Thursday, July 4, 2013

Domesticated or Civilized? Also: A Sighting

Today marks the blow 'em up holiday. I joke, but not really. We're rushing to get things done around the house in order to get out of town for the nice four-day weekend. I've finished my homework and the dishes, and Corrie went off to do the laundry. I've been doing the laundry since my leg recovered enough for me to carry it down to the laundromat, and something happened yesterday that made me reflect.

Yesterday I called over to the laundromat we use to ask if they'd be open today. They affirmed that they would be open, and that they'd be offering free drying all day. Free drying excited me more than it probably should have, and I started to reflect on how that had been the first time I'd ever really felt I got any benefit from national holidays since leaving school.

Since I worked so many years in the restaurant industry, days like the 4th of July were always days I worked, even though it was usually slow as hell. Last year I was off, but I was relegated to the couch nursing my busted femur. Other years I might be off for the 4th, just not the 2nd or 3rd or 5th or 6th, so, go figure on that.

So seeing the reward of free drying got me excited, then it got me laughing at myself, and I realized that either I got to a specific level of domestication or being otherwise civilized beyond where I used to be. I still wear tattered clothes for the most part, and my hygiene is, eh, sporadic and colorful at best, but that'll be changing soon enough. But I should learn to temper my excitement at

ALSO

.I still read the comics in our local Long Beach newspaper, and one of my favorites is Tony Carillo's "F-Minus". Each strip is unrelated to its predecessor, and they take the form of thinky one-liners or non-sequitors.

The other day I saw something in "F-Minus" that grabbed my attention. The joke is funny enough, but it was the city skyline in the background that got me:


I'm not sure how easy it'll be to see here, but that skyline is unmistakably Long Beach. I could point out specific buildings, and maybe later I will, but I thought it was pretty remarkable. How does Tony Carillo connect to Long Beach? I don't think he lives in the area...maybe he does, or maybe he got a hold of a picture...

...Or maybe "unmistakable" is too strong a term.

In any case, Be Safe this weekend! 

1 comment:

  1. made me think of farside or non sequitur, but I guess non sequitur isn't always one panel.

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