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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Gratuitous Gratuity

By Jimmy Johnson


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
Hooray! It seems the EarthLink servers are up and running, again. I was getting worried after two days of “This Page Cannot Be Displayed” error messages. I will say, I have been with EarthLink since I launched my first Web site back in the 90s, and the reliability has been outstanding—with only the occasional hiccup. Today, I have another Sunday A&J from 1994. This is a mild example of the insecurity that characterized Janis in the early years. Janis since has mellowed and enjoys life and marriage much more these days. In reality, the waiter or waitress who hovers constantly around me and pesters me with ceaseless questions and attention is not ingratiating himself. But reality is what insecurity is all about, is?

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257 responses to “Gratuitous Gratuity”

  1. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    New word of the day (for me, anyway): abugida . Anyone know it without looking it up?

  2. TruckerRon Avatar

    No, I’ve a scotoma where abugida was concerned.

  3. TruckerRon Avatar

    A true life hunting story: boy with bb gun vs mouse

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

  4. sideburns Avatar

    Little Willy was a chemist.
    Little Willy is no more.
    For what he thought was H20,
    Was really H2SO4.

  5. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Good morning Villagers….

    Emb…thank you for your explanation of colors, some of which I did understand, but I love the way you go into detail….it’s in your ‘blood’. Some great learning courses here in this Village, I love this place.

    Right now the full moon is shining in my computer room, shining all over that white stuff outside. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, I let Ian drive, he explained to me what the two buttons are on my console: power, and winter…..4 wheeled it to the highway, then hit the ‘power” button on the highway…..power is for ‘positive’ traction…or ‘posie” as he says.

    Jackie, so glad you made it to your destination….unscathed. And yes, the Village will be with you in spirit. So glad your daughter and grandson came along with you. Does your daughter share the same enthusiasm in boats as you do?

    Gal….14 inches….I do hope you are well stocked as Ursen is. Keep us posted, girl.

    and GR 😉 I have an Aunt Dottie who teased me constantly in my youth, she told me the same thing…..”if I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t tease you”….she is and always be my favorite. She too lost her husband last year to lung cancer.

    I finally got PO’d enough to call the main maintenance man at The Corp to come look at the packer…The Boss told Ian to do that two days ago. I got tired of Ian and Andrew just staring and looking at the jams and trying to figure things out (lazy a$$es)….So I called The Man at 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Said he would be over in 30 minutes or less. Andrew looked at me when I hung up and said “I really didn’t want to do this right now”…and I said” then you should have called him yesterday or this morning”…..I take no prisoners…PO’d him off.

    While The Corp man was there, he was telling us about the new hen house they are putting the finishing touches on……a three story, 500,000 hen house. I want to see it when they get done….all state of the art stuff…but you’ll always need someone to pull out “the dead”

    Heh, ya’ll have a blessed day

    RE: today’s real time….I would have to wash my good china first, it’s been in the baker’s cabinet too long.

    And I love JJ’s “reality is insecurity” quote…so true

  6. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    We know that Robin is real, or, at the very least, Arlo is sharing Janis’s delusion.

    Real Robin or imaginary, we are now faced with the eternal A&J question: How long before Janis’s jealousy resurfaces?

    (By the way, anyone else notice that Robin and the robins both arrived at about the same time? Up here, it’s 1 degree this morning, and the robins are singing – thus giving new meaning to “bird brain.” They left Florida for this?)

  7. Denise in Michigan Avatar
    Denise in Michigan

    Jackie, was that Sunnyland Farms at which you stopped?

    Trapper Jean, I love that one! Fuzzy Wuzzy must have been loved and snuggled an awful lot!

    sideburns, oooh, nasty!

    Jackie, we will be with you in spirit on Saturday.

    Debbe, that made me think of “If not for sits, why is made of warm?”

    Jimmy, I bet Ghost noticed a couple of significant differences between Janis’ and Robin’s appearances. Nice job on that.

  8. Denise in Michigan Avatar
    Denise in Michigan

    Rick, robin song gladdens my heart, but male red-winged blackbirds proclaim “spring is HERE TO STAY!”

  9. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Why, Denise, whatever do you mean? Well, OK; I did notice. Actually, that was why I had no doubt that Robin was real…what woman would conjure up an imaginary friend that had bigger boobs than her own? Bosom Buddies, indeed.

