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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Lost at Sea

By Jimmy Johnson

Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
Here’s more from the “wild art” file. Another project that never got off the ground. Or never left the dock might be a more appropriate metaphor. Look at Janis’ foot—I didn’t know I could draw feet that well! This was drawn about the time of the two pieces in the previous post. For the hardcore sailors among you, the cockpit is a fairly realistic depiction of that on a vintage Tartan 27 sloop I once owned. It was a tough little boat. I sold it to a friend, and it was lost in Hurricane Katrina. Just to illustrate how bad things were, the boat at the time of the storm was in a Bay St. Louis boatyard, “on the hard” as they say. This means it was on dry land, supported by jacks. Still, it was swept away and never seen again.

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217 responses to “Lost at Sea”

  1. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    A thing about today’s cartoon…it pretty well nails down Meg’s age and, by derivation, ML’s (and Gene’s) age. Of course, remembering that they are living in the comic world space-time continuum, several months from now they may still be the same age as now. Or a couple years older.

    As far as Meg being homely looking, have they never heard the story of The Ugly Duckling?

    And now, my no-TV policy is about to go on a temporary hiatus for another College Football Day.

  2. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Here’s a “cat chases laser dot” commercial I just saw on TV. But I consider the guy in it downright creepy.

    That’s right, Munchkin…even Ghost considers this guy creepy. So, guys…don’t be that guy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gdvzOmpjvo

  3. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    ghost, and while the news is pointing out ice melt at one pole, i saw a headline for a story that said ice formation was at record levels at the other pole.
    enjoy your football.

  4. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Another toxic effect of the upcoming national elections is that, for the past couple of weeks my home landline phone is suddenly showing two dozen or more calls per day from “Unknown Caller”. (Yesterday, twelve of them were from the same number over a four-hour period of time.) And none of them leave messages on my machine when it answers.

    Since almost everyone who actually needs to reach me has and routinely uses my cell phone number, I’m very tempted to Spotify up a gangsta rap “song” and record some particularly obscene and repetitive excerpt from it, at high volume, in place of my answer message. But with my luck, the first call I’d get would be from a church lady wanting to get an update on my Mom.

    “No, Sister Smith, I don’t know why you heard music on my phone line when you called. And no, I don’t know what “that” word means, either.”

  5. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    I just saw another Matthew McConaughey car commercial, this one featuring a longhorn. He seems to have gained some weight and is looking better (McConaughey, not the longhorn), but the car is still dugly* looking.

    Better luck to Bama today, Mark. Sorry, Aggie fans. Also, sorry TCU fans. WV is putting a hurt on the Horny Frogs, and it’s getting late in the game to be trailing 41-27.

    *danged ugly

  6. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Whoops, wrong team. Baylor is playing WV, not TCU. I was thinking of last week’s game. Sorry for that one, too, Frogs.

  7. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Awww. WV won, and their student section is singing John Denver’s Country Roads. Still miss John.

  8. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Jerry…now that will be a train wreck 🙂

    Don’t watch either…..

  9. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Bryon….that is a good one….google loclcats red dot…..

  10. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Indy Mindy…you and your friend are still in my thoughts and prayers.

  11. Lilyblack Avatar

    Wowee, just did a big workout with the free weights. Went up to 15# on the curls and 10# on the reverse pyramids. My arms feel like rubber.

  12. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    GR 😉 I think what PO’s me the most is if I upgrade, it’ll put me into another two year contract…I don’t even know what tomorrow brings let along a two year contract…thank you so muck for the details…..

  13. sideburns Avatar

    Back when I could go to the gym regularly, I was able to do 20 curls and 25 bench presses (using an exercise ball for a bench) with 15#. Then, medical and other issues intervened, and the last time I tried, I was able to do about 17 curls and 20 bench presses. Now, because of transportation problems (no working car) I can’t go at all. I’m planning to buy my own exercise ball and a pair of 10# weights because they’re probably about the right size for me now.

  14. Granny Carol Avatar
    Granny Carol

    GR, I was going to make your turnip soup tonight – went to two places – no turnips! Oh well, squash and onions and BBQ chicken will have to do. I have saved the recipe and plan to try it when I find those elusive turnips!

