I might as well take the tiger by the horns. From 1995, here’s an old strip on a familiar theme, Arlo pining for a sailboat. That’s your cue to chorus, “So, what happened to Arlo’s boat that Gus gave him?” The scientific answer would be, Nothing, because I haven’t let anything happen. Yet. The reality is more complicated. Probably, it was a mistake to give Arlo a boat. The perfect analogy is Charlie Brown and the football. The story and the humor were in his desire and frustration. Kick it, and the tension would be gone. Now that Arlo, in theory, has a boat, what happens? Obviously, I could do a lot of boat gags. It would be easy! Forty people who follow the strip would love them. I know; I”m one of them. Everyone else would get bored. However… I’ve tried to explain before, comics don’t exactly move in real time. This isn’t to say the boat won’t reappear. Certainly, we can talk about it.
Saleboat
By Jimmy Johnson
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73 responses to “Saleboat”
Today’s TIP
http://www.gocomics.com/that-is-priceless/
and TIP blogspot are the same, and not bad.
I have a friend with a 33 ft Hunter – only 4 years old … for sale … if Arlo would like another one!
I remember the little boat he finally got. I seem to recall him wrestling it in the yard then it disappeared. I’ve always wondered what happened to it. Maybe Janis used it as a planter?
Totally understand Jimmy’s dilemma regarding Arlo’s boat. The Charlie Brown analogy is a good one! But I think perhaps the dream of owning a boat has passed its expiration date. Why not explore what happens when a mature (ahem) adult achieves a dream? Does it live up to the hype? I, for one, would like to find out. Carry on, Jimmy! And more Gene, Mary Lou, Meg and Gus, please. They spice up the pot.
wherever your story takes you is good…. and we sure enjoy watching. 🙂
I would LOVE to see A&J do some sailing soon…and I’ll bet there are more than 40 of us that feel that way! Plus, it’s an excuse to get Janis in her bikini again… 😉
Not a fan of boats or of sailing, but the strips are just as amusing as the rest and I agree with Rusty about the bikini. 🙂
Good morning, Villagers! The blog post made my day, since Janis and Arlo were both annoying on The Dark Side.
Why is it that if I think of Arlo, Janis, and a sailboat I have visions of “Captain Ron”?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103924/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Let me join the chorus agreeing that some boating strips would be fun. Especially, as Bonnie from Glouster points out, how having is not as fun as wanting. I can see quite a number of strips with Arlo complaining about all the work that a boat entails while Janis sees only the fun aspects of boating.
With the foreshadowing of Ludwigs fate, perhaps some fun goofy boating strips will be needed. (Plus Janis in a bathing suit is always a bonus!)
Ah, yes, Arlo’s small boat. At one point, as I recall, he was chasing it down the street in a windstorm, yelling, “Someone grab my dingy!” or something to that effect. If he did that today, he would probably end up as a registered sex offender.
Jean, my favorite line of Captain Ron’s came when the sailboat was leaving port and the owner expressed concern about the heavy maritime traffic: “Don’t worry. They’ll get out of the way. I learned that driving the Saratoga.” (For those of you who do not know, the USS Saratoga, now decommissioned, was a 1000+ foot long, 80,000+ ton aircraft carrier.)
A close second is when Captain Ron said, “Yeah, incentives are important. I learned that in rehab.”
GR6, the line about the Saratoga reminds me of a discussion in The Bluejackets Manual about rights of way. It went something like this: your 16 foot motor whaleboat might have the right of way over an aircraft carrier, but the laws of physics trump the laws of the sea. I also recall the nickname I heard for the Saratoga when I was on active duty: The Sinking Sara. People who had served on her told that her hull was so thin that you couldn’t chip paint below the waterline. Then there was the USS Forest Fire(Forrestal) nickname due to the massive fires she suffered. One accidental and one arson by someone who didn’t want to go back to sea when she finished rehab from the first one.
There were two USS Saratogas, CV3 and CV-60. Thge first one was sunk at the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb test
Very good, Lily. I didn’t peg you as the military history type. 🙂
This is why the Navy can’t have nice things.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/USS_Rupertus%3B025916.jpg
Seriously, that was a very bad accident the Forrestal suffered with many fatalities, involving an accidental ordinance discharge.
The Man In My Life is a military enthusiast and hosts a gathering of his friends once a month. They talk airplanes, tanks and ships till they are blue in the face. I am a regular attendee.
OK, I’m finally going to ask: As a newbie in this community, would someone please explain what “The Dark Side” is?
I for one think JJ has more people who’d like to hear about what happens when Arlo achieves his dream and how he deals with it. I have been Janis and “The Other Woman” to boats for 47 years which gives me some veteran experience. Plus I have several hundred boating friends, all male, who confide in me like Dear Abby.
What I want to see are some strips that deal with Arlo and Janis’ handling of achieving that dream. I do not know what Arlo and Janis will do. I doubt Jimmy does. Writers don’t always know the plot all the way to the end.
Captn Ron is especially popular with sailors. Kurt Russell can do little wrong in my opinion, even when he does.
Love, Jackie Monies
@Radgrad It’s just the GoComics version of A&J
Good for you, Lily.
Radgrad, The Dark Side is a name I came up with for the “other” A&J blog, which may be found under the daily cartoon on the gocomics site. There are several reasons for that name, but let’s just say it primarily means that it’s not as awesome as this blog. 🙂
Radgrad, The Dark Side is the commentaries posted on the GoComics website under the daily strip. Not being moderated by Jimmy, it suffers in quality but not quantity.
Those sailors in their ice cream suits sure make nice block letters, don’t they?
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/026222.jpg
If that doesn’t get a response from Mindy, probably nothing will.
Comments are more like some FaceBook or text message “shorties”. I like the one today about Arlo really knowing how to wrap his hands around a hoe.
That was an astute comment! Jimmy, you really did a fantastic job drawing that particular detail. Hands are hard, hard to draw and cartoon. Notice how bad they are or absent in most strips?
Love, Jackie Monies
Regarding naval rights of way:
ACTUAL transcript of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. This radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10-10-95.
Americans: “Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.”
Canadians: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.”
Americans: “This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.”
Canadians: “No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.”
Americans: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT’S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.”
Canadians: “This is a lighthouse. Your call.”
(Not realy true, but a great story nevertheless.)
I believe the last glimpse we had of the boat was Gene living on it prior to marrying Mary Lou? Maybe they still use it when they stay at the restaurant or Meg is with Gus.
Thanks for the explanation. I needed that. Now we need Janis in the bikini.