Dock. So I gues we can ask what’s up with The Dock when we want a Gene update.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 15 Sep 2012 at 5:14 pm #
Mark: You mean like Ehhh Whatsup Doc?
sandcastler on 15 Sep 2012 at 5:50 pm #
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
Jerry in Fl on 15 Sep 2012 at 6:17 pm #
Ron Howard’s older brother walked up the stairs with a basketball in his hands and was never seen again. We probably have the same situation here. Either that or he was ran over by that whadayoucallit ice smoothing machine at hockey games. We do have hockey down here now. We just don’t understand why they can’t find some guys that can skate without running into someone. I just watched a video narrated by Tom Hanks called “Boatlift”. It put a lump in my throat and it is online.
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 6:46 pm #
Jerry, I went to a fight once, and a hockey game broke out.
Thank, thank you very much; I’ll be here all week. Be sure and try the veal.
Lost in A**2 on 15 Sep 2012 at 7:02 pm #
I dunno; at the reception the Blessed Couple should probably be talking to their guests, not so much to each other. Same for their parents, I’ld think. Wish I recognised more of the crowd.
Mindy on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:00 pm #
Mark in TTown, sittin’ on the dock of the bay was always cool. I agree with sandcastler. And then I’ll push him in and hope he can swim.
sandcastler on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:18 pm #
GR6, I’ll have the veal just as soon as I dry off. On hockey games, looking unlikely there will be an NHL season this year.
John in Virginia on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:29 pm #
Veal? Where the heck can you get veal? We can’t find it anywhere in this area even though there are farms all around us! Watch out for Mindy, sandcastler, the has a proven record of pushing people off the dock and into the bay. She did that to me once…and the tide had gone out.
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:30 pm #
Guess he could swim, Mindy.
TruckerRon on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:37 pm #
Or bounce, Mindy?
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:40 pm #
John, get in your Wayback Machine and travel to the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, anytime in the 50′s, 60′s or 70′s, go to any resort and order the veal. Do not, however, order the borscht.
Jerry in Fl on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:55 pm #
I guess that I’m not the only one that can’t think of what, wait a minute, it came to me. It’s a Zamboni. Is that right?
Mindy on 15 Sep 2012 at 8:58 pm #
The Zamboni is what Woodstock always used to drive in Peanuts.
John lies about the tide being out! He was just too stubborn to climb back onto the dock so he stayed there until the tide went out and he got stuck in the mud and muck and other stuff I don’t even care to think about. Have you ever taken time to actually look at what’s down there below the dock when the time goes out? It’s disgusting! Borscht is made with beets, right? No wonder Vaudeville died.
sideburns on 15 Sep 2012 at 9:11 pm #
There’s also spinach borscht, Mindy. Nice and cold, very refreshing on a hot evening. And, there’s also a hot borscht made with beets, rather like beef vegetable soup with beets added.
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 9:28 pm #
If, for some inexplicable reason, you feel a need to make a pot of borscht, and you have no beets, just substitute 10 to 12 ounces of fresh topsoil. Other than for the color, no one will be able to tell the difference.
Note to borscht lovers: Please direct your dissenting opinions to Mindy. As in the case of the grits discussion, she started it.
Bob, near Mark on 15 Sep 2012 at 10:16 pm #
GR6, I like borscht. The only thing I ever ordered in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills that I couldn’t stomach was the pickled carp at Grossinger’s. Haven’t been back to the Catskills since the year before Grossinger’s closed.
Ghost Rider 6 on 15 Sep 2012 at 11:55 pm #
Bob, I’ve never tried borscht, although I have a recipe for it in my collection. That recipe calls for so many other ingredients besides the beets that I’d be willing to concede that borscht might be OK, if still somewhat of an acquired taste.
Even a friend of mine who liked beets admitted that they have an “earthy” flavor. “That’s what I was saying,” I told her. “They taste like dirt.”
