There are many reasons I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, most of them having nothing to do with cartooning, the web site or (Please don’t take this personally!) you. There are so many reasons, some of a personal nature, that there’s no point going into them. Let’s just say I’m going forward from here. No, the comment issue still is not resolved, to everyone’s chagrin, and believe me when I say, “Mine especially.” I will continue to work on it and approve your posts manually in a timely fashion as best I can. There is something in particular that affects us here that I would like to bring up. I think perhaps I will begin updating midday, say lunchtime. (This also relates to the retro cartoon above!) In these parts this time of year, the earliest part of the day is the best time to get things done outdoors, like before-sunup early. I said I wouldn’t bore you with whiney excuses, but it is difficult to put down the posthole diggers and go to the computer. Posting in the morning has been the norm for so long that when I miss that window I move on. Noon is well past time for me to collapse in an air-conditioned room. If I can train myself to that, perhaps there’ll be fewer distractions. For those of you who like to read with your morning coffee, like me, continue to visit in the morning. You’ll never know the difference. I think I will experiment; I’ll let you know when. Lastly, I want to thank those who have enquired about my health and my well-being, and I want to thank Dr. Gonzol for the incredibly supportive and generous message he sent to my syndicate on my behalf. No, I haven’t gotten that raise, but your praise is praise enough. (Ahem! If you missed it you can see it in the comments that appear under the previous post.)
I’m back! Sorta
By Jimmy Johnson
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68 responses to “I’m back! Sorta”
Welcome back. Coming from West Alabama, I understand what you mean about the best time to do outdoor work. And when you finish you are drained and need time to recharge. Thanks for providing this site and its contents. I understand that it’s a sideline you do at your own pleasure and appreciate that you do take time to keep it going. Not many other cartoonists do this.
I appreciate everything about you Jimmy. You’re the best. I’m just glad you’re not sick or something!
Thank you Jimmy. Your efforts are appreciated. Your work brings comfort to a community that stretches far. I hope you have a good one, and can stay cool today.
Glad to know you’re OK, Jimmy!
I have always found that the best time to use a post-hole digger is when someone else is holding it……
And would you kindly allow to posit a query to expand my understanding of a linguistic matter? Do you know what a “spud bar” is? (In my experience, ask that of anyone in OH or WV and the answer will be along the lines of “‘Course I do; I ain’t no city boy!”, while from anyone in IL or WI, it will be “A what?”.
Thank you in advance for your assistance in broadening the reaches of my research.
I’ll be honest: I thought I probably knew what you meant by “spud bar,” but I’ve never heard the term. I did google it, and my guess would have been more or less correct. A big heavy bar for doing just about anything. A big, straight pry bar. My father always called it a “juge bar.” Not at all sure of that spelling or even if there is a real spelling. Daddy was capable of making up words. Pronounced JEWGH.
Whew, just Whew!
move on up to Michigan…….we’ll have snow shortly…………………..
Hi JJ = Welcome back. Glad you’re ok. Since I;m retired now and don’t have to get the grandkids to school in the summer I don’t read this till later in the am. Now I won’t be the last to read it.
(meaning, I’m glad you are back and well.)
PS: No link to Go Comics today
Hello Mr. Johnson,
I read the good Dr.’s letter and he did it justice. I thought I would note that while he learned to read by following Peanuts in the paper, I am 32 and A&J featured prominently in my learning to read via the comics page in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. By far my favorite strip when I was growing up. I was heart broken when it left our paper to be replaced by Pickles many years ago, near the end of my High School education (which I must admit, is also a great strip, but I held a grudge against it for a long time). I assumed the strip had ended and was delighted a few years ago to find it on GoComics and start following this blog! Though it seems sometimes my wife and I may be the only millennials reading it … though we now give our daughter an iPad so she can I’m prove her reading through comics.
Thanks for the great strip and we love every bit of it!
On a more selfish note he mentioned buying a JJ original, is there a formal process for this? As there is one strip in particular that had my wife and I in stitches for days, that I would dearly love to acquire if possible. Forgive me if the question is a taboo, I am afraid I am not familiar with the etiquette in this situation, so pleas for give me if I have made a faux pas!
No problem asking about an original, Jordan. Tell me the date and describe the strip, and I’ll see if I can find it. However, if you know the date, you can go to GoComics and purchase a print. You might be satisfied with that. Anyway, thanks for the comment and your interest in my work. — JJ
I found mine on eBay; I just kept checking, and, one day, lo! A treasure!
Copying from Mark in TTown. I couldn’t have said it any better except I too am from East Alabama!
Welcome back. Coming from West Alabama, I understand what you mean about the best time to do outdoor work. And when you finish you are drained and need time to recharge. Thanks for providing this site and its contents. I understand that it’s a sideline you do at your own pleasure and appreciate that you do take time to keep it going. Not many other cartoonists do this.
