Big Plans. 05/09/25

I graduated from high school, college and grad school. But figuring out what pills to take when I go away — well that’s too much for me to figure out. Maybe you need a Ph.D. A Doctorate of Packing. Let me step back for a minute. When I used to visit my in-laws (may they rest in peace) I noticed my father-in-law had a bunch of amber pill bottles set up by his breakfast plate. I silently thought, “That’ll never be me.” Ha. You know the saying, “Man plans, God laughs”? God is having quite a chuckle now. I recently came back from a wonderful trip to Sicily and packed every pill I needed for every day of the trip. Doesn't sound so complicated, right? But the morning pill for my underactive thyroid states that it must be taken a half-hour before eating, on an empty stomach. Done. Then comes another pill with the same caveat. Which means I have to wait 30 minutes before taking it. So that means I have to wait an hour before I can eat breakfast. We went with friends and agreed the night before to meet for breakfast at 9:00. It means I have to get up at 8 for pill #1 and then make sure pill #2 goes down the hatch at 8:30. But wait, there’s more. I have two pills that cannot interact with the morning pills so I must save them for the night. But what happens if you lose the plastic pouch containing the night pills while reaching into a pocket for your wallet? Huh? We came home last Sunday night, so I borrowed the night pills for Sunday that Tuesday because I knew I could get the Sunday night pills when I got back. S0 while the others on the trip were marveling at the ionic pillars of an ancient Greek temple, I’m thinking, “Did I wait long enough between pills 1 and 2?” And oh yeah, Sicily was great. And so were those ionic columns.

Which brings us around to Pizza-on-a Stick. This blog is titled, “Big Plans.” Not only planning for the trip but Al was planning for a new national promo at his franchise restaurant. Meaning, as part of the national chain, he had to promo whatever “corporate” tells him to promo that week. You’ve all heard the ads, “For a limited time, get the bacon cheese double stack hamburger with tater tots and a small coke for only $2.99!! Good while supplies last.” In other words, Al has no choice but to display the honey-sriracha special meal deal. One of the things I love about thinking up these comics with John is we spend an inordinate amount of time arguing the most minute details. In this case it was what is the best way to describe the sound of a foot stepping in sticky sauce. Is it squish, squish, squish? Or sqoosh, sqoosh, sqoosh? Or is it squeesh, squeesh squeesh? It was almost as hard to figure out as what pills to take on vacation.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with two new ones. And don’t forget to take your statins and not mix them with grapefruit juice!

Andy and John

Picture This 10/01/21

John and I both attended recent weddings at which there were photo booths. Which led us to do a comic about, well, photo booths. Actually it led John to the topic and I just went along because I had nothing better to offer. At the wedding I attended, I submitted to a picture with my wife and the parents of the bride. I put on my best smile and tried like hell to keep my eyes open when the camera flashed. It worked! A nephew of mine had a different use of the photo booth. He used it as a kissing booth with one of the cute young women at said wedding. My wife has many rules for taking pictures and she has imparted them to me. Shoot from above (one has no control over that in a photo booth). Keep your chin up (this is called DCA - Double-Chin Avoidance). The booth situations are so freaking awkward that it makes people (okay, it makes ME) uncomfortable. Thus the dialogue between Marv and Rachel as he tries and fails at everything she suggests. But at least he has a cute butt.

The other comic, ostensibly about a sausage upgrade at our favorite franchise, Pizza-on-a-Stick is really about second acts in general. Just for the sake of clarity, a second act refers to the career you pursue after your first career is over and done. The thing about second careers is that they are usually a chance for the pursuer to be in charge. Your own business, be it a bed and breakfast, a cookie-making factory, a comic strip (now where did that idea come from?) and a pizza franchise. Since it’s yours, you care about it way more than if you were merely an employee. On a little side note, a friend of ours, a super-talented art director and big fan, Tanya Mishu, sent us a YouTube video of a new franchise idea, Pizza in a Cone. Seriously. Imagine an ice cream cone filled with piping hot tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fillings. Now imagine biting into it. It seems to us like you’d burn the hell out of the roof of your mouth, but what do we know? Suffice it to say, Pizza-on-a-Stick is a way, way better idea. And Al, the former ad man/employee and now a boss, wants to make his new venture better. So he went farm to table with his pizza toppings. What could possibly go wrong?

When you’re an employee, you gleefully help yourself to the free bagels, coffee, cream cheese, birthday cake, beer (during pub hour) and assorted snacks. When you’re the owner, suddenly the free giveaways are costing you a bunch. So who wants a second career again?

That’s all for this week folks. But we’ve got two more coming up so hang on to your hats, have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you next week.

Andy and John