Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for December 13, 2023

In “A Visit From St. Nicholas” Santa had a pipe!

Remember that Agatha Christie movie where this guy had a pipe with no smoke coming out, and in the end it turned out there was a stolen gem hidden in it? (Even the viewers who noticed the lack of smoke assumed that the pipe was a cheesy prop…)

I bet Santa would be allowed to vape if the mall got a sponsorship deal.

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A full update for the 13th, and no worries of enlightened storylines with the entire lot being from 40-90 years ago!

Walt finally reaches a deal that pays off the inheritance taxes and leaves the family with a tidy cash position. an estimated equivalent of $750,000 to $800,000 in today’s terms. Everyone seems happy enough with the result. Almost everyone.

Quyat shows Rick something he’s never seen done before, Chug-Chug and Waldo show up on Brenda’s doorstep to do who-knows-what, while Joel & Rufus spot some handy buckets to haul Papa’s treasure with.

Now that the secret of Joel’s unlit pipe is out will there be any other exciting revelations ?

Get him a bubble pipe.

Does he protest Popeye?

A lot of us thought that was what the problem was!

Sigh.

Then why does Popeye use a pipe to toot?

It was IN the original “A Visit from St. Nicholas” poem!

“The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;”

:-\

Hey, Frank, what happened to “L.S.M.F.T.”?

In the poem, “The Night Before Christmas”, he has a pipe.

Jim: Please retire!

For the curious,that was NOT Nelson who played “Mr.Schellhammer” in MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET—it was Philip Tonge,a Britisher

Hey, Jimbo, can you pick up the pace just a mite? This “reveal” could, and should, have been finished last week. When you drag out an unintesting story line, it is really boring. Lately all of your stories seem to have too much padding.

I think he has forgotten one line from the poem that every child has heard. “The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.” Except for the lack of smoke, Joel is the perfect Santa.

Besides it’s an integral part of the Poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas’. but there it was clearly lit and making smoke.

The only thing Joel needs to do is to have a more ornate, briar pipe. Oh, and to tell Nelson to buzz off.