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’10 With Tom’ is on Substack

I’ve been publishing my work on Substack, since it seems like it’s the thing to do. I publish cartoons and my blog posts there and I also started publishing my 10 With Tom column there.

My 10 With Tom is now at Substack at substack.com/@10withtom . It started out at the Huffington Post some years back. I interviewed celebs and news people, athletes, all sorts of people you may know. I moved it to my own url at 10WithTom.com and now at Substack.

I interview people in 10 random questions. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker and yes, a slew of folks you probably know. While I mainly covered famous people and celebs, I want to go back to my original purpose – interview people coming up in the world – everyday people. Everyone has a story, that’s what I would like to include in the publication – a new guitarist, a new author or artist; a teacher, the mailman!

I’m still working my way around Substack, but it’s a blogging, publishing platform, where you can make money from having people subscribe to your work, although at this point, everything I publish is free, even to subscribers.

There is a section called “Notes” which is sort of like Twitter/X, and there are long-form stories and published pieces. Many well-known people publish on Substack and they have thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of followers. It seems like every regular contributor on these cable news shows, now has their own writing space on Substack.

I mostly follow other cartoonists and artists. I like that community. I am all in with this project, I even have a t-shirt, which is for sale on the site (and here).

Substack is slow going at first, but that is to be expected until the algorithm notices you. But I have noticed famous people get lots of subscribers right away. Sort of like the rich getting richer. This one guy made believe he was Keanu Reeves, he didn’t post anything other than introducing himself, and he got so many followers just for that reason. And therein lies the rub . . . .

Hope to see you at my new Substack for 10 With Tom, hopefully you’ll subscribe, which is free, and every time I post a new interview, you’ll receive it via email.

Blast from the past

I found these in Publix.

The Cracker Jacks aren’t really the original, even though it says it on the bag. They don’t taste the same and there were barely any peanuts in the bag, which are my favorite part. I dumped them in a bowl and there were literally two peanuts in the whole package. Shrinkflation I guess. The box is more fun anway.

The prize inside the Cracker Jacks was some sort of small piece of paper. I don’t even know what it was, I threw it out. They didn’t taste like the original to me, but what do I know, the last time I had Cracker Jacks was when I was maybe 12-years-old.

The Devil Dogs seem to be regular size. If the shrank after all these years, it’s hard to tell. So many of the Drakes and other brands have shrunk the items. Like Yankee Doodles cupcakes are the size of cookies now. Unless I was so small at the time I’m remembering them being larger, but I don’t think so.

You know what I would love to find? These Nabisco chocolate cookies. I remember when I was very young we always had boxes of these in the house. We would get a box each to eat. I remember mashing them up in milk and eating them, which seems a bit disgusting now.

We only had the chocolate, I don’t remember every having the vanilla ones. But just looking at the box brings back the smell and taste instantly.

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My doctor is a schmuck

I walked out of the doctor’s office yesterday and I don’t think they even know yet. I was in the waiting room for over two hours, almost three in fact. My appointment was over two hours before and as usual, they just had me sit in a crowded waiting room.

I hadn’t been for a couple of years, so I made an appointment to basically show my face. I would get my cholesterol checked, deal with the rude doctor, and swear to myself to never go back again. Well this time, I left for good.

This office makes appointments and when you show up, the tiny waiting room is full. Does everybody have an 11 am appointment? There is only one doctor, it’s not a large practice other doctors there. It’s the one guy. It almost reminds me of Doc Martin, where it seems like it’s first come, first serve. But if I lived in Portwenn, I don’t think I would mind having Doc Martin as my doctor, or Portwenn as my home.

My doctor’s waiting room looks like the free clinic. It has wall-to-wall people, taking up all the seats. Most speak on their phones very loudly, telling the person on the other end and the rest of us who overhear it all about their ailments and why they are at the doctor. Others have their phones ringing every two seconds, luckily they don’t answer, but they are too stupid to turn the ringer off. So it rings and rings. And others just chat with others across the room. All strangers, but still chatting away very loudly. This all takes place in Spanish, which I understand, so they sometimes include me in the conversations and I reply as to be polite.

The worst are those sitting listening to videos with the sound turned up, they never heard of earbuds I guess.

The doctor himself is rude and condescending. Not rude and condescending like Doc Martin. Worse. I remember during the pandemic, I put on a few pounds. By a few, I mean maybe 10 pounds on a muscular 186 lb. man’s frame. I don’t think that is a lot of weight to put on for my build. He would tell me in his calm, sickeningly sweet voice, “You have to push yourself away from the table.” And one time, he kept saying, “Half. Half” I asked him what that meant, he said it means only eat half of what is on my plate. Which is funny because I am known for leaving most of my plate and not finishing it. A friend asked me once why I never finish my food. “Are you trying to be polite? He asked, as he grabbed across the table for my leftovers. I told him, “No, I stop eating when I feel full.”

Anyway, I took the weight off and am back to my usual routine.

