Here’s an oldie from the Ides of March, 1999. It is the first in a week-long series featuring son Gene, which you can see in its entirety by clicking on the date above. Not long before this strip ran, Janis went from her original long hair to a shorter cut. Here, I still was struggling with how best to depict the new ‘do, and I still am. For me, cartoon hair is the toughest thing to draw. I’ve never been very satisfied with any of my efforts. I hate Arlo’s hair, but by now he wouldn’t be Arlo otherwise.
Naive Son
By Jimmy Johnson
Recent Posts
Ghost of Christmas Past
This holiday Arlo & Janis comic strip from 2022 is similar in concept to the new strip that ran yesterday. I thought the latter ...
Spearhead
I have produced a number of comic strips related to Veteran’s Day. Especially in latter years, I have tried to emphasize the universal experience ...
Dark Passage
Remember: it’s that weekend. The return to standard time can be a bit of a shock in the late afternoon, but I rather enjoy ...
What’s old is old, again
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to build a web site, but there are similarities. Everything needs to be just right, or ...
Back to the ol’ drawing board
I don’t have a lot of time this morning. I wasn’t going to post anything, but I’m tired of looking at that old photograph ...
Thursday’s Child
On Sunday, I teased you with the suggestion there are more changes coming here. There are. They will appear soon, and I think you’ll ...
124 responses to “Naive Son”
It always SEEMED a good idea at the time but Gene is an only child. Like Calvin, Dennis and others
Most women can identify with you Jimmy. Getting their hair “just so” is quite an effort!
Re 3-18-21 real-time cartoon: I recently commented on what I felt, based on experience, was the fallacy of the old saw “Flattery will get you nowhere.” My observation was that flattery will indeed get you just about anywhere you want to be, as long as it is appropriate and offered with sincerity. And as they say in Hollywood, “Once you learn how to fake sincerely, you’ve got it made!” 😀
s/b …fake sincerity…
Thanks, speel chek. 🙁
I would’ve told the boy that in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism we all get reincarnated, however many times it takes, so he may very well have asked to be born.
Here in Utah: All Utah adults will be eligible to schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 24, Gov. Spencer Cox announced Thursday.
I hope all of you who want vaccines are getting them!
Re 3/15/99 – 3/19/99 retro series: I highly suspect Jimmy had an attorney friend at that time with too much time on his hands.
Leave Arlo’s hair alone, & stop hating it. I’ve been happy w/ most of Janis’s dos also. Peace,
This may be a repeat. I finished typing & it simply vanished. Anyway, you should stop hating Arlo’s distinct hair, & Janis’s various dos have been fine. Peace,
It came back. Don’t know where it was hiding. Actually, I came so y’all could watch Neb. cranes flocking. Peace,
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/crane-camera
This is the next site I bumped into:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/how-banana-slugs-help-forests-to-grow/vi-BB1eHZmu?ocid=msedgntp
The banana slug is the U Calif Santa Cruz’s mascot. UCSC president tried to veto that years ago, but student body was adamant. At basketball games, players crawl out, complete w/ antennae, which I presume they shed for the game itself. Have heard that they routinely lose, but that UCSC is a fine, innovative school. Apologies for any stomachs the video has turned.
Bon appetit.
Re 3-19-21 real-time cartoon: Dickens does the same thing to me…except more often to eat my sandwich than to find a warm place to nap.
Neb cranes aloft & up close. Peace,
https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
I have been there when the river was solid with cranes for miles. Tbe bird racket can be heaed from miles away, overwhems everything.
Too many eggs at the Anacapa site? Hard to tell eggs from rocks. & nobody incubating? Peace,
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-anacapa
Note to JJ. Arlo is getting on in years so if you don’t like his hair draw him bald.
I like Arlo’s hair … it grows on you!
Go to the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts website and in the part search prompt type in “121G”…. You will thank me. (not malicious)
Good one, Steve!
Steve, that is hilarious! I stole it from Ruth Ann, who said she had stole it from you. It’s getting around!
Passed it on to family and friends
Rolling on the floor laughing (ROTFL)!!! Good for O’Reilly’s Auto Parts!! Thanks indeed, Steve!!
This has been a lean nesting spring. Disclosure: I don’t track all sites, but little action at several favorites. But this morning, there is a pair in Baltimore.
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-chesapeake-conservancy
Who do the Chesapeake birders, think they are, not listing a location? Believe they were once the only site. Most primitive site: one fixed focus webcam, no closeups, no panning. But we may get some action. It’s midseason already. Now back to see about Reilly. Peace,
O’Reilly’s Auto Parts 121G is a riot. Thanks. Will circulate. Peace,
I was very disturbed to find that the item was not available. Are there more on order?
And when the item is restocked, does anyone know where I can acquire a DeLorean? The last one I remember seeing was in 1987, broken down on the side of the road, which doesn’t bode well for finding one now. Of course, I had a time machine…
At John DeLorean’s funeral there were dozens of them that paraded by the funeral home. It was kind of touching….
https://findadeath.com/john-delorean/
Hey Jackie. Here’s another place you might try. I went there for my first time yesterday and had lunch. It was very good. It’s a small place in a strip mall, wasn’t crowded at all. But as of next week they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays. https://www.flavorsoflouisianacajun.com/
Mark: Jackie and I ate there back in 2017, not too long after they had opened. In fact, when they learned where we were from, the entire staff surrounded our table, asking our opinions of the food and soliciting suggestions for improvement. It was quite good, especially for them having only been open for a short time. We have planned several times to go back again, but things kept intervening. You’re review has encouraged us to do that soon.
Happy first day of spring 2021 from Eufaula, y’all. And, miracle des miracles, it dawned bright and pleasant here today. There’s not a cloud in the sky at the moment, and it’s 61 degrees and on the way to a high of 65. And the “buttercups” started blooming in the front yard the first of this week.
I had to take care of some early morning business, and it was so nice that when I finished, I took a few minutes and invested a couple of dollars at the coin-op to give Bullet a much-needed bath. Oklahoma seems to be a bit hard on vehicles*, and keeping them clean is particularly tough…autumn and winter bring rain and mud; spring and summer bring dust and bugs. But even a quick scrub made Bullet look better and me feel better.
*A couple of days ago, I was pricing a set of new shoes for Bullet and when we got to discussing tread warranties, the salesman interjected, “Of course, in Oklahoma** you can deduct about 10,000 miles to get a reasonable estimate of how long the tires will actually last.”
**Oklahoma’s motto: “Wearing your tires out for you, so you won’t have to, since 1907.” 😀
It doesn’t help that the “roads” in Jackie’s subdivision are worse than most golf cart trails I’ve seen. They would be better off scraping off all the asphalt and just graveling over the dirt.
Looks like I’m me today, so I’ll report that here in my mountain valley (4510 ft elevation) we’re getting some much needed rain showers today. Up at the ski resorts (8000 ft and higher) they’re getting snow. We didn’t get the big storms like Colorado this week, and we need every bit of precipitation we can get!
And here in Trinidad, at 6100 ft, we’re expecting both rain and snow starting tonight and lasting until Wednesday evening.
This was good for a lot of laughs for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iroicv7hWA