Today, from 2004, a companion strip to yesterday’s new-year’s ruminations. What kind of house do Arlo and Janis live in? Sometimes, it has a small deck out back, evidently in need of repair. It definitely has a patio somewhere in the backyard. It is clapboard sided, with a garage. It is federal blue, sort of, and has a short flight of steps up to a nominal landing in front. It has a TV room that opens to the kitchen via an open archway. It is two-story, with an unfinished attic. Beyond that, you know about as much as I.
Reasoning and Railing
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 ...
90 responses to “Reasoning and Railing”
TIP BlogSpot and comic are the same. Cold-blooded take on a cold-blooded murder. Macbeth? Peace, emb
http://thatispriceless.blogspot.com/
I’m reposting this one here:
My son-in-law and his crazy brothers are trying to talk their parents into letting them set up a furnace like this at their home in the country. They’re NOT doing it here in town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYB8zDGT5h4
Trucker: That looks just as insane as the painting. Catalog I found titled it ‘Murder Scene.’ No classic ref. Peace, emb
Good morning all. I got up early for me an hour ago, had breakfast and insulin, blood sugars controlled. I can’t eat things like ice cream, beef, things I have been off. I try and I get sick. Our bodies adjust to a new reality. Mine is no matter if you likeD prime rib and burnt ends in past, forget eating them now.
An interesting lesson I seem to be learning is you don’t have to eat it just because you bought it. I am learning to send it back, pack it up, feed it to dog. I may never eat it but putting it in a box keeps me from eating it and placates my soul.
I remember some very wise advice I got at about age 17, “Honey, with your looks you don’t have to drink it just because some man bought you a drink.” Sazarach Bar, New Orleans, 1961. Funny I no longer drink, have ALWAYS adopted that philosophy. Learning to control food, another thing.
One of the first things I learned about OTR trucking was that the portions served at truck stop restaurants were too big. To keep me from becoming too big I had to learn to ask for a box when the food was served. I’d put the excess in it and put it in a cooler in my truck. I had a little 12V “lunchbox” heater and plenty of foil to wrap the portions as needed.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418FcVaKsAL._SX425_.jpg
That was much better than trying to find a good spot on the engine to heat the food; diesel engines are too big (no convenient spots) and run much cooler than a car’s engine.
“Federal blue” is a color I had not heard of before, so I Googled Federal Blue Color and looked at images. My monitor was awash in multiple shades of blue. Oh Well.
I do know what a railing is, so I am good there. 🙂
“Anonymous” – RE: yesterday. Thanks, I had already thought about seeing the Whooping Cranes out of Rockport this Spring. Stayed at the Hoopes House there, once, great B & B in an old house, facing the coast. She teaches general biology and ecology; we walked all around Enchanted Rock, north of Fredericksburg, on New Year’s. She pointed out the various scat we saw and how you could see it was from on omnivore, carnivore or herbivore. Also we walked all around a big city park in San Marcos along the river, it was closed from being all messed up after a flood and we crossed yellow closed-caution tape to get in – most romantic. I had us a pretty full holiday schedule of things to do, now I find out if we can just hang around and do nothing.
Yes, that was for John in Richmond who is dating but David in Austin you could surprise your date of 32 years with a bird watching trip. Definitely upscale from a tent!
Ghost, you sure pick some easy women, even if we discount for your infinite charm and good looks. My first date after Mike died had to fly 8000 miles to meet me. Not easy to say it wasn’t fun, go home. And yes, Debbe you do grieve their death as they die. I had a year of grieving and five months trying to find myself. That self keeps evolving and I am looking forward to who I will be another year.
Yes, Jerry, the hot sauce was funny but you told me to ignore you. I enjoy your cats.
Thanks Mark for the Kitty Buffet. You can see lots of mud on porch. Martha Stewart hasn’t made it home yet!