Jerry in Fl on 16 Sep 2012 at 2:54 am #
Borscht isn’t eaten much around here, especially since we cut most of the beet trees down. Beetles were killing them anyway.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:18 am #
Don’t know when I first tasted borscht [the red beet kind]; it’s not bad cold or hot. Cold is a good excuse for a dollop of sour crean [or fat-free plain yogurt to limit the fat grams]. Wife’s dad was a civil engineer for the NYC water supply system, which has dams 30-60 miles N. of the city and also in the Catskills. First met wife’s family when they lived in Brewster, some 50 miles N. of the city. He later got moved to the Catskills and they lived in Liberty, when Grossinger’s was still going strong. We’ve never been in the place; no particular reason to go. But we, just the two of us, have lox and sour cream on bagels for the first time in a deli in Liberty. Sinfully delicious. Her folks never tried them.
Best place to get lox in N. MN is up in Motley, at Morey’s fish store. Among a great variety of other seafoods, cheeses, and such, they have smoked whitefish: cheaper > lox, and scrumptious. Morey’s has tables outside so tourists can buy lunch and eat there. Of course, we had to take a Kodachrome of wife sitting at one of the tables down at Morey’s.
sandcastler on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:42 am #
Beet trees?
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:17 am #
I have a comment, sandcastler, but it’s much too early in the morning to be banned from this blog for life.
Eugenia, your comments about short skirts and five-inch heels caused me to dream of you last night…in a good way, of course.
It was while I was in the service that a guy from Chicago named Weinstein introduced me to bagels and lox and other “Jew food” (his term, not mine). Breakfast this morning? Two over easy with grits and a schmear. Shalom, y’all.
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:20 am #
Jimmy:
Today’s tree strip: Powerful, touching metaphor.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:37 am #
Never had borscht because no restaurant near where I’ve lived has had it, nor was it worth the effort to make it myself because nobody in the house would try it. “Beet soup? You’re kidding, right? EEEWWWWWW!!!”
John, if you do go “bask” to the Catskills look for Johnny and Baby. They’ll be dancing at Kellerman’s.
Ghost, hope they were good dreams!
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:39 am #
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:46 am #
Oh, does anybody else remember in For Better or For Worse when Mike and Deanna moved in together? They both felt guilty because they weren’t married yet didn’t want to admit it to their friends so they sneaked off and eloped. When they did have the big ceremony they told Ellie and John.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 16 Sep 2012 at 9:16 am #
I heard that Borscht became hard to get after Michael Jackson died because everyone rushed out and bought Beet it.
sandcastler on 16 Sep 2012 at 10:18 am #
And the beet goes on.
Mindy on 16 Sep 2012 at 12:12 pm #
Beets me how you guys can come up with such pitiful puns. But I’m hurt. Ghost never dreams of me!
John in Virginia on 16 Sep 2012 at 1:02 pm #
Ghost has nightmares about you, Mindy.
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 1:12 pm #
I never said I didn’t, Mindy.
By the way, you don’t actually have sundresses in fifteen different colors, do you? Or frequently wear black leather miniskirts? Just wondering.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 16 Sep 2012 at 1:40 pm #
eMb, good “whiffenpoof” line, there! (“From the tables down at Morey’s….”) I’m surprised no one else has mentioned it. Maybe they’re all much younger than you & I.
Mindy on 16 Sep 2012 at 2:56 pm #
Several sundresses, Ghost, but not fifteen, and the season is about over. I do, however, have a black leather skirt but it’s hemmed at the knees and not a “mini.” Never wear it anymore, though. Not good for John’s heart.
Charlotte in NH on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:00 pm #
The whiffenpoof song, a Yale drinking song, was recorded and got extremely popular when I was in high school. Seems like most of the folks on this site are indeed much younger than you two academics and myself (where did the years go?)
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:14 pm #
c x-p, right, much. Just a buncha kids.
Are there still glee clubs and drinking songs at colleges? I didn’t drink, but I enjoyed singing them, ’47-’51 [e.g., The Lady in Red, The Souse Family]. When I was in jhs ['42-'44], kids who were interested in popular music could buy single 8×11.5 [or so] sheets, 2 cents apiece, of the lyrics of recent popular songs, probably 8-10 songs per sheet. The tunes of popular songs were easy, the instruments all acoustic, and the lyrics, though perhaps trivial and unrealistic, were intelligible, sung by decent voices like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and [later] Lisa Minelli. Today, if I am within earshot of a “concert” at the college, what I hear is dangerously loud, is more yelling than it is singing, and seems untelligible. Is this accurate? Are these “songs” intended for the youthful public to sing, or just to react to? Did singable songs essentially die out after the era of Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Chad Mitchell Trio, and the Clancy Brothers?
