Two Cats Walk in a Bar…

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Obviously, I’m limping along in June, but I appreciate you checking back. I know you did, or you wouldn’t be reading this. We haven’t had an old cat cartoon in a while, have we? I hear from a lot of Ludwig lovers that he is the most realistic cat in the funnies. I take pride in that. However, we all know he’s really a cartoon character and is allowed to stray. I think Ludwig earned his reputation, because the cat humor in the strip usually isn’t. Cat humor, I mean. He primarily serves as a foil for the humans; the best cat humor—in my opinion—is about how the humans perceive and relate to their feline pet, and that seems very real, because we all behave similarly.

88 thoughts on “Two Cats Walk in a Bar…”

  4. I think Luddie is absolutely the BEST cat in any cartoon I have ever read and since I began reading cartoons at age 3 according to my mother, that makes 67 years of cat cartoon knowledge!

    Good cat story- I went to hospital/Tulsa this weekend to see Mike and left mom and cats in care of Bonnie and Wilma who work for me part time. Bonnie took night shift and went to sleep in back bedroom with three cats and small dog, who arranged themselves in their usual sleeping pattern on pillow, both sides of “body” and little dog leapt on her stomach.

    She said everyone kind of settled down and then cats started giving her bath in middle of night! The next night she moved into my daughter’s bed in living room!

    Love, Jackie Monies

  6. Wow, profound commentary. Maybe the next book should not be cartoons but, ‘Wit and Wisdom of Jimmy Johnson; A Cartooning Essayist.’

  7. Sandcastler, I agree about JJ’s wisdom and use of words, anecdotes, essays. He is absolutely excellent in all respects and I wondered to myself why this skill is not apparent in all cartoonists?

    I knew Jeff Millar who wrote dialogue for Tank McNamara and his friend Bill Hinds drew it. Jeff was a columnist and writer, couldn’t draw but he was a superb columnist and wrote movie reviews.

    The talent to do both must be unique and I know JJ wrote for a newspaper before becoming a daily cartoonist. How common do we think it is to be both consistently (and complexly) funny and be able to draw humor?

    I don’t think it happens very often, personally. I would buy a book with essays, commentary and the occasional cartoon if JJ wrote it.

    Love, Jackie Monies

  12. @VM,

    Symply tell us whether your percentage comments re our staying on Fargone topic are counted as on topic or off topic? So after you post whether anthropomorphically or not(still on topic see how I worked that in!?!!) does the percentage go up or down…….

  14. How many Air Force Combat Rescue PJs does it take to screw in a light bulb?

    None. Air Force Combat Rescue PJs aren’t afraid of the dark.

  16. I looked at the Facebook pic of the potatoes, Bill — naughty cat (s). You could have salvaged some of them …. but nah, after the cats had worked them over you wouldn’t care to.

    A comment leapt quickly to my lips when I saw VM’s post, but luckily I swallowed it in time.

  23. Buy LED bulbs, they burn forever.

    I save lots of grief by viewing the daily A&J on a tablet, no comments. Would have to select desktop viewing to see the comments. I rather come over here to the Village for the more intelligent intercourse. Yes VM, we have intercourse.

  24. Ed, I LOVED James Thurber and Shel Silverstein also! I agree, JJ is in a small select group of cartoonists/writers.

    I miss the old New Yorker and their cartoonists. Well, their writers also.

    I try not to read the people on Go Comics by reading A & J on Yahoo comics. That is a chancy thing, as Yahoo isn’t always there! Then I go to Go Comics and try not to click on comments.

    Saw Mr. Ghost the day he said hold out for better wine. This group is far more interesting to talk to. Including Ghost, of course!

    Love, Jackie Monies

  25. This is not a rude insult (I Hope!) but why is Virgin Mindy a virgin in what? Is she a nun? Pure? I happen to have an ex-nun as a part time house keeper and care taker for mom and me. She dropped out before taking final vows and says it was a mistake.

    Of course I know why she says that. The orders give security, protection, a safe life. Sheltered and quiet and contemplative.

    It was something that made me wonder.

    Love, Jackie Monies

  26. Dear Jackie Monies, I worried all weekend, figured you were at the hospital and hoped all was well. You sure had your problems, with the lost car keys on top of Mike’s condition! I am glad you are home okay, also glad you have some help at home. The story about the three cats and the dog and your sleeping helper was funny!

    Mindy from Indy, I was very touched by your story of the answering machine message, or greeting. Good that you were able to save it. One of my many regrets is never having recorded my parents’ voices. They died in the mid 1970’s and we didn’t have a tape recorder then … they existed but Chris and I felt they were too expensive. Don’t I wish we had got one anyway … would doubtless have “interviewed” them and would now have their precious voices AND some of the stories and facts about their lives that I’ve now forgotten.
    I do have lots of snapshots, well cared for, so that is good. Later on, we did get a tape recorder and I DID interview some dear friends and relatives, so I feel good about that. Dear Villagers, be sure to videotape, or whatever device you use, your dear ones right now, before it is too late!

