Today, I’ve chosen another really old A&J for you, from 1987. I talk a lot here about the evolution of my drawing and sometimes about the evolution of the writing, but I don’t think enough is made of how much the personality of the characters has evolved over time. Arlo and Janis both have become familiar, knowable individuals. In the early days, as in this cartoon, nothing defined the players beyond an air of whimsy that always has existed within the strip and married-couple banter, hopefully from a fresh perspective—mine—but still married-couple banter. The development of the characters is, of course, a reflection of growth in drawing and in writing, yet it’s more: while a sum of the whole, it almost is a separate metamorphosis, the satisfying outcome of the cartoonist’s craft.
Punch Line
By Jimmy Johnson
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252 responses to “Punch Line”
Not that I’ve flown that much, but I’ve never had to remove belt or shoes, nor have I seen anyone else have to do it. Of course, the Jedi mind trick helps.
@Jerry in Fl
I must look suspicious. I ALWAYS have to remove belt and shoes and usually at the gate again too.
Charlotte. Much better, thank you for asking. In regards to food, getting them through TSA is problematic, but I brought some snacks in my carry-on, but couldn’t dig them out on the plane, so you should be able to bring most non-liquid foods. Many people on the flight were able to buy their lunch at the terminal and eat it on board. I often got a pulled pork sandwich when I fly out of Nashville and get dirty looks from some people because it smells so good.
I did have a different experience when I landed in ATL from Mexico. They send you to kiosk and you scan your passport and take a picture of you that you carry through the process. As I was exiting the area, I realized that I did not have it. The guys at the TSA told me to empty my pockets and looked in my bag, not for security purposes but to find the scanned picture. They told me to go back through to the start and talk with a guard to see if someone had picked it. I walked back through the area exactly how I entered it and located it, along with my folded up boarding pass laying on the ground. People must have thought is was garbage and did not pick it up. When I walked back through, I told the TSA that I felt like the 1st grader loses his note from the teacher on the way home. They laughed and were very cordial.
BTW, Jimmy, really nice closure for the week of strips.
My luck, I’d end up seated next to the guy who brought a fried tripe and sardines with onion, garlic and sauerkraut sandwich on-board to eat. With a side of chòu dòufu.
When flying, my backpack is my E&E bag. Everything I need is packed in it, including granola bars, individual bags of trail mix, and a 20oz aluminum water bottle. Just fill the bottle once your past the check point. Confession,the backpack is my day to day office.
Loon travels with packages of crackers, individual servings of peanut butter, dry cereal, and apples. As to her getting patted down, she just smiles and says afterwards, “Thank you for making my day special.” It works best if you have an Eastern Euro accent.
OMG, the ultimate summertime gadget. http://www.yourstoreonline.net/as_seen_on_tv/super_balloons_3pc_set_100_balloons/id4036518/product.html?scomp=googleshopping&gclid=cj0keqjwqe-rbrcv_j6qs6isp6ebeiqambctfkmc-cfihlmhup7adxmi948zmv7xh0ymmwlvnei95haaaixp8p8haq
I have a courier bag like that. Only it includes some items that aren’t supposed to get through airport screening. And which might or might not, judging by TSA’s recent performance. Not that I would try.
sand, do the Chinese have all your info after the OPM hack?
GR6, allow me to say I (we) won’t be traveling to certain regions for sometime to come. Actually, I can’t leave the country at present time, my passport has been embargoed.
This is a great idea!! Maybe GR6 and I can become professional sunscreen applicators.
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/time-summer-connected-bikini-tells-tan-151941492.html
“And there’s even a ‘Valentine’ function that sends the message to a boyfriend’s smartphone so he knows when to apply the cream to his girlfriend’s skin.”
I would bet good money that someone is already working on (or has completed) a hack that allows the boyfriend to set whatever interval he wishes for reapplication of sunscreen.
“Oui, Babette, I know that I just finished rubbing oil all over your body, du haut jusqu’en bas, trois minutes ago, but le smartphone says it is time to do so again. Que puis-je faire?
