What Are You Going to Do About It? 01/24/25

Have we all survived the election season? Whichever side you’re on, we’re sure you were constantly bombarded by emails, texts and alerts asking you to contribute just one more time because, a) this Senate seat is up for grabs, b) this House seat is up for grabs, or c) democracy is up for grabs. Okay, I gave to the cause a few times but the more you give, the more they ask for. You know what’s not up for grabs? My attention, John’s attention and the attention (and money) of you, our readers. I figured, once the election was settled, at least the texts and alerts would stop. Well, they lessened but they didn’t stop. But I used a trick I learned while recording sports and watching games on delay. Sometimes when you click on a streaming service to watch a game after it is already over, the service gives away the final score. This got me almost as annoyed as the constant calls for political donations. Beep, my phone goes, and I pull it out to find: US Men’s team eliminated in World Cup. Well I was just about to watch that game. But you can turn your alerts off! Miracle of miracles. Except, while you succeeded in turning them off on Amazon Prime, Apple News comes around and hits you on the blind side with the final score. In our first comic of the week, we made those experiences Al’s experience.

Now, if you live in a cold climate, you have been feeling the effects of a cold spell. And we’re talking cold. As I look out on the Hudson River, it is almost completely frozen over. That takes a lot of cold, believe me. These days my wife and I live in an apartment, but when our kids were growing up, we lived in a house. One year, as cold as this one, we threw a New Year’s Eve party at our house. The walkway was covered in snow and ice, and the stone stairway leading up to the front door was similarly icy. In short, an accident waiting to happen. So I salted the walkway and steps (with rock salt, not pink Himalayan). As the guests arrived, shoes caked with rock salt, we asked our friends to please remove their shoes, which everyone did, except for one guy who showed up late. I asked. His wife agreed. He refused. I offered a pair of slippers. He refused. He started to enter. I refused. I hope he enjoyed his New Year’s Eve wherever he ended up. In order to avoid this uncomfortable outcome, I should have used Pink Himalayan Salt like Marv. If it got on the floor, big deal. I could take care of it later with a dust buster. If that sounds like a good idea, please refrain from using Sicilian Sea Salt from a company called SpiceWalla, which sells a 30.2 ounce container for the bargain price of $828.00. I’d rather have ice.

We’s like to add a special shout out to Neil Donnelly (aka John’s son-in-law) for inspiring Friday’s comic. You know how it never snows down south? Well it just did in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, and Neil conquered the ice-covered sidewalk with, you guessed it, table salt.

Have a great (and warm) weekend, and if you're out of rock salt, try Morton’s. You can use the leftovers in your scrambled eggs.

Andy and John