Mark in Boston on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:16 pm #
I don’t remember any older brother “Chip”. Are you sure you aren’t thinking of Chad Duncan, Jeremy Duncan’s older brother now in college?
Mark in Boston on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:18 pm #
I remember Mike and Deanna. At some time after they were secretly married, Deanna’s mother or somebody complained that they were living in sin. “No they aren’t!” said April. “They’re living in Toronto!”
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:48 pm #
Only knee-length, Mindy? Oh, well, I can still dream, can’t I?
One of the reasons I like dreams better than I do movies is that I’m in charge of both casting and costume design.
Mindy from Indy on 16 Sep 2012 at 3:53 pm #
I’m familiar with the name Morey’s, but not the context.
And seafood of any variety – yuck! Would not have survived a childhood on the coast.
As for “Chip Day,” never heard of him either.
sandcastler on 16 Sep 2012 at 4:28 pm #
Chip ‘Do or Die’ Day, the professional wrestler is a third cousin of Arlo’s.
TruckerRon on 16 Sep 2012 at 6:27 pm #
From the IMDb, regarding Happy Days:
Originally there were three Cunningham children. The eldest, Chuck, was phased out of the show (supposedly, he went off to college on a basketball scholarship), because according to Garry Marshall, “we realized that Fonzie was really the ‘big brother’ character the show needed”. In the final episode, Howard comments that he’s proud of his “two kids”.
Poor Chuck! And from Wikipedia:
Charles “Chuck” Cunningham (Gavan O’Herlihy, Randolph Roberts) – Elder son, college student and basketball player. Chuck’s rarely seen character disappeared without explanation in season two, giving rise to the pejorative term “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome” to describe TV characters simply disappearing from shows, to the point where later episodes of the show are scripted as if the character had never existed. For example, in the last Happy Days episode, Howard comments that he is proud of his “two kids”.
And, of course, Happy Days also gave us “jump the shark.”
Bob, near Mark on 16 Sep 2012 at 6:43 pm #
I would have mentioned the 14 Whiffs earlier today, but I was busy at a yard sale all day. I even missed the football game.
Mindy on 16 Sep 2012 at 6:58 pm #
I just realized, John said that Ghost has nightmares about me and Ghost said, “I never said I didn’t, Mindy.”
Wow! I think I know two guys who are destined to the doghouse.
Jerry in Fl on 16 Sep 2012 at 6:59 pm #
I noticed in today’s comics that A& J has the smallest amount of space allocated to it than any of the others including Family Circus which is just one big square, and Dilbert today was a long column of 9 frames. Strips like Snuffy Smith and Beetle Bailey that should have disappered years ago are allocated more room. I was wondering if JJ knew the reason for this injustice.
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:11 pm #
Lady Mindy, I must say I’m a bit surprised by your dislike of seafood. I assume by “seafood” you mean “shellfish.” Or do not like the fishies either?
I’ve always liked fish, but I never even saw any shellfish until I was a teenager. I’ll have to say I’ve made up for that, as I have since not met a shellfish I didn’t like. Add to that the unfortunate (read, expensive) fondness I developed for sushi and sashimi about 15 years ago, and I guess no non-mammalian denizen do the deep, including eels, octopi and sea urchins, is safe from me. And I know, that would have probably grossed me out 20 years ago. But my mom always said, “Try it, you might like it.” Although she’d probably never imagined me eating and enjoying toro.
John in Virginia on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:14 pm #
Jerry in Fl, you can probably chalk it up to the blind proofreader who was filling in for the layout person. Newspapers aren’t what they were as little as five years ago. But if A&J is insulted in such a cavalier manner in the future we might consider dismantling their printing machines? Nonviolently, of course. Jeez, now the Patriot Act will jump all over me for politically incorrect humor and using my 1st Amendment rights to jokingly imply limiting the newspaper’s 1st Amendment rights. It’s been nice knowing you guys and gals.