  27. Dear Jackie, the virgin thing is all part of an elaborate joke, which Ghost can tell you more about. No suggestion of actual religion was intended, I think.

  30. I know there has been some supposition that Virgin Mindy is actually a “faux vierge”, but I would never presume to assume a lady is other than what she represents herself to be. Without firsthand knowledge, that is.

  31. Ghost, a lot of our friends are retired military. One seems to have flown with Air Force special forces because they got people out but also seemed to have put them down too. They don’t talk much.

    Another was Army helicopter trainer and also flew NATO assignments a lot. I guess that is instructor for pilots!

    We have friends ex-Seals, ex-Coasties, ex-submariners, most are retired after a LONG service. People who were rescue swimmers, Black Op guys. There is something about the kind of boating we do that attracts these kind of guys. We aren’t yacht club socialites!

    Although one of my favorites is the retired chaplain who taught the Air Force chaplains at the AF Academy. He is a wonderful man and has had a fascinating life.

    Love, Jackie Monies

  33. Just got caught up on yesterday’s comments.

    Jackie — Many prayers for you, Mike and the rest of the family. It seems that you have a strong support system, and that is so important. And, of course, we in the Village support you also. Long-distance hugs…

  36. Jackie, I know a retired full bird AF JAG who taught Aerospace Law at the Academy. Wouldn’t be surprised if he and the chaplain knew each other. And a light colonel who was a Jolly Green pilot in Nam who flew PJs in for rescue missions. Shot down but survived to fly another day.

  39. Remember recently when Ludwig is having trouble climbing onto the sofa? And Arlo says he and Janis aren’t only ones getting up in years? And Janis hugs Luddie and starts crying?

    I do NOT think JJ should even consider aging Luddie in real time!

    Wish I could think up a clever line for those two cats!

    Love, Jackie Monies

  43. English cannot hold a candle to the German language when it comes to “portmanteau words”. Anytime the Germans need a new word they stick together two, three or four existing words.

    Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän” for “Danube steamship company captain” comes to mind.

  45. I rather like the New Year’s Eve strips wherein Loody talks to Arlo.

    Also, cats can’t change light bulbs because they don’t have opposable thumbs, something I’m quite thankful for on occasion. If they did I’m positive several of my cats would have taken over the world by now.

    Ghost, my youngest uncle, who is several years older than me, learned to fly fixed wing aircraft while he was in high school. After college he joined the Army and learned to fly helicopters (“we’re gonna help you unlearn all your bad habits”) and flew Hueys in Viet Nam. He retired several years ago as a full Colonel.

    Virgin Mindy, with all due respect, Sweetie, blow it out your barracks bag!

  46. Trapper Jean, we had a huge mackerel tabby named Alf that could open doors, used his paws like hands. We saw him do it so we knew it was him. We “cat sat” him while daughter’s friend was living in Hawaii I think, fell in love with him and never gave him back. Custody of Alf with daughter was issue, we all adored him. His ashes are on her mantel and she will probably bury him with me.

    We have a gray long hair Ashes right now that is not as good as Alf but is pretty good at opening plantation shutters, any kind of cabinet, doors. He is the one my New Zealand friend dubbed “Ashes the World Famous Boat Building Cat” and has been in magazine articles, websites, etc. Mainly because he is so fastidiously neat and never gets in glue or epoxy.

    Love, Jackie Monies

  49. Ghost, it was such a disappointment to all my boaty friends when they found out the Playboy Bunny had gotten old. One of my friends who is my editor (one) knew and he told another one, you know how hard it is to keep a secret!

    So my good friend in NZ sent me a photo of a boater out there who had been a centerfold and she didn’t look any better. He said she had a great sense of humor about it. I said I still looked at least like a cougar until the steroids and Oklahoma got me!

    Ashes looks way better than me.

    Love, Jackie Monies

  50. I still bet you’re a more interesting person now, Jackie. Not that you were ever dull, of course.

    What I’d really like to hear, sometime when you’re in the mood, are the details of “the photo shoot”. 😉

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  53. Good morning Villagers……

    I love all the cat stories above and in the strips…like I’ve said, I’ll put my money on a T-shirt with an A&J logo with a pic of Ludwig. The fact that the colorists decided to color him purple interest me….any ideas guys, why purple?

    I too have had cats open cabinet doors, and if I left a loaf of bread on the counter top, one of my females would chew through the plastic and eat the bread. When I fix lunches, my big, black and white tom (Buddee) circles around me ‘meowing’ until I throw him a sliver of what I’m sandwiching. (Hey, spell check didn’t underline sandwiching! And I thought I had a new word.)