By the way, it’s been 24 hours since I walked out and I still have not heard from the inept doctor’s office. They probably think I was seen by the doctor and then charged my insurance company. But most likely, it’s a numbers game. Pack in as many as possible and keep the ones who don’t walk out.

But in the end, I think I willed it, you know, manifested not being there. I didn’t want to go because of all of the above, and I think i just manifested not having to be there, so I left and no one noticed I was there to begin with. It never happened.

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Do you prefer printed or digital books?

If you slide back and forth on today’s cartoon, you can see the difference in the two.

Originally, I had the one guy reading a book, which I liked lot, but I thought that maybe I should make it an ipad, which seems more in touch with today. I have to admit, I read books on my kindle, actually on my iphone.

I have a kindle and a tablet, but I prefer to use my phone. It’s more convenient. The fonts adjust to the size of the phone, so they aren’t tiny, and it’s easy to read.

I’ve tried getting into audiobooks, but I don’t like the voices or the speed of the voices as they read the content. As for printed or digital books, I prefer printed if it is a graphic novel or a book on comics or comic strips.

My cousin loves books, she almost opened an independent bookstore. There is one in Madison Connecticut where we always plan on visiting, but we never seem to make it there. On Sunday, I saw a story on CBS Sunday Morning, about a small town in upstate New York, where they have many independent bookstores. I sent my cousin the story and she was already planning out visit.

We were once in Barnes and Noble and as she was perusing the books, I was taking a few pictures of books. She asked me why I was taking pictures. I told her it was so I could remember them so I could order them on Amazon later. She was not amused.

One time she handed me a book, it was Roz Chast’s book, “Going into Town.” She asked me if I ever heard of Roz. Of course I had. I told her I went to see the Roz Chast exhibit in The Museum of the City of New York recently. I had never been to that museum before and I located it to see Roz’s exhibit. I’ve been back to the museum many times after that. I love that area of the city and the museum.

I have many books I’ve “borrowed” from my cousin and her husband over the years. I don’t think I ever returned any of them. I guess I should.

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Ready for the Fall

This recent cartoon received a lot of talk lately. It seems another cartoonist did the same thing, a few weeks after mine was published and it might be a meme, too.

Over the years, so many cartoons have appeared that were the same or similar and it bothered me, but I’ve learned to get over it. There’s no way of knowing where the ideas come from, although this one particular cartoonist seems to have quite a few of my ideas pop up a week or two after mine are published. Coincidences, I guess?

I got this idea from a friend who actually asked me, “Are you ready for the fall?” And I laughed and said, “Of what, civilization?” And we both laughed. When he first said, “ready for the fall,” I thought of my favorite Madonna song, “Live to Tell.” In it she sings, “I was not ready for the fall.” I never saw the movie it’s from, “At Close Range,” but I’m assuming she isn’t singing about October.

The fall is special to me – Autumn, that is. In October and November, I’m in New York and there is a lot to do this time of year. I attend New York Comic Con in October and also in October, my cousins and I take our usual trip from NYC upstate to pumpkin and apple pick and to see the leaves changing.

In October, we sometimes go to the San Gennaro Feast in the Hamptons and also there’s an Oyster Festival, out east, too. This year, I see San Gennaro is in September. And of course, October is capped off with Halloween!

In November, we do Thanksgiving, and then the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the Southampton Christmas Parade, where all the small Hamptons towns get together for a light parade at dusk, then there is a tree lighting and fireworks afterwards. One of the best events of the year.

So yes – I am ready for the Fall – September, October and November.

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The red beanie

If you swipe back and forth on this image, you can see the two options for today’s cartoon.

The stovepipe hat won out in the end. Not just for Abraham Lincoln, but for the cartoon. At the last minute, I changed from the “caught dead” cartoon to the “more formal” one.

I saw a picture of Lincoln the other day and thought, I would love to draw Lincoln. It was the stovepipe hat which drew my attention, and in the end, the hat, which is the star, never made it to the drawing board. At first I thought of funny ideas for the stovepipe hat but the red beanie won out.

I thought it would look funny to put a red woolen hat on him and the cartoons emerged from there. The “over my dead body,” was dark and I’m glad I changed the final cartoon to the fashion-based one.

I’m not sure why I keep calling it a stovepipe hat, rather than a top hat, but I guess in Lincoln’s era it was called a stovepipe hat. In the 1920s, it was called a top hat.

What’s even stranger about the hat is Lincoln here, in 1862, wearing the stovepipe hat on the battle field. It doesn’t seem like the type of thing to wear in a battlefield.

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Aug-tober; it’s a real thing

Aug-tober. It’s a thing. It’s celebrating October, and specifically Halloween right now – in August!

Many stores, including Home Depot and Target have Halloween items out already and I’ve seen items being featured on tv on QVC. But of course, we know that as soon as September comes, the Christmas items will start showing up.

I see old movies and tv shows where people are buying and putting up the Christmas trees on Christmas Eve. I don’t want to go back to that, but I do think we should celebrate each holiday and season in the order that they come.