Jerry in Fl on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:32 pm #
John, I know you are joking, but I think that we don’t have to be quite as careful today as we did a few years ago. I was watching a movie last night where the characters were sending emails back and forth in which they were planning a murder and I was thinking “Why don’t they just put an ad in the paper?” Constant monitoring of our lives has gone beyond science fiction and is an accepted part of life today. It has been suggested that, for our own safety of course, we should all have a chip inplanted with our medical records and also so that we can be found by gps should we get “lost”. That’s where I’m drawing the line.
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 7:33 pm #
Mindy! Wait a minute! When I replied, “I never said I didn’t, Mindy,” it was in response to your post, “But I’m hurt. Ghost never dreams of me!” I hadn’t even seen John’s “nightmare” remark when I posted that.
Please don’t send us to the doghouse. (I think I’d like John, but not well enough to share a confined space with him.) If you don’t, I promise you I’ll have a very special dream about you tonight, casting you as The Goddess of…well, a very special dream. And your costume won’t be shabby, either.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:21 pm #
Ghost we did not see much seafood or shellfish as kid either, but my Mom would pick up shimp and I eventually developed a taste for it. Then one night I was working at the local restaurant and ate shimp for dinner. I suddenly strarted to get a very sore throat like a strep throat. My Mom was a nurse and had some benadyl so she made a 15 minute drive in about 7 minutes.
When she came in the back door she saw me chewing on some ice. She told me that she thought of that as she drove (WAY before cell phones) but prayed that I would think to use the ice. Ever since then, including 8 trips to Japan I have to be very carefull when eating to make sure that there is no shellfish on my plate.
I am sure that I have detailed this story here before, so I apologize, if I have.
Galliglo in Ohio on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:45 pm #
Steve and Ghost: Growing up in southern Ohio, i was never exposed to shellfish either. Ate fish – liked it, but no problems. When I left home I went to Bowling Green, OH. Naturally, being the “hick from the sticks” I wanted to be sophisticated and try “exotic” foods (in addition to other things… but I have taken lessons from Mindy – that’s a story for another day!).
The first time I had a shrimp cocktail, that night I was vomiting. Ah… probably a touch of stomach flu…
Next experience… I had yummy lobster… vomiting again. But I did overindulge in an adult beverage…
Next experience… a lovely shrimp dinner… vomiting again…
Wait a minute? Could there be a connection here? In some things, I can be a slow learner! LOL
I am allergic to shellfish! Duh! I can eat fish, clams, scollops, squid… but not lobster, shrimp, crabs and, I assume, crayfish. The reaction is like the most horrible stomach viris you can imagine. One of my sisters and her daughter and my daughter are the same. The problems seems to have skipped the males.
Wouldn’t you know it? Another example of unfairness in the world! LOL
Mindy on 16 Sep 2012 at 8:57 pm #
Ghost, it’s a doghouse for Rottweilers. Actually two doghouses but that’s wasted because all three pile into the same house. Don’t dream of me tonight! This is my night to cook with Justin Wilson! You might be interested, but I’ve started a pot of gumbo and I’m doing it like we did back home in Lousy Anna [before we came back home to Virginia]. An old Cajun lady told me the secret of great gumbo is…sameness and perpetuity! [That word coming from her amazed me and it amused me in a nice way. She was only semi-literate but on occasion she'd let loose a biggie that often made me wonder it she wasn't actually working to hide a rather large vocabulary; I noted that few words ever seemed to leave her wondering about the meaning!] Anyway, the secret, and I’ll share it with the A&J aficionados, is simply to KEEP IT GOING. I’m using the same pot, just adding ingredients and water every day to top it off, cooking and re-cooking it and then leaving it in the fridge.
Some people scoff at that but, if kept properly refrigerated, what you’re doing is letting it keep mixing the older spices with the new. Every time you eat a bowl, done like this, you get something new. From what I’ve been told you can actually keep the gumbo going, mutating, for 4 to 6 months before starting over. It’s not unlike the Old Timers kept the same biscuits going for years on end.