I’m just happy that you’re ok. Giggling about your heat issues while I’m glad it’s only 104 today here in Porterville CA. Looking forward to whatever you post whenever you’ve got time. ??
Don’t know how the ?? got there. Lol
LOVE today’s retro strip! Husband and I both grew up in hot humid (summers) Kansas. (Cold damp winters! Spring and fall generally nice.) Anyhow, I used to say it was like walking out of the air conditioned house (once we got air conditioning!) and having a wet dish cloth hit me in the face. (I also heard someone say they expected to look out the window and see fish swimming by.) ((Enough parentheses here today??))
PS: YAYAYAYAY for having the lights back on in the Village!
Hmmm. I didn’t stay signed in below. Oh well. I’ll just deal with it.
SO glad you are back, JJ. I kept thinking about the heart issue you have a few years ago!
When I was working full time, I always read the comics & blog as a preliminary to settling in for the night. As I am still working (just not being paid!), I still keep to that routine. So your posting later in the day is no problem for me. Just as long as we can get to it! LOL
Love & blessings to my favorite cartoonist!
I think it is Fargone working JJ even knew who I Symply was!
I well understand how badly humidity can hit people. Trinidad is on the Purgatoire River, giving us lots of humid days in the summer, along with mosquitoes, mankind’s most deadly predator. We’ve had a fair amount of rain, lately, mostly accompanied by thunder and lightning but even so, we’re asked to do outside watering before 10 AM or after 4 PM.
Glad to see that you’re OK, Jimmy, and that you’re doing as best you can to keep the Village up and running. Maybe your syndicate could have an intern come here once or twice a day and do the moderating?
Breaking News!! The intern won’t be necessary, Sideburns. The comment gremlin is gone, banished just minutes ago as I write this. It was, of course, a simple little fix when I stumbled upon it. But that’s all for now. This will give me something to talk about tomorrow.
When I made my comments earlier, I could see them! God is good – and so are you, JJ!
(Now… for your next project… perhaps our names would stay – ??)
YAY!
I subscribed to Go Comics at Jimmy’s urging several years ago, so most of the time the comics I read daily are in my email. I read them before work and they help me get in a good mood. My daily reads: Arlo and Janis, Herman, Pearls Before Swine, Non Sequitur, Shoe, Monty, Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy and Close to Home. Oh, and the Sunshine State strip Jimmy had recommended. After reading a few I added it to my daily list. Thanks, Jimmy.
I highly recommend you add Wallace the Brave to your daily reading list. A great style, wonderful characters and a bit of Windsor MCay whimsy.
Hey thanks for the list!
I haven’t read Monty in years and years, forgot all about it.
Lovely to have you back!
Good to be back on the Salmon Sofa (that sounds like a euphemism)!
So happy to see you are back. My preferred way to get to GoComics is through this page. I come here eachh morning and see what the villagers are up to then click onover from the link. I still used the link each day just no comments to read. It is seldom i comment as I dont often have anything interesting to add.
Still Alive and Kicking….Both You and ME! LOL
You have done SO much to keep us abreast with your activities. We enjoy it. We enjoy each other ( A couple enjoy themselves more than others!) and we appreciate the hard work that you do. Not only with the comic, but with the blog. I think that it makes you a better cartoonist.
Oh and thank you for the glimpse into Gene’s world. As much as we love A&J, we love and Gene and family as well.
Does the heat keep you from being able to sneak around and peek into your readers’ windows?
No, evenings have been quite pleasant, actually.
This month I’m in Atlanta for work, and there have been a rather large number of bouts of 100% humidity, with associated rumblings in the sky. But my Fitbit STILL expects me to get 12000 steps done. During the Great Pandemic Shut-In, I hit my target more often than not. Now, I average around 1/5 of it.
Oh yeah. For the folks who don’t get FB and the Arlo and Janis fan site there, news on Jackie. I emailed her the other day to check how she was doing. She said she is getting her other knee replaced on July 26th. Her diabetes and cancer are well controlled and she is working on losing weight. She and her doctors are also planning for the redo to her breast reconstruction. And Ghost is still taking great care of her.
Thank you, Mark!
You’re welcome, Jimmy.
It’s good to know the village survived the Comment outage. I lived mostly in Memphis, Osaka, and Birmingham before moving to Utah in 1979. It was my first long-term exposure to hot, dry air. Lately we’ve hit our monsoon season, such as it is, with muggy (ok, yesterday it was a bit over 40% after a thunderstorm hit) for us weather. We’re much more used to having it well under 20%.
I’ll never go back again to high humidity again if I can avoid it! Since I don’t drive a semi anymore, that shouldn’t be a problem. 😉