I have to admit that I do put up my Christmas tree in mid-November – only because I leave for New York then and don’t return until December, and I like to have it up when I get home so I don’t have to think about it.

I don’t light it. I start lighting it up a couple of weeks before Christmas.

One year I had it up in October! It wasn’t decorated, but it was stored in my spare room and I had a friend sleeping over, so I had to remove it from the room (it’s artificial, of course), and it seemed that it was easier to just put up the tree where it stands usually in the living room, but it wasn’t decorated. It just was there.

I do have my plans for October, regarding travel. I think it’s my favorite month. I’ll be at New York Comic Con as usual and I’ll be pumpkin and apple picking with some of my cousins in the Hudson Valley, which is always a favorite thing – seeing the leaves change, being in the cool weather, going to farms for the pumpkins and applies, having hot apple cider and apple cider doughnuts . .. it’s perfect! And sometimes we do the Oyster Festival in The Hamptons and so many other fall things.

**Dude With Sign loves Halloween, too.**

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Morning Joe, and Mika

I came up with this cartoon years ago. I redrew it for publication today. It just made me laugh when I blurted out “Morning Joe it alls” one morning a few years back while watching the show. I do watch it almost every morning – not the whole thing, but maybe an hour, from 6 am to 7 am, first thing in the morning.

I do like Joe and Mika, although Joe does shout a lot and it’s very early in the morning, so I have to lower the tv quite often when he’s off on one of his tangents. There are a couple of regular guests who put me to sleep the moment they open their mouths, so I turn the channel when they are on, but I do enjoy Morning Joe.

My mother started watching years ago. I believe it premiered in 2007, so back then, she would say to me, “You don’t watch Morning Joe?” as if it was must see tv. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I knew she was addicted to politics and she would go on and on with the goings on in Washington whenever she could.

She wanted to discuss the world events so badly and finally she finally found a comrade to discuss things with when my niece’s husband chimed in that he was addicted, too. So the two of them would rattle on about the goings on in DC, and so much of it included what Joe and Mika had to say. They agreed with each other and with Mika and Joe, so there were no shouting matches.

So while it’s still dark out most mornings, I turn the tv on in the living room at 6 am and I watch and listen to what the crew on Morning Joe has to say – the “Joe it alls.” And I agree with them most of the time, so I don’t mind Joe screaming at me in the cold, dark mornings. Like he did this morning.

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Less is more

I’m still feeling FOMO about the Paris Olympics. I want to be in Paris. The 2028 summer Olympics are in Los Angeles – meh. For me it’s about the Olympics and Paris as a combo, not simply the Olympics, so LA has no allure as far as I’m concerned.

I started up my Tomversation single panel cartoon again, along with the final week of Ollie And Jacomo in Paris, so they are overlapping. My single panel had been on a two week break while I concentrated on Ollie and Jacamo.

I’ve been playing around with Substack, the blogging platform, but it seems to be overwhelmed and hogged by a few other cartoonists. I don’t follow them, but they seem to be dominating the platform in an annoying way. One cartoonist is very thirsty, he posts something every few seconds it seems, which is really being too extra. It’s all about him it seems where Substack is concerned.

He draws in the park and announces it. I’ve seen so many people drawing in the park in NYC and I don’t think any of them announce it. It’s sort of like these street musicians, they just appear and play, I don’t think they announce it to everyone, “Hey, I’ll be in Madison Square Park by the fountain playing at noon.”

This one guy drew something on a stain on the wall in a public restroom and had to post that image.

It reminds me of when my condo board was doing things around the building but not telling everyone about it as a courtesy. One person said, “I’ll tell you the next time I sneeze or pick my nose, Tom!”

I guess less is more. In every situation.

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Watching the Olympics on and off

I’ve been watching the Olympics occasionally, depending on when I catch it. I am feeling FOMO of not being in Paris, it looks like it’s the place to be this summer.

When I was a kid, I watched it all – from opening ceremony to closing ceremony. I knew every Olympians life story if it was reported on tv and I watched hours and hours of it. Of course we didn’t have 1000 tv channels back then, so since there weren’t many choices, I watched the main event for two weeks.

I did catch the men’s gymnastics and I stuck with it because one of the guys is the spitting image of one of my neighbors. He could be his brother. They look so much alike. I’ve seen still pictures of this Olympian online and he doesn’t look like my neighbor in still shots, but on tv, moving, he looks just like him.

I haven’t told my neighbor because I don’t know how he would take it, sometimes when people tell you that you look like someone it isn’t a compliment. My neighbor is much younger than me, more like a son, and I yelled at him one day, as a father would yell at a son, only he isn’t my son, and it caused bad feelings. He’s back talking to me, so I don’t want to be stupid by saying anything that might be stupid.

For years I’ve said things out loud that I think I am only thinking in my head. I’m not sure how or why that happens, but really, I think it and I think I am only thinking it, and I end up blurting it out.

I’ve been having fun with Ollie And Jacomo, setting them in Paris during the Olympic games. It’s given me lots of ideas and themes to work with.

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