Holidays – Page 3

I hate when this happens

This pumpkin cartoon was published today. I drew it last week and was holding it to run the day after Halloween, but I had so many other cartoons running related to Halloween, that I ended up running it today. I was going to hold it back until next year, but that didn’t make sense.

You can see my Halloween related cartoons here at TomFalco.com.

But know what? John Deering, the Strange Brew cartoonist, ran the same thing yesterday in GoComics.com

Mine originally did say, “rough night?” like John’s, but I changed it to “rough week” when I knew I would be running it a couple of days after Halloween.

I did almost pull mine after seeing John’s work, but why? This has happened so many times over the years – I guess there are only so many cartoon ideas, but these look so similar. It doesn’t bother me now, but for years it did.

For many years I was insisting people were stealing my work, until I saw things like this, where I published the same thing after another cartoonist did.

I’ll chalk it up to great minds thinking alike. I did question it, and wonder if it was funny or not, but I guess we both can’t be wrong. Looks like John’s guy had a rougher night than mine, though.

Receive an email each time I publish a blog post by clicking here

The Great Pumpkin won’t be on broadcast tv this year

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown won’t air on regular tv this year.

I know, I know, we can watch it on DVD’s and other methods, but there’s something about knowing when it’s on broadcast tv and we are all watching together.

This year, you can only see it on AppleTV+, and it is free for a couple of days, so you can download the app on your tv or wherever and watch it from Friday, October 28 to through Monday, October 31.

And it’s the same for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Those can be seen on AppleTV+ from Nov. 23-27 for the Thanksgiving special and Dec. 22-25 for the Christmas one.

I miss those old Dolly Madison and Coca Cola days when the shows were on CBS every year. Guess it’s time to move with the times.

Receive an email each time I publish a blog post by clicking here

Getting rid of the tree

Today’s cartoon is based on reality.

These last few years I’ve had an artificial tree. It’s easier to deal with. But in the past, I would throw the real Christmas tree off the balcony at the end of the season.

I started doing it to avoid all those needles getting all over the elevator.

I would have someone stand below and throw it over, minus the ornaments. Then I would go down and drag the tree to the street. It worked out well. I’m on the 5th floor – so it didn’t have long to go and of course as I said, I had someone below to be sure no one was under it when it fell.

Get my blog via email when it’s updated Click here.

Italian-style Christmas?

We had a great Christmas despite the fact that we lost a lot of people this year – mainly my mother, my aunt (a second mother to me) and a cousin. We didn’t do Christmas last year due to the pandemic, so it was nice to get together. I have a large family and a few were missing due to illness and one niece was pregnant so she and her husband couldn’t travel – they had the baby last night btw.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve, we were at one of my brothers’ houses. One niece (let’s call her Marsha) and my nephew’s wife (let’s call her Jan) got into an argument. It got heated. I joked that it seemed like a Thanksgiving thing to do.

The next day, Christmas Day, we were all at said nephew’s wife’s house (with my nephew of course). I was the first one there. She (Jan) came up to me and said, “I’m concerned about Marsha. Do you think she’ll show up today?”

I said, of course, she traveled here for the holidays, she’ll come with her parents.

Jan then said, “That’s what I love about your family – it’s so Italian. There’s a huge blow out and it’s over in five minutes. If that was my family no one would speak to each other for months.”

I laughed and didn’t realize we were like that. I don’t really remember arguments, but we do talk loud and maybe that seems like arguments to her, who knows.

I do have a friend whose family don’t speak to each other for long periods of time over stupid things. They’re Italian, so maybe they are the exceptions who prove the rule.

Get my blog via email when it’s updated Click here.

Christmas time is here

This is the story behind the song from the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.

Having second thoughts

I bought a bunch of soda machines for Christmas gifts this year, you know, the Soda Stream, it’s called. I always liked them and wanted one myself, so I got them for people as gifts with all the works – extra CO2 cylinders and flavors and bottles and stuff.

