A pithy comic strip about life, love, lust and puthy cats.

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

But seriously, folks…

By Jimmy Johnson


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
Today’s classic A&J is from August of 1994, and it first appeared mere days before the changeover to digitalization. In other words, it was one of the last daily strips actually to be shipped by Federal Express to the syndicate offices in New York. Speaking of digitalization, remember when I mentioned earlier this year that I wanted to revamp this Web site? I’ll bet you haven’t forgotten. You just assumed I had. Well, I haven’t. I have decided, though, that I need professional help. With Web-site design, I mean. I have been in contact with said professionals, and I’m hoping I might have something new to show you early in 2015. I know we go through this sort of thing a lot. Believe me, I know, but please humor me. I’m going to ask you, again, to make suggestions for the new Web site if you’d like. That way, I’ll have your input all in one place and fresh when I meet with the Web people after the Thanksgiving holiday. Any new suggestions, or restatement of old suggestions, will be appreciated. And I haven’t forgotten about the T-shirts, either.

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251 responses to “But seriously, folks…”

  1. TruckerRon Avatar

    Jackie: Just the ones in the garden. 😉

  2. sandcastlerâ„¢ Avatar
    sandcastlerâ„¢

    ^°^°^°^°^°^ had hose reel in the garden.

    Also remember real hose, garters, and those snap crotch thingies. The last were … 🙂

  3. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    After diligent (!) search (well, for a couple of minutes) about the only non-pantyhose nylon stockings I saw were from that Vicky’s Recondite firm, but since she sells garter belts, it makes since she sells regular nylons, also.

    Jackie, this is how they dealt with the rationing/unavailability of nylons during WWII…

    http://www.lchs.museum/ww2/images/rationing_DSCN0274.jpg

  4. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    Yep, Jackie. I was young, but I clearly recall stockings with seams. Nearly as I can figure, I’m several years your senior, so that’s not surprising.

  5. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    You may not believe me but I have done that but for totally different reasons! The dress code for my boarding school and BOTH colleges I attended said that females could NOT have bare legs, meaning we had to wear knee socks or hose with skirts at all times. No slacks, shorts or pants of any sort were allowed, just dresses and skirts.

    Female deans and administration would actually come feel your legs if they thought they were bare. Sometimes we wouldn’t have hose to wear and we would do this to try and fool teachers that we had on hose. They unfortunately were onto this trick and seldom fell for it!

    This sounds goofy even to me today but I have changed into slacks/pants/shorts many a time in back seats of cars. Of course, if you got caught you could be expelled. Isn’t that silly?

    Love, Jackie

  6. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    As I heard it, “nylon” was so named because it was developed as the result of joint research done by teams working in New York and London. A wag said it was a good thing the research was not performed in Pittsburgh and Liverpool, else ladies would now be wearing sheer “pitlivers” on their legs.

    I believe that if more of sand’s parachute landings had been on his feet, and fewer on his head, he would remember that those “snap crotch thingies” were called leotards. 🙂 And yes, Ghost does have some stories about them, too.

    And so, I would imagine, does Jackie. 😉

  7. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    They were actually on underwear for holding up hose too, Ghost.
    Not hard to undo but bloody heck to fasten them! Not convenient for bodily functions, either. I think they can still be purchased, as part of sort of a unitard, bra and underwear all in one. They came in useful for clothing that had plunging backs, plunging fronts, that sort of dresses. Remember when women actually got dressed up in cocktail or evening clothes? It seems a lifetime ago.

    Wait, it was!

  8. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    At one point, leotard tops were popular for female wear with very tight jeans. Worked well for those with the right figure. Stylish women still own at least one LBD, or so my theory goes, anyway.

    Jackie, I think I’ve mentioned (or we discussed) this commercial here previously, but it is still one of my favorites.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOXxpmdJO7Y

  9. sandcastlerâ„¢ Avatar
    sandcastlerâ„¢

    GR6, always made ground contact feet first. Ground pounding just requires less gray matter and larger cajones. Besides the ladies never notice the former once they’ve been introduced to the latter.

    Airborne, Airborne.
    Gotta go, gonna go Airborne!

    Gonna be an Airborne Ranger.
    Lead a life of guts and danger.

    Airborne, Airborne.
    Gotta go, gonna go Airborne!

    Never heard any snappy Jody calls from you fly by boys.
    😉

  10. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Jackie, look up a website called Secrets in Lace. Won’t post link due to the photos, which are not safe for work. I’ve said it before and will now repeat, it’s amazing what you can find on the internet.

