Here is the beginning of a series from 2001, tangentially related to the A&J strips running currently in newspapers and on GoComics. Both series are about long-standing couples and the lives they lived before they met and the stories they tell about those lives. And don’t tell. Actually, I prefer the older treatment. Well, it’s the week of Thanksgiving, and I’m going to give you a preview of coming attractions. Did you know that when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed “Thanksgiving” a more-or-less official federal holiday, it was to be observed on the last Thursday of November? Though acceptance of this directive varied slightly among the states, it generally held true until 1939, when FDR decided Thanksgiving should be observed on the next-to-last Thursday, to give a boost to the Christmas shopping season in a nation still living through the Great Depression. This was done for a while, but it wasn’t universally popular by any means. For one thing, Republican lawmakers felt the Democratic president was “dissing” Honest Abe Lincoln, a fellow Republican. As a result, in 1942, everyone agreed Thanksgiving would be the fourth Thursday in November, which usually is the last Thursday in November, but not always. I think I got that right. Anyway, why is this a preview? I visit this tidbit of history in an upcoming comic strip.
Storied Past
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 ...
48 responses to “Storied Past”
I was responding to Trucker 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
The cartoon says “drapery,” no? That’s not intended as a toga [why would one specifically use a toga in a “life ” class, and Janis no longer has the blue tee on]. She [and the instructor?] decided on a short robe for later disrobing. In Brit music-halls in the ’50s, the “stationary” nudes took bows afterwards in below-the-knees robes. Gather they no longer have to be stationary.
In the ’60s [?] “Oh, Calcutta” on Broadway, both sexes let it all hang out, but were shaved. Elaine & I saw that when it was soon to close.
Centuries ago, the crowd on the left yelled as Lady Godiva rode past side-saddle, “Hooray for our side!”.
Peace,
Jackie SITREP: She’s resting comfortably. Surgeon hasn’t been in; suspect it will be tomorrow before he is.
Sign of the times, I suppose…the two things I grabbed the other night as I jumped in my vehicle to follow the ambulance to the hospital were her ID/insurance cards and her cell phone with charger cord.
The main item I brought to her today was a tablet with charger cord so she can read ebooks on it.
I would like to thank everybody here for not referring to today as “Turkey Day,” because the day is about being thankful for everything good that’s happened this year, and not about the dinner. And, because that nickname for the holiday implies that it’s all about the turkey, a bird that’s so dumb that its name is a byword for stupidity. Be happy, be healthy and be thankful that you’re not hospitalized with COVID-19 today.
Amen, Sideburns.
That did get me to wondering if there is a National Turkey Day. Found that 3rd Sunday in June is National Turkey Lover’s Day. Who else thinks this is likely something the turkey growers’ trade association devised to push turkey sales in the summer? Nothing wrong with that, of course…that’s what trade associations do.
Heard of birds in flocks drowning when looking up in rain.
.
Wild ones are wily tho. Here in MN DNR hunt down escaped domestic Turkeys so they don’t
dilute the wild birds.
Back from Tulsa. Jackie was sleeping when I left. Must have been much needed rest, as she just called me to say some of the hospital staff came in after I left to talk to her about things like physical therapy, and she apparently carried on a conversation with them in her sleep but has little idea what was said. I told her to ask her nurse who they were so I can contact them to find out what it concerned.
I did get there in time to assist her in eating her turkey and dressing with gravy and green beans. I gathered that it was probably more nutritious than it was tasty. We’ll have to have a “do over” on that when she gets home.
Guess my Thanksgiving dinner will be ham tonight, in sandwich form. Which I like, and for which I will certainly be thankful. I imagine that some (hopefully not many) probably had less than that today.
Something else for which I’m thankful is that the traffic, both into and out of Tulsa, was very light today, to the point the drive was almost relaxing. Ordinarily it’s anything but light on US-64, the eight-lane highway into Tulsa from the southeast. Also, I’ve named the four lanes going each way (from right to left) Fast, Faster, Too Fast, and OMG!
Ghost, I picked up a deli Thanksgiving dinner yesterday in a Reasor’s grocery that was very good. For about $6 it had two decent slices of roast turkey breast, mixed peas and carrots, mashed sweet potatoes with (I think) brown sugar and pecan topping and cranberry sauce. All I had to do was heat it and eat. When you come back to Tulsa, check one and see if you can find one for yourself. They also had some with dressing instead of the sweet potatoes.
Thanks, Mark. I’ll check on that. Sprouts also has various ready-for-the-oven pre-made meals that look pretty good, and they probably have some with Thanksgiving-style fare now.
I completed my 26th marathon & 5th/yr in 6:37:01. I’ve done 9 since my hip replacement 8 yrs ago & this was my fastest. Before this year,my fastest so d my surgery was 7:29.
I had to go around the park 21X. On 20th pass, my watch said 26.25 mi! Should I stop? I was feeling sore and petty tired, but frankly I could never lie about my time or distance in a marathon.
My replaced hip feels fine. My Homer & Ruth hip (the one that I was born with) is a bit sore tonight, but should ok by Saturday or before.
Good for you Steve – always satisfying to do better – and getting to be if you don’t do too much
worse than last time. 😀