    Jean, I like those New Year’s Eve strips too.

    Going in early….gets too hot by one o’clock….and the cooler room’s refrigerator is broke. So I googled the storage recomendations….seems if you do not wash eggs, you can keep them on the counter for days. There is a thin layer that is secreted by the hen as she lays the egg, I’ve seen them ‘wet’ with this secretion. It is called a bloom, and puts a barrier between the pores of the egg, and the “outside” world of bacteria and all. I never wash the eggs I bring home because I knew of this layer, but I did not know that they could stay at room temperature for days…..

    GR 😉 I never understood the logic of Schrödinger’s cat…and I’ve googled it. Gosh, so many synapses not firing….Jackie, I envy your memory.

    Ya’ll have a blessed day

  63. OMG, no string theory this early in the day. Barely able to function in 2.5 dimensions before coffee.

    Loon is dead most mornings until the spirit enters, that is me making like a DI. She can go back to sleep so easily. Plus the one cat is an enabler, he just curls up with her.

  64. I listened to a friend explain string theory once and understood it for about a minute, then it was gone. I also sort of get the theory of Schrödinger’s cat unless I try to think about it.

    Just because I may be up and moving around of a morning do not make the mistake of thinking I am alive and functioning at full capacity. There must be ingestion of caffeine before that happens. 😉

  65. Debbe – Interesting info about keeping eggs at room temperature. Did your source happen to mention what is considered “room temperature”? Disagreements on what that should be go beyond the stereotypical “thermostat wars”. For example, we’ve always been told that red wines should be served at room temp but that turns out to be the temps that would be found in the French chateaux where they originated – considerably cooler than my usual room in Florida and the reason I prefer reds slightly chilled.

  66. I’ve also heard eggs keep longer if left in their cartons when refrigerated, rather than putting them in an open tray or door holder or some such. Have no idea if that is true, but if that helps protect the bloom that protects the egg, perhaps so.

    And yes, Ruth Anne, I’ve been told that “room temperature” for wines is 55 degrees F. I’ve also noticed that 55 degrees is the highest thermostat setting for many home wine coolers.

  69. When people go on long ocean cruises they pack the eggs in the bottom of boat where it is cool to make them last longer. Along with 40 heads of cabbage in the bilge and a lot of dried beans. I will explain that one later when I have more time!

    On way to funeral, so far so good. Got flowers ordered and clean clothes for all. Mike’s kidney stint is this morning and he insisted we go to funeral, he loved my aunt. We must have traveled at least 100,000 miles together.

    Mike once drove her and my mom 800 miles out of way on “detour” because they had told everyone they were going to see Niagara Falls and we were over in Calgary, no where near the Canadian falls! Their geography was weak!

    Love, Jackie Monies

  70. Jimmy appears to be running late again today. I’ve seen blogs that grind to a halt when the proprietor doesn’t show up to set the daily agenda. That seems to seldom happen here. (So, shouldn’t the “l” in “seldom” be silent, too?)

  71. Jackie, did you go on to Banff and see the falls up that way? Beautiful. And there’s another …something about a horse….. aaaagh, the cousins would know. But they’re there rather than here…..

  82. Good morning Villagers…..

    GR 😉 sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me 🙂 AND, I don’t EVEN want to know what a ‘string theory’ is.

    Rick…I’d forgot about the APOD…used to have it bookmarked, now I do, and that is one cool photo. Thanks.

    Ruth Ann….I’m not sure what room temp is, but I’ll tell you one thing, room temp in the hen house at one o’clock yesterday afternoon was 91 degrees!!!! But it’s very important not to wash fresh farm eggs straight from the hen….it’s the ‘bloom’ that keeps them fresh. Once they reach the Corp and are washed, the bloom is washed off, so once refrigerated, they need to stay refrigerated, Here’s a link, and I hope it’s the right one:

    http://livinghomegrown.com/2013/01/day-13-must-fresh-eggs-be-refrigerated.html

    Miss Charlotte, please click on the link, and scroll down for the egg skelter they use in Europe. You mentioned getting eggs from your daughter, and they display their eggs on the counter in this ‘skelter’….pretty cool looking, but I wonder once they roll, would that not create a ‘crack’?

    Again…going in early to beat this heat wave we’re having right now. Didn’t drink enough water yesterday and tired out early…..lesson learned.

    ya’ll have a blessed day

  84. Mark…I checked out your link….good search, wish they would have posted more photos. I wonder how big is that lake…..back to search.

  88. Debbe, why are telling me your stats? Virgin Mindy is the official score keeper. Come to think of it, probably explains her virginal status.

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