  15. Lilyblack Avatar

    Sideburns, I do 50 reps with each set. I go for endurance, not max weight. The Boss Of My Life impressed that on me when I slightly tore a biceps when I was first starting to do upper extremity work

  16. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    Mark: Thanks. emb

  17. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    Dear emb, Please accept my sincere sympathy for your loss. You have written before about how wonderful and loveable your wife was. It must have been very, very hard to carry on without her, especially with so little warning. You are still thinking of her all the time, even though it’s been a few years.

    I’m feeling the same way about my dear Chris. It will be three years tomorrow.

  18. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Debbe 😉 If you need a cell phone for only voice service, and don’t use it a great deal, go to Wally World or some other big box store and check on a no-contract, pre-paid plan, one where you buy the (reasonably priced) phone upfront, and then buy your call time as you need it.

    Back in pre-digital days, in 1997, I got a little Motorola MicroTech flip phone I loved. I even had a neat hands-free kit for it installed in a car I bought in 1999. When the original phone went south on me, I went on ebay, bought a used one, and had my service transferred to it. I did that a couple of more times and continued using MicroTech’s until 2007.

    I suppose you could still do that and get your service from Verizon with no contract. If so, you’d have to make sure the particular phone you got was compatible with Verizon or whatever provider you plan to use.

  19. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    you are welcome, emb. they are fun to watch when they chase the dot because they will do almost anything to catch it.

  20. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    Charlotte: Yes, it’s on my mind much of the time. I’ve not joined any grief support group, largely because I’m surrounded by supportive folks much of the time. But it’s still lonely. Fortunately, no unresolved significant conflicts. We’d gotten to the point where we did not differ on much of importance: politics, faith, finances, food, taste in furnishings and décor [mostly second-hand eclectic]. Both well-trained in the sciences, both faithful/skeptical UMCers but very supportive of and active in the UMC, locally and at district and state levels, both good at integrating [note we didn’t say reconciling] science and faith. She liked drama > I, was active in local community theatre on and off stage [achieved life’s ambition to play Eulalie Makechnie Shinn, the Mayor’s wife in ‘Music Man’], watched shows on TV, which has been largely idle since Dec. ’10.

    Neither of us had imaginative or adventurous cooks at home, but her skills blossomed with an appreciative husband to feed. All 3 of our ‘kids’ [now early to late 50s] became good cooks, as did two daughters in law, who once thought Yorkshire pudding was a dessert. Actually, they’d never heard of it before marrying into the family. Both of us loved reading and writing, and copy-editing; my major problem now is copy-editing my own 2 monthly columns for our local daily.

    She actively aided in chaplaincy at the local hospital’s rehab, and was also our UMC’s parish nurse. Neither of us pretends to know much about the afterlife, if any, nor were either of us worried about it. If Elohim* is just and as powerful as is claimed, there must be one, to right the injustices of this life. [Anyone who reads this blog likely is among the more privileged of today’s 7 billion humans, so should not expect seats on the 50 yard line.] We are in Elohim’s hands now, and will be then. That is enough. We also prefer James 2:14-18 to the faith alone notion.

    *The Hebrew name of God used first in Genesis 1:1, not the distorted notion of a current cult who await the arrival of ‘the Elohim’, aliens who will come in flying saucers to save humanity.

  21. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    Dear emb, I like your fine essay on your wife and your marriage. Your life has been spent helping other people, both in work and in leisure, and in retirement. The world needs people like you and your wife.

    Chris and I were not believers and didn’t go to church. Our seven children gave us entertainment enough to keep us turned toward home, rather than the world outside. Chris worked long hours, often driving to far flung construction jobs — he tested concrete, soils and site preparation — when he got home after work, he wanted to stay home! Although we would get to Boston for concerts now and then, early music; Bach was his favorite. I think that music fulfilled our spiritual needs.

    The “children” also in their fifties, all healthy, and are useful citizens; grandchildren are progressing through college now. We’ve been very fortunate.

  22.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Charlotte, you have been blessed in this life. Maybe the grief isn’t as raw now, but three years is not such a long time ago and I’m sure you still feel your loss keenly. Anniversaries are hard. They bring many memories from the mist. Be especially kind to yourself.