I can sympathize with your allergy, Steve from Royal Oak. Oddly enough, I’m deathly allergic to crab but not any other shellfish. A doctor at Oschner Hospital in New Orleans told me that the allergy could sudden explode to include any shellfish at all, to keep benadryl on hand and be ready to head toward the ER without hesitation. The unfortunate thing is that a trip to the ER here is not unlike playing Russian Roulette with a semi-automatic pistol.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 16 Sep 2012 at 9:18 pm #
Mindy/Indy: Do a search for “whiffenpoof song” and see if you can find a YouTube rendition. Morey’s, Louie’s, and the Temple Bar are/were 3 New Haven watering holes. It’s a good college song. Dartmouth, Cornell, and Yale had good glee clubs well into the ’60s, maybe ’70s, and maybe the other Ivy League schools did also, and probably others. I wasn’t in one, nor in a fraternity, but the songs surfaced in other non-alcoholic gatherings as well.
Ghost Rider 6 on 16 Sep 2012 at 9:41 pm #
Interesting, Mindy. I’ve never heard of that method of gumbo preparation, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work, and obviously it works for you. My mom kept one batch of sourdough starter going for like fifteen years, and if I ever find time, I’m going to try my hand at that.
OK, I’ll reschedule your dream appearance for tomorrow night. There are a couple of plot details I need to work out, anyway, and that will also give me more time to add the finishing touches to (or subtract them from) your costume.
Jerry in Fl on 16 Sep 2012 at 10:04 pm #
If you ever eat something and the side of your face very quickly swells up like the world’s worse case of the mumps it is not an allergy. I was really worried the first time this happened to me and strangely I was eating gumbo. The problem was a blocked salivary gland and the swelling will go away in a few minutes. In my case it was the submandibular (under the jaw) gland on the left side. It continued to occur although not often and I eventually had to have the gland removed. If you think that you may have this problem press up with the tips of your fingers under your jaw. You can feel the stone and the area will be slightly painfull when you press it.
TruckerRon on 16 Sep 2012 at 11:15 pm #
GR6: OK, I’ll reschedule your dream appearance for tomorrow night. There are a couple of plot details I need to work out, anyway, and that will also give me more time to add the finishing touches to (or subtract them from) your costume.
GR6, I have to wonder how this will all be explained in your obituary? Will people be left to wonder how you ever got stuck in that doghouse with 3 (count ‘em!) hungry Rottweilers?
Mindy on 16 Sep 2012 at 11:43 pm #
And with John, TruckerRon. Don’t forget his occupancy in said doghouse!
There may be nothing left for burial.
Ah, I wouldn’t sic the puppies on Ghost or you for picayune causes. Besides, I think John has a small television out there.
Ghost Rider 6 on 17 Sep 2012 at 12:13 am #
I tend to get along with most dogs pretty well. Of course, I realize there are always exceptions, but maybe John can put in a good word for me with the Rotties. And I suspected he might have furnished the place with some comforts, since from previous accounts it seems he spends some amount of time there.
Mindy from Indy on 17 Sep 2012 at 5:19 am #
GR6 – all fishes. (Although I will eat tuna salad on occasion.
Re today’s strip- squeeeeee!
Mark in TTown on 17 Sep 2012 at 6:39 am #
Steve and Galliglo, one word of caution. If you are allergic to shellfish, be careful when going for radiology procedures. Quite often the shellfish allergy is related to the iodine found in them, and iodine is in some contrast media used for radiology purposes. So you could get the same allergic reaction when being prepped for the CT, or whatever they might be doing.
Judging from today’s strip, looks like tomorrow will be the big day. Come on, Jimmy!
TruckerRon on 17 Sep 2012 at 7:42 am #
And watch for iodine elsewhere in medicine… they use it to sterilize areas of skin, like during blood donations, prepping for surgery, etc.
John in Richmond Texas on 17 Sep 2012 at 7:44 am #
I think it’s just that comic page layouts are put together by people who have no knowledge of or interest in comics; they recognize the names of old strips and figure they must be important. Also there was another son on The Big Valley in 2 or 3 early first season episodes, he went off to be a veterinarian, he came back once to take care of an anthrax outbreak and was never heard from again, never was in the opening credits anyway. There’s some really big posts up there, glad I got to work early because of the rain.
Mark in Boston on 17 Sep 2012 at 9:49 pm #
Whatever happened to Adam in Bonanza? Did he die? Did he get married and move away? Was he hanged for cattle rustling?