Spoiler alert: this isn’t a potty joke. Arlo’s line is just something silly to say, so obvious as to be chuckle worthy. That was the hope anyway. Many assumed he was taking a nocturnal leak. Maybe he was, and maybe he wasn’t. It’s also obvious they’re both awakening to meet the day. As one commenter wrote, “only in Arlo & Janis.” It’s true what your parents told you, especially you girls: if you get a reputation, it will follow you forever. The Comments machinery seems to be functioning better. There were only two comments being held without reason in the queue when I looked this morning. Our goal is 0% spam, 100% brilliant commentary.
The Days Dwindle Down

20 responses to “The Days Dwindle Down”
I’m with Arlo.
So, “100% brilliant commentary,” he wants? I am afraid I am breaking that pattern already–
Now I’ve got another earworm in my head. There is definitely a song that has days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer in their lyrics. Sigh. I just got rid of “I’ve seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I’m on my way” by Yes as it was part of a commercial and I couldn’t understand enough of the lyrics to trace it!
Boy we have seen more of Gene in the last month thank in the last 5 years! 😛
Definitely NOT verbatim, but the words in Jimmy’s cartoon inspired this earworm….By America
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You’re gonna go, I know
‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air, in the air
I knew that “days dwindle down” was from “September Song” but I could not remember the rest of the lyrics. So I had to look it up! Here is the last part of that lovely song…
Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn’t got time for the waiting game
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I’ll spend with you
These precious days I’ll spend with you
The most obvious observation my dad ever made was during our first visit to Florida. He walked out into the ocean and dived into a wave. He came up sputtering and shouted up to my mom, “Edith, this water has salt in it!” She hid behind her magazine while my brother and I laughed… and we made a point of reminding him whenever we went near the beach again, “The ocean is salty, you know!”
Panel 3: Arlo looking at the sky through the small window in the front door, noticing how dark it still is at 6 a.m.
I think I got today’s strip. Gus had a lady friend visiting. Two glasses on the table, Daughter gets very interested in one, Gus makes the comment about how hard it was to get lipstick out of glassware. That’s how it adds up to me.
I guess I’m still blocked.
I never saw this one before. Good used of poetry, Jimmy. I agree, it’s getting dark too soon, and light too late. https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2002/10/27?fbclid=IwAR2sJzn9rip8ulpL4glgE63d73THR_utYrJrITgjwf1ruM_Nu9XEps2c4v8
Mark, I had to ask Ghost to explain the lipstick on glass cartoon to me. He said “Obviously, Gus is old but he isn’t dead yet. He had a visitor. “
And the “No! I’m old!” response to ML’s question is a classic Gus-ism.
Two details mark this one as very likely a potty joke: the window, by size and placement is clearly a bathroom window; Arlo’s upward gaze is typical of a man’s unwillingness to even look at the target.
As I wrote yesterday – a comment still in comment purgatory – the window seems like one found in a front door, not a bathroom. Arlo is merely checking the sky for any sign of the forthcoming morning. It is, after all, already 6 a.m…..
Was blocked last time
Just found out that friend Ron of 55 years is in
hospice. Pancreatic cancer. Prayers for him and all that
care for him.
Blocked again – Is it me or that fact that I asked for
pr4y3r5
Re 10-13-21 real-time (especially poignant) cartoon: True, Gus. No matter what age we obtain, we are still our parents’ child. My last thoughts, if I have any, will undoubtedly include memories of the two wonderful people who gave me life.
I LIKE Gus! He is the best supporting character Jimmy ever brought onto the strip. Not all families are Arlo and Janis types, in fact few are.
In todays world most mothers seem to be often absentee, children raised by grandparents or single parents, usually the mothers.
Happy 246th Birthday, United States Navy. You don’t look a day over 200.
Testing – am I in the dog house?