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Oh? You never heard the one about the little bird with the yellow bill? 🙂

  12. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    No, I didn’t. emb

  13. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    +1F now, wind chill -20. Low tonight -18 to -20*, hi Mon. +6, low -2. Thankful for warm house, triple pane windows, +67/68 day, 64 night. * Lowest predicted so far this winter.

    Peace, emb

  14. Trapper Jean Avatar
    Trapper Jean

    Gentlemen, leotards are what dancers wear, and do not have snap crotches. i think what y’all are thinking about were called “body-shirts” and similar to leotards, but had snaps. They were great to wear with skirts or slim jeans when you didn’t want to worry about the ends coming untucked. I used to have several of them, and while they were useful in some ways they weren’t in others. Getting them unsnapped in time when Nature called was a problem, as was getting them resnapped afterwards. I know…TMI. 😉

  15. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    You guys are FUNNY!

  16. sandcastlerâ„¢ Avatar
    sandcastlerâ„¢

    One word, commando.

  17. TruckerRon Avatar

    Have you ever heard of “emotional support animals” other than dogs? Here’s a story about one, proving that pigs can’t fly…

    http://www.ksl.com/?sid=32536877&nid=711&title=when-pigs-fly-not-on-this-us-airways-plane&s_cid=queue-9

  18. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    When I started college, “physical education” was required for all the girls. One part of it … you could choose various classes, but the popular ones filled up fast … was sort of exercises, dance routines etc. Everyone had to buy a leotard for the routines, and it was kind of nice, black, tight, with a scoop neck, very flattering I thought. I still have mine! I used to wear it sometimes after college with a skirt, as Jean describes.

    Thank goodness I didn’t have to wear any of that stuff that Jackie tells us of so realistically! College girls didn’t wear pants here in NH, but the hose and so on — no way! I did have to wear nylons to church when I was living at home, but gave up the church and pretty much the nylons when I was seventeen and went to NH University. Have been comfortable and happy ever since.

  19. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Charlotte, I am telling you, I was the first woman that anyone knew of that made the collegiate national livestock judging team.
    Me and 999 men. That is probably an exaggeration of the men.

    Anyway, I had to wear the approved by Dean of Women Agnes Roth uniform for women representing the university which was a white silk blouse with a big bow neckline, a black crepe shift dress, black high heel pumps and hose. Real nylons held up by a dang garter belt, probably black, for Ghost’s imagination.

    And I had to stomp around the Ft. Worth Livestock show in this rig including the high heels and hose in the cow poop and dirt. There is special dirt they bring in for livestock shows to make it deeper even.

    The Dean of Women did not like me. Never did. I think they named the alumni house after her. I won’t admit I am an alumni or send contributions.

    The no bare legs rule seemed so stupid to me but they also had a no bare feet/no socks rule for men and no shorts, so equal dress rules.

    Love, Jackie

  20. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Did someone say “black garter belt”?

    Jean dear, I did indeed mean “body-shirts”, the ones with snaps at a strategic location, when I said “leotards”. (See my 6:44 PM comment.) The story I can’t tell is related to a time the snaps holding together the lower part of a very stretchy upper garment came unsnapped. I suspect you can guess, as those teaser commercials on TV say, “What happens next”. 😉

  21. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    Jackie,

    I’ve noted before that I don’t go to eateries or events that require ‘proper attire,’ or I get them to change it. I will don cap and gown for academic assemblies, but with a turtleneck, no tie, and grey Velcro tennies.

    Peace, emb

  22. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I think this music goes with the current discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F89McWFENTs

  23. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    I hadn’t thought of a “unitard” in years. Back in the day, when high-impact aerobic exercise was a thing, I attended an hour-long class, three times a week, for over three years. (You can’t imagine how tough it was to have to drag myself to class, where I was the only male in a class with a dozen or more cute, toned and scantily-clad young females. But somehow, I persevered. And got in the best physical condition of my life.) At one point, the instructor, an awesomely fit young lady who stood about 5’2″ (and, I feel quite sure, could run a Navy SEAL into a sandy beach), switched from a leotard over tights to a unitard. It was the first one I had ever seen in real life, and I was, for lack of a better word, enthralled by the results.

    I always positioned myself on the front row, leading the rest of the class to think I was being a gentleman by not looking at their butts while they exercised. But I did have something of an ulterior motive. Did I mention that the instructor was awesomely fit?

  24. sideburns Avatar

    EMB, you sound like you would have gotten along well with the judge from Night Court.