I’m sorry about yesterday! This site was down for much of Saturday, and when it seemed evident it wouldn’t return on its own, I grimaced and called my web host, EarthLink. After I’d gone through the preliminary rigamarole (“What was the favorite toy of the third pet you ever had?”), the nice fellow on the other end typed in the address of my web site and said something like, “Yes, I see it,” to which I replied, “You do?!” I looked on my computer, and sure enough there it was. It turned out, certain sites built with WordPress were not functioning properly on EarthLink that day. The corrections apparently were finalized about the time I was trying to think of my third pet’s favorite toy. That was the easiest call that young man took all day, although it was a while before I could get off the phone, because he was obligated to try and sell me stuff. I will say, I pay a bit every month for EarthLink, but it’s served me well for years.
56 responses to “Storied Past IV”
You wonder it sites due that in order for you to call and then they can sell you stuff….. Nawwww! Happy Sunday, Jimmy.
BTW, fill us in on Faraway Places.
Yes, I spent awhile finding and then reading about it, thanks to Mark. Then spent awhile begging Ghost to drive me to Iuka, Mississippi.
By the way I have been there before. Never thought I’d be pleading for a return visit for the holidays.
What is the ‘Cafe Tuscany’ story? I don’t recall seeing it, or is it a tale for another day?
@sandcastler – I believe Cafe Tuscany is the site of The Noodle Incident, involving a young boy and his pet tiger.
They should dock Brooke’s pay.
http://www.gocomics.com/9chickweedlane
Peace,
Jim Dyer,
Color me culturally ignorant of what you vaguely referenced.
Me too. Is this like some of my Ghost stories? His are all true. Crawling out of bed to go cook bacon.
So far no aversions.
I don’t know, but a young boy and his pet tiger sounds like Calvin and Hobbes.
emb, I disagree. That is a good sight gag, probably one of the better strips I have seen by McEldowney. And much easier to comprehend than his convoluted storylines.
Nice surprise on a sunday am. – a new oldie
Mark, We’re evaluating different things. Fine sight gag. Brooke, however, is a great draftsman, and he too often gets away w/ drawing almost nothing: a leash here, bent borders of the panels other times, and such, but a minimum of actual drawing, a major reason that I seek out 9CL and Pibgorn. Peace,
emb, I understand what you are saying, and I agree that Brooke can do some very good illustration when he wants. And he could have as well done this as a daily 4 panel strip rather than using up an entire Sunday page for it. But I’m sure he had his own reasons for doing it this way, perhaps as simply as he felt like it.
A good way to use a 4 panel space to put in more detail, combine all into a single wide panel:
http://www.gocomics.com/gasolinealley/2017/10/24
About McElheney, the man had a stroke didn’t he?
Who among us could draw a cartoon, much less after a stroke? Cut him some slack.
Right, that’s the cartoon joke isn’t it?
Possibly Arlo and Janis have dressed in their best clothes and pretended they are at the “Cafe Tuscany” for the fun of it; but they are still at home — where the washing machine is. And yes, she could have avoided the spill, but there wouldn’t be any story to amuse us.
As I see it, FWIW, when they were at the Cafe Tuscany Janis had a similar mishap and ran into the ladies’ washroom to get the stain out. When she returned to her seat, her favorite white blouse was still wet.
And translucent.
Gee whiz — that was me, not Anon. I was on my iPad and didn’t notice my name wasn’t where it should be.
They are at home — that’s a home washing machine, and where would she get the spray bottle if they had gone out to eat? They are pretending, as people sometimes do, being at a fancy restaurant.
Charlotte, I agree you have the current setting correct. Janis has done all these things just as you have described. But I read Arlo as thinking of another evening from some time ago, where some havoc was created at the named restaurant. They were either asked to not return, or have been too embarrassed to return ever since. Either way, I think Arlo enjoys the memory more than he misses the restaurant.
I do remember a variety of Calvin and Hobbes happening at a restaurant, but don’t remember a name. If this one is a nod to Mr. Watterson’s work, that adds to the fun.
Ghost and I agree, Arlo is talking about a previous dinner at the Cafe Tuscany where Janis got marinara sauce on her blouse. Ghost says she ripped her blouse off at the table and ran into ladies room in her bra.
About Calvin and Hobbes , I have that sequence in one of my collection books of strip but I am in truck. He insisted zHobbes go and I remember Calvin eating noodles. I can locate when we are home.
The “Café Tuscany” cartoon is a visual depiction of an old joke…one I thought I’d told here but may not have.
A woman goes to a friend, who is a physician, to confide that she and her husband’s love life has been flagging of late. The doctor in turn confides that she knows of a drug, currently in trials, that is sure to cure that problem. “Let one pill dissolve in a glass of liquid at dinner, and things should be looking up by bedtime.” A week or two later, the physician sees her friend on the street and asks if the drug had had the desired effect.
“OH, yes,” the friend said, “I dropped the pill in his water glass when he wasn’t looking. About five minutes later, I looked at him, he looked at me, and then he swept the table clear, ripped off my clothes, and made passionate love to me on the table.”
“My goodness,” the doctor said. “They must not have the dosage right on that. I’ll be glad to pay for the damages.”
“That won’t be necessary,” her friend said. “We can never go back to that restaurant, anyway.”
So do I think Jimmy ripped off an old joke for his cartoon? Hardly. Or at least no more so than the person that told it to me was ripping off the same joke Ogg the Caveman told to Thag the Troglodyte. If anything Jimmy improved it, by presenting a visual version of that joke in four panels and in less than two dozen words. Well, not a literal visual version, of course; this is still a “family-friendly” venue.
Retro strip:
Janis goes from calm and loving to raging and deadly in 0.6 seconds.
Just about as long as it takes Arlo to go from amusing to stupid.
Good morning Villagers…..and a very crisp one at that…25 degrees…brrr
GM Old Bear
…and a Monday morning greeting to you Miss Charlotte.
Rick…I’ve got her beat…less than .6 seconds I can become ‘unglued’ 🙂 Like with this kitten now, he’s driving me nuts, doesn’t leave me alone.
Like the hole in my air mattress…put Gorilla tape on it, must have another small pin hole somewhere as I kept losing a little air. Twice I turned it on to put more air in it.
GR and Jackie, well wishes are with you both today.
today’s grin:https://i.chzbgr.com/full/9097041664/h9036DCE1/