Nous ne voudrions pas que ces pokies d’appel d’offres pour obtenir brûlés.
If you like June Weddings, here is a beautiful 14 second video…Watch till the end.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/abagg/this-wedding-video-goes-from-beautiful-to-a-total-mess-in-ju?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.jwyqMw14OG
>>“Oui, Babette, I know that I just finished rubbing oil all over your body, du haut jusqu’en bas, trois minutes ago, but le smartphone says it is time to do so again. Que puis-je faire?<>Nous ne voudrions pas que ces pokies d’appel d’offres pour obtenir brûlés.<<
Dit par un homme trop gentil… avec un coeur d'or!
Done in by my use of brackets for quotations… Ma foi, eh bien, encore!
GR6: “Oui, Babette, I know that I just finished rubbing oil all over your body, du haut jusqu’en bas, trois minutes ago, but le smartphone says it is time to do so again. Que puis-je faire?”
Moi: On doit faire ce qu’on doit!
Sand: “Nous ne voudrions pas que ces pokies d’appel d’offres pour obtenir brûlés.”
Moi: Dit par un homme trop gentil… avec un coeur d’or!
Evan, sounds more like a man wishing to launch a golden arrow.
Steve, another splendid example of why Amazon will not be making drone deliveries on a large scale in the near future.
I’m guessing “operator error”. At least it didn’t clobber the happy couple.
“Nous ne voudrions pas que ces pokies d’appel d’offres pour obtenir brûlés.”
Strange you should mention that. A few years ago, one member of my all-female staff owned a tanning bed and not surprisingly had a lovely year-round tan with no tan lines, whatsoever. (That’s another story.) So of course I had to ask her the obvious question. “Yes, they did,” she told me, “but only once. Believe me, that’s not something you let happen twice.”
“Nous ne voudrions pas que ces pokies d’appel d’offres pour obtenir brûlés.”
Dr. Pam has a gel.
http://www.idealmedicalcare.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/GVE6583-YES-6-640×424.jpeg
Dearest Ghost, thank you for the nice comments about Chris. He had a Purple Heart also — from shrapnel, thank goodness he was not badly damaged. Very thankful that he was not in the Hurtgen Forest. I read all about it not too long ago, it was horrible and didn’t need to happen at all … a ghastly mistake of the higher-ups if I remember correctly.
Thanks to all for explanations of airline regulations about food on board, made for fascinating reading! Sure is a wide variety of rules to think about. At my age (never thought I’d use those words) I don’t plan to travel much. If I did, I like Mark in TTown’s idea of using Amtrak. It sounds like a very comfortable way to go to faraway places.
Steve in Royal Oak, glad to get a progress report, and your story of dropping the much needed scan on the floor, and having the stunning good luck to find it again! Was exciting.
Old Bear, glad to get your thoughts too. You seem to have much knowlege.
Dear Debbe, gee whiz, every day brings some new disaster. You somehow bounce back with a smile, you are a wonder.
Mark in TTown: Have you felt any of these?
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/13/alabama-earthquakes-geologists-causes?CMP=twt_gu
Ruth Anne in Winter Park, no I haven’t felt any of those. They must be weak, because as the story says, the affected area is close to Tuscaloosa. It;s funny you should bring this up, because I was reading this article a couple of days ago: http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/06/11_of_alabamas_worst_earthquak.html
The only earthquake I know I felt was in Japan, while there in the Navy. That one was weak, too, just a slight movement that rattled things.
Charlotte, I really did enjoy my Amtrak trip last year and would do it again. I would like to try the sleeper service. It’s pricier, but your meals are included in the price of the ticket. Just relax and enjoy the train ride as part of the vacation and you will arrive in a much better frame of mind than flying. The seats are much further apart than in a plane. Amtrak coach seats on the Superliner cars have a pitch of 50 or 51, while most economy coach seats on a plane are around 31-32. I don’t know why they call it pitch, Seat Pitch is the distance from any point on one seat to the exact same point on the seat in front or behind it.