Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for December 20, 2020

Merry Christmas JJ! That’s first rate.

Merry Christmas

A “…warts and all” revelation. Janis, how long have you known Arlo? Did you expect something different?

Milk I chugged was still warm from the cow.

Loved the face of young Arlo going mime white! Or milk white?

Something like this happened to me for the same reason, although with far less drama.

I was maybe 12-ish. I couldn’t sleep one night, and I had heard about the warm milk thing… but with honey!  So I went to the kitchen and found that we had ran out of regular milk. My mother always kept a couple of boxes of long-life milk in a cupboard for such rare situations.  I grabbed a box, warmed up a cup of milk with a spoonful of honey and put the rest in the fridge.

The milk with honey tasted weird.  Very different from what I expected.  Far less pleasant for sure.  I didn’t barf and didn’t feel sick.  I didn’t get sleepy either.

The next morning I was told that I had drunk a cup of lukewarm, sweetened, rotten milk.  (Wasn’t that supposed to be lumpy?)

I add some sugar and vanilla to my hot milk and it’s delicious. And I go out like a light.

That’s why you always add chocolate.

Chocolate Milk only and cold , please .

Nostalgia just ain’t what it used to be.

I was never much of a night sleeper, Christmas or no.

Happy Hellidays. Humbug

Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy New Year!

The grosser the memory, the more fun it is retelling, and the longer you mention it. I’ll never forget my dad knocking down the Christmas tree near midnight Christmas Eve by tripping over the used skis he got me for a present. The only present I got. I used them for many years.

When I was a child, every Christmas morning, my Dad always had an unfortunate case of the “flu”. My Mom told us that it was because of how hard he worked getting ready for Christmas. I never really thought about it or was even struck by the coincidences until I was well into adulthood. The mystery was, he was just fine, energetic, and making merry when his brothers, my uncles, always appeared at our door Christmas Eve, the night before, with gin, rum, rye whiskey, or whatever was the beverage du jour.

What a great Sunday! This is the third comic at which I’ve actually laughed out loud!

And “Pickles” is still ahead on my list!

(No pressure, Brian Crane)

A favorite Christmas memory of mine was Switzerland, 1982.

Why would one throw up from drinking milk?

The same Christmas sentiment was expressed today at Baby Blues.

Janis is saying “I’m not part of this!”.

The only time I have warmed up milk, was for a cup of hot cocoa.

I barfed several times on Christmas Eve due to drinking too much eggnog plus excitement. Still don’t drink the stuff!

I remember having an upper front tooth ‘die’ over Christmas Eve…impossible to sleep, so I turned on my transistor radio and found a station that was about to play the entire Handel’s Messiah. First time I’d ever heard it all the way through. Talk about a pleasure/pain moment [especially for a freshman in college—pre-seminary]! Had the root canal done before New Year’s Day. Went back to school a ‘new man.’

That last panel sums up the whole of the Arlo & Janis strip existence. Arlo the never changing Peter Pan married to the long suffer (and sexy) Wendy, Janis.

Gifting! When gifting a woman I think of a bird. Something to primp her feathers, but personal! Jewelry, clothing accessories, perfume, etc. NO GADGETS! Those “salad shooter type” commercials are aimed at guys! She may need a frying pan, but she doesn’t want it as an event gift.

OR

Something to feather her nest. Bedding, accent pieces, wall decorations, afghans, etc.

Finally, guys! Spend about 20% more than what you had in mind!

When gifting a man, think about a 10 year of boy. Ten year old boys love gadgets, collectables, things to ride and/or that go fast, think flashy and/or loud, and toys. NO CLOTHES unless they are specialty (skiing, climbing, etc.) or collectables (sports, bomber jackets). Something for his auto is always safe, best if it is unnecessary (dash cam, floor mats). Toys for men (radio controlled something, computer games, tools he rarely uses, cameras, etc.)

Sometimes they are expensive, 8^ )

MERRY CHRISTMAS Jimmy Johnson !!! I still drink warm milk when I can’t sleep and it works every time.

I used to be a big milk drinker (heavy into cold cereal with milk too) but neither one appeals to me much anymore, no doubt a result of physiological changes in the post-age 50 body. However I never could have chugged a glass of milk. Also, when my son was small he had the same experience as young Arlo (probably because it was rich milk fresh from the cow, and he wasn’t used to it). It took a long time to get the smell of sour milk and puke out of the back of the car!

Now add a pat of butter to the top of that warm milk and give it to a child with a queasy stomach and see what happens. That was my grandmothers answer to an upset stomach that could not keep the food where it belonged.

Similar experience, but not milk…cheap Mogen David wine…My Mom occasionally gave me a few sips of wine when I couldn’t sleep. One night when I was about 10, she had already gone to bed, so I got my own but I poured about 4-5 ounces and drank it all at once…I slept like a baby, but woke up with a hangover.

When I was 8 or 9, my mom bought a large box of mini candy canes, told me not to get into them, then left them within reach. Again, I was 8 or 9. What do you think I did?

Yup, the whole box.

As I recall, later that night, I did manage to make it down the hall to the toilet before my barfapalooza.

I can count the number of candy canes I’ve eaten since on one hand.