Jackie, and Debbe, I think I have posted this here before, but it’s worth reading again as a statement of how to handle the passing of family and moving on. Although he doesn’t mention it here, his wife had also died of an aggressive cancer a few years ago.
http://www.spiderrobinson.com/diary15.html
John in Richmond (the joke about me is Jackie has so many Johns we have to put town, country) I have to spend two weeks in Port Aransas, Texas from March 21 to April 3 building three Saturday Night Specials for my cancer fundraiser fleet. And yes, I am building them at the Farley Boat Works there with hopefully some volunteers besides me! If it wasn’t such a hike from Lighthouse Inn to the island I would stay there but I have to be at boat shop early each day so I will stay close by shop.
Rockport is once again alive and thriving, good to see that.
Sounds like you are doing fine with romantic. Romance isn’t dependent on props, it’s in your heart.
Jimmy, the Day’s house you described is exactly as I had imagined it. Great minds think and imagine alike!
It is funny how some people will search and search for inconsistencies over the storyline of their favorite sitcoms or watch a movie and say “That isn’t real!” or “that couldn’t happen!” Considering how long you have written this strip, there have been few instances of this.
Of course A & J paradells our lives so much, we tend to believe that they are real!
What? Next you’ll tell me no Santa or Easter bunny. “I’ll believe in you, if you’ll believe in me.”
Mark, that was the most beautiful writing on loss and death I have ever read. Thank you.
Jackie, you are welcome. Look up his book Callahan’s Cross-Time Saloon, and go from there.
Jackie, that was a “fix-up” date; I didn’t pick her. I’d never met her before. And I’m certainly not bragging…she turned out to be Bat-Guano Crazy Lady.
Ghost, and I feel guilty for laughing at you. I met my late husband on a blind date “go as my protection from his frat brother” to help a friend. That only lasted 48 years, a lifetime commitment totally unexpected. He was romantic in those days.
The laughing at rose petals and champagne was from all those years in floral and liquor industry. The coolest thing I heard done was taking top off toilet tank and filling it with several dozen roses, putting petals in the commode.
The salesman came unannounced to deliver my new pickup. He was sorely disappointed to find me wearing gray knit pajamas. I told him it was too cold for the Marilyn uniform. It is out parked, I need to put clo t he’s on and drive it down to insurance office. I know, I could call, but I need to go see ATT about security cameras as well. And phone is dead.
Mark: Thanks. emb
Apparently I am sometimes romantic even when not trying to be.
New pickup, just sitting there? No way! If mine, I’d already know its 0-120 time. 🙂
Thought for the Day: “Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.” – Terry Pratchett
There were several comments I could have made regarding the rose petals in the toilet bowl, but I managed to resist posting any of them.
You’re welcome.
At my sister-in-law’s funeral, my brother introduced one of his wife’s friends to my son as “someone that I once went on a blind date with.” My SIL earned a degree in working with the blind because of this friend (who is blind) and my brother took her to dinner once (with my SIL’s permission) because the friend was feeling depressed.
When my son recounted the story after the funeral, my wife rolled her eyes and said to my son: “Be careful, Dan, that warped sense of humor is hereditary” At that comment, my daughter-in-law rolled her eyes in agreement.
The petals in toilet bowl must have caught on because for a long time REALLY upscale hotels and restaurants did that in their public ladies rooms. The bathroom attendant had to sprinkle some with each flush. Like and post on your Facebook page if you remember that. Hey, that’s funny. I should do that, throw some petals in mine and take photo. Post.
One of the milder scenarios that came to mind was the groom’s reaction to going into the honeymoon suite’s bathroom after his bride had just come out and finding the toilet bowl full of rose petals.
Jackie, your suggestions for a romantic weekend remind me of an incident involving my ex and I. We went to a nice hotel and got a room with a large whirlpool tub. Went out and loaded up on things for the weekend, including lots of little votive candles. Filled tub, lit candles, turned off lights and got in tub to enjoy relaxing soak. About 15 minutes into this scene, the smoke alarm starts going off because of the candles. We both hop out, wet, and rush around putting out most of the candles in hopes the alarm will stop before somebody orders an evacuation. The alarm stops, nobody comes knocking and now we really need to soak in the tub to relax!