Do you remember the above “old” Arlo & Janis comic? You should; it first appeared in newspapers and on GoComics.com earlier this month. What you probably don’t remember is the strip below that first ran November 30, 2004. I obviously didn’t!
I ran across the 2004 version this morning, while rummaging for something to post. I’ve been drawing Arlo & Janis for a long time. I’ve always suspected things such as this happen, but I’ve never stumbled upon such damning evidence. I looked up comments here and at GoComics from the day the recent version came out, Nov. 3. It was with mixed emotions I discovered no one else caught it either. I have to admit, it isn’t a joke one would remember 13 years later. I did notice both cartoons were from November. I suspect they were the result of me stowing away on the overbooked Pumpkin Spice Latte Train.
89 responses to “Mea Cuppa”
I remember years back in Ann Landers column G.I. s from WW2. writing about the canteens that the Red Cross and the Salvation Army ran. The Salvation Army would provide coffee and doughnut no charge,but the Red Cross would charge for the same coffee and doughnut.
Jackie:
I don’t trust the Red Cross, either.
When the pay scandal first broke, I stopped giving to them. After I retired from teaching and began working for a company in the private sector, I have given only a token amount so that my company can have 100% employee involvement.
[Anonymous on purpose.]
Local church gets names each year from school district with first name & last initial, age, sex, and a 2-3 item wish list for kids perceived to need help in the gift realm. This year 150 kids are being gifted at $30. each. This church has only 50 or so active members, so I think the love being shown is remarkable. Gifts are transported to the district coordinator for distribution to the indicated child at the named school. The child never knows who the donor is. Don’t know how many, in total, kids are involved, but the district has some size to it.
https://www.railserve.com/steamspecials.html Fun things happening over the next few months.
Anonymous, that is a wonderful form of giving that brings a smile and a memory. I hope it can continue through this time where there are so many concerns for the privacy of minors. I would like to think we can find a way to have privacy rules that protect from bad things, yet allow for good things. Unfortunately I do not have the answer and can only continue to hope. Glad to read your good example.
Ghost and others, sometime around a couple of weeks ago I submitted a short story, copied from an advertisement, about a macremé time machine. I was astonished that it was posted in full. I had already divided it in four pieces, separately in a notepad document, ready to copypaste when needed. Only it was not needed.
I also remember seeing an occasional, though not nearly frequently enough to satisfy desire for more fun prose, newsletter on orphanage events that stretched quite long. With these examples in mind, I wonder if it is not the length in character count or paragraph breaks, but the length of time elapsed before hitting the [Submit Comment] button.
Does that hypothesis fit with your experience as well?
Mark, on your link, there is a short outing highlighting engines of the Milwaukee Road. It reminded me of the items shared here before on the Iron Horse Park in Washington and the Columbia River crossing at Vantage, near the I-90 crossing of today.
For privacy and medical legal limits our seniors have a numerical coding known only to staff. I tried to choose gifts as though the recipient was my own mother. I fear these ladies have little “nice”in their lives.
Sadly in giving to nursing home residents one has to fear theft from staff. I have known and employed a lot of people over the years who worked in this particular home. Usually worked briefly but that is how they worked for me!
Briefly, if they worked at all.
Yes, sadly it becomes evident that we can’t do things even to help others we once did for fear of legal reprisals.
Jackie, that is one workaround solution. And I am glad again that it allows for good things to happen. It raises in me a different fear of when we mark people by a number. Although this example is on paper only.
I know that what I yearn for is that bad things don’t happen to good intentions. And I know that wishing it were so is a long way from reality. But I also feel that an eventual solution will only come after more discussion and less acceptance.
My mother left a church she’s attended for many years when she realized that they were giving about $3,000 each year (several years in a row) to one family that squandered the presents. The single mom would allow the boyfriend of the day to pawn, sell, or even trash the gifts. Very little good was coming of the gifts since the children didn’t get them. She couldn’t accept that their good intentions mattered more than the obvious results.
She attended a different church (same denomination) in a neighboring town that was less careless in its good deeds.
Random realization that times have REALLY changed.
The number of chocolate covered cherries in a box of candy has dropped from two dozen to only ten candies! In my lifetime.
The box and size is same, just less candy. Cost to package is same or more, just less cherries.
Make all that past tense. As in “she’d attended for many years.” And the pastor of the second church oversaw my mother’s hospice care during her final year, making her final days far sweeter than I could from the road.
It’s even worse than Jackie said. They actually have one box with only five in it. What’s next? One cherry per box?
I ran across a real no calorie sweetener while trying to sweeten iced tea not long ago. When I opened the yellow packet it was already empty! Obviously quality control missed that one.
My hospital sponsors an angel tree every year where they anonymously collect gifts for children who wouldn’t have a holiday. The card showing the age/sex of the child shows both what they want, and what clothing they need. If we want to participate we can either buy one of the gifts or send money to the department member who is the designated buyer.
My daughter was once such a designated buyer for a family one Christmas for her store in her youth she was shocked to find blankets and pillows, along with food and clothing on the list, along with toys and gifts.
She made sure the money bought it all to her credit.
Good one today:
http://comicskingdom.com/barney-google-and-snuffy-smith
The Village is a ghost town this morning.
Gentle reminder about Giving Tuesday which can be donated today or tomorrow.
Because I have been made aware of the many seniors who suffer I made a general annual donation and a second monthly donation that goes to seniors only. Ghost will appreciate that my giving up Diet Coke will provide 200 meals per month for seniors.
Isn’t there something you can give up? Cigarettes? Soda? Lattes?
Give up something bad for you and do good. That’s a winner.
My 19-yo daughter, after being a night owl these past few months, had a headache and went to bed at 7:30 last night. She got twice her usual 6 hours sleep and still wants more. You can’t make up a huge sleep deficit with a single deposit! Fortunately she doesn’t work today.
Today’s TIP blogspot, a favorite Melcher topic. Actually, they’re not bad looking.
http://thatispriceless.blogspot.com/
Peace,
Elaine’s big toes were longer than her index toes, like most peoples’. Otherwise, not far off.
Trucker your blogspot is interesting reading. I like the one “Are you Jesus?”
“Just because it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be fun”
No idea what goes have to do with naked gracds. What I want to know is why the shaved pubic hair in all the frontal art?
And does Melcher sit in his mother’s dark basement in front of a computer screen while he comes up with all these zingers?
Toes, can Hal.
Well, the safety razor was invented around the time that work was painted, so…
Prior to that…ouch!