I also like air fryers and thought they would be a cool thing to have, so last year I bought a bunch of those for people.

Funny thing is, I don’t have either for myself even thought I would like them.

But the other day I was watching tv and someone said that the soda maker is the stupidest gift. They said, why not just go out and buy a bottle of soda if you want one? What’s the point of going through all the trouble of making a glass of soda. And now the whole idea doesn’t seem so great.

On top of that, they are big and heavy and last year the air fryers were big and heavy and both a pain to transport around to give to people. For many years I would deliberately buy small things, you know, nice gifts, but small gifts, that I could easily carry around and hand out. I’m not sure why I got the air fryers last year and the soda machines this year, but they are freaking heavy. And hard to wrap.

But after hearing that they are a stupid gift, I can’t get that out of my head. I’m thinking of returning them. I probably won’t, but I can’t get the idea out of my head that you can easily go and buy a bottle or six pack or liter or whatever, of soda any time you want it, you don’t need to make it.

Point taken. But they did love the air fryers last year, so let’s see how this goes with the Soda Stream.

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.

Christmas commercials

This commercial reminds me of my father and my uncle, who both lost their wives this year. Really sad.

And this, Publix commercial, of course, is my all-time favorite Publix commercial.

The “Last Train Home” commercial was shown for many years in the 1980s and ’90s.

The music in Last Train Home is from Still Life (Talking) an album by Pat Metheny Group, released in 1987. This Publix commercial ran from 1987 to 1996.

To this day, when Pat Metheny is performing, he’ll refer to the song as, “The Publix song.”

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.

The Christmas card

This year has not been kind to our family. We lost three family members – my mother, my aunt and a cousin. My father lost a wife, a sister and a first cousin (none from covid).

When my aunt passed this past Spring, I asked my cousins for something personal of hers. I wanted something with her energy attached – a coffee mug, an earring, etc. They gave me this little painting she made. It was in her dining room for many years – this little snowman image.

I took it home in July, after I spent time in New York and it sits on a table in my living room.

I would look at it daily. I thought, “It looks like a Christmas card – the snowman, the snow and birdhouse evoke Christmas. And it’s the size of a Christmas card.” And from there, I got the idea of making an actual card out of it. So in late July, that is what I did.

I held onto the card all summer and fall until this week when I mailed it. I didn’t tell anyone about the card, I wanted it to be a surprise. I only had 20 made and I sent it to my immediate family and my cousins and uncle. It went over well, everyone was touched and surprised at the image when they opened the envelope.

Let’s hope for a happier and healthier 2022.

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.

Union Square

It’s not Christmas without a visit to the Union Square Green Market. Seeing people carrying Christmas trees through Manhattan really sets the season. I love the Green Market on Saturday mornings. It’s a ritual when I’m in town.

We went to The Hamptons for the Holiday parade on Saturday, but I stopped by the Green Market first.

There’s a holiday bazaar every years – booths set up at one end of the park. The same thing is set up in Bryant Park behind the library and in a space inside Grand Central Terminal.

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.

The Southampton Annual Tree Lighting and Parade of Lights

We made it back to the Southampton Christmas parade this year. We had gone a couple of years ago and last year it was canceled due to the pandemic. I love it for so many reasons, the parade is fun and the tree lighting at the end of the block is even more fun, but the idea that all of the small villages at the east end of Long Island get together and celebrate with a parade is so quaint. Southampton along with East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island and all the others taker part.

My cousins and I hang out for the day, we eat – on Saturday, before the parade, we at at the old standby – the Southampton Publick House.

I wasn’t sure if we would go this year. My cousins had planned to go to the lighthouse lighting event in Montauk, which is just as great, but so much longer to get there. But I put a little bug in one of my cousin’s ears at Thanksgiving and left it at that. By Saturday, we were on our way. Was there ever any question?

Receive Tomversation via email each time I publish Click here.