Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for February 08, 2020

Sometimes silence says a lot.

Not before the first cup of coffee…

Feeling guilty about all those post-it notes yesterday, Janis?

He doesn’t feel pestered because he doesn’t notice she’s pestering him.

Erm… don’t be one?..

Arlo is not listening. He is off in his own little mind.

He is still recovering from the fear and is furious about the way she went about her annoyance at how he ignores what she says. Which makes her feel like a nagging witch when she is only asking for a little effort on his side. Which annoyed her so much that she resorted to those notes to make her point. Which made him angry… and round and round.

Janis, do you believe this thing of yours could have gone the distance if it wasn’t working?

It’s a “Mars” “Venus” thing. Women come with a “nag gene” because men come with “procrastination/different order of operarion gene” and a “selective amnesia” genes.

He’s been through this before, many, many times. Best response is, none.

Some things should better be left unsaid…whether they are true or not.

Careful, passive-aggressive is like acid.

No, guys, this not a cycle of anger thing, or an intentional silence thing. The reason she said “I guess I should feel relieved somehow” is that he just wasn’t paying attention, just as he failed to notice all those post-its. So, if he’s oblivious to the “nagging”, then she can feel relieved but also a little put out because, of course, he’s not paying attention. At least, that’s the only way I can make sense of the punchline. His expression looks like annoyance but I’m thinking it’s meant to be sleepiness.

Sometimes silence is golden.

was yesterdays post-it note a test to see how long for arlos to pay attention?

it’s called spousal deafness

Apparently Arlo will neither confirm or deny.

“You just shattered my world and you don’t want to be a pest?”

Janis, here’s an idea…have a POINT when you make random comments, especially before any consumption of coffee!!!!!

No idea what today’s comic means, even after reading the comments. My 30 year marriage is nothing like A and J’s, I guess that is why I often don’t get this comic.

It strikes me that when a person is cranky at someone else that they are really mad at themselves

Lately this strip is pretty bland. It was only a year ago ago I started at the beginning and read it all the way through. No story line now.

This seems so out of character for them. What’s going on?

Arlo knows when to keep quiet.

These 2 need to get out of the house more!

If you don’t want to be a pest, then don’t be a pest. If there is something you want done but your other is doing something else (or nothing else) then there is nothing wrong with doing that something yourself. It is actually that easy.