    Interestingly, yesterday’s cartoon about Janis’s shiner set off a small avalanche of comments over on The Dark Side about spousal abuse, while not producing a single one I noticed here on The Bright Side. Humm.

    Thought for the Day: Try not to live your life so that its sole purpose is simply to serve as a warning to others.

  10. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Ghost also noticed a couple of significant differences between Disney’s new Cinderella and the one he envisioned when he first heard the story as a small boy.

    http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/cinderella-lily-james1.jpg

  11. Steve from Royal Oak, Mi Avatar

    I guess the Force was not with Harrison Ford’s plane yesterday. Very glad that he is OK and hope someone replaces his divot…

    One of my favorite movies of his was Regarding Henry, where he plays a real jerk before getting shot and getting a brain injury. The new Henry, while “disabled” by most accounts, is a much better person than the old one. So is his on-screen wife, Annette Bening, who transforms during the process. One of those quiet jewels that I accidentally watch on cable years ago.

  12. emeritus MN biologist Avatar
    emeritus MN biologist

    TIP BlogSpot and comic are the same. I’m guessing it’s the Annunciation.

    http://thatispriceless.blogspot.com/

    Peace, emb

  13. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    We are up and moving but not with enthusiasm yet, Michele is griping about miserable oj in motel and I said we are in FL for heaven’s sake, let’s go buy some!

  14. emeritus MN biologist Avatar
    emeritus MN biologist

    First heard Fuzzy Wuzzy in summer camp, 13 or so [= ’43.]

    Still no prediction / OF.

    We have about 10 of above freezing highs coming. Robins not likely until a significant amt. of ground is bare. Perhaps by St. Urho’s Day.

    Peace, emb

  15. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    Why can I get great seafood at reasonable prices on Cape Cod and bad orange juice costs a fortune in Florida? Remember the stupid slogan that they used several years ago? “This is Florida. The rules are different here.”

  16. Tom (formerly) from the Front Range Avatar
    Tom (formerly) from the Front Range

    @Jerry in FL

    Florida has rules?

    (formerly from the front range but now a resident of Tampa.)

  17. emeritus MN biologist Avatar
    emeritus MN biologist

    Two corrections:

    I forgot “awww”.

    Left out a word: “We have about 10 DAYS of above freezing highs coming.”

  18. Galliglo in Ohio Avatar
    Galliglo in Ohio

    Sunny and 21 degrees – beautiful! At least, while I stay inside. There is too much snow out there! The cars in the parking lot look like huge drifts of snow. I notice that one neighbor has gotten out. But, even if I were to dig the car out, the parking lot still has all that snow. I don’t think the landlord does not believe in plowing the parking lot… But the pantry is full and I am thankful for that.

  19. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Regarding recent comments about “reality” TV and out-of-kilter priorities in this country, the “top story” on my AT&T home page’s news feed Wednesday (and I am not making this up) was “E!’s ‘Fashion Police’ has suddenly found itself in a state of chaos, with Kelly Osbourne exiting the series after a dust-up with Giuliana Rancic — an upheaval that came just weeks after the show attempted to reinvent itself with Kathy Griffin stepping in for deceased host Joan Rivers.”

    I’ve never watched the show, so I do not know if it offers anything worthwhile or not. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that a show about a worthless topic, hosted by worthless “celebrities” on a generally worthless cable network, may perhaps itself be worthless.

  20. Galliglo in Ohio Avatar
    Galliglo in Ohio

    cxp: regarding ” abugida”… I had to look it up. I really don’t think I shall be using that work in every-day language! But it WAS interesting.

  21. sandcastlerâ„¢ Avatar
    sandcastlerâ„¢

    Never let the NSA catch you, they have a special place for those who abugida.

  22. Ursen Avatar
    Ursen

    Galligo full pantry thankfulness is often forgotten in this country of plenty. I had to spend over $200 in two days to replenish and restock before the new record snows and cold. I am thankful that I had the money to do so. Now I look out at the snowy trees and hillside and can enjoy the beauty without anxiety over what do I feed the cats, dogs, and the two of us. In addition all our medicines have been refilled, so let the wx do it’s worst.