Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Mary Worth 3500

I'm a pretty dedicated Mary Worth fan. Perhaps I am the biggest Mary Worth fan in the world. But even I can't remember Tommy volunteering with the kids. Perhaps by "the kids," he means the National Cannabis Association.

28 comments:

Tim S said...

Looks like Tommy traded his heroin addiction for a steroid addiction. Or maybe June just grabbed the Hugo torso from the stock body illustrations.

Nance said...

Today's Boldface Haiku is titled

"There Will Be No Concession Speech".

(Proud.
Didn't...
Daily battle.
Keep going.)

Anonymous said...


Every morning I hope that something interesting -- or even different -- will happen and it never does. (Something dramatic happening is out of the realm of hope.)

The secret to good serial story-telling is to leave the reader/listener/viewer eagerly looking forward to the next segment. I just want this story to end. Put it out of its misery already, Karen. This is cruel.

-- Scottie McW.

P.S. Ha haaa, great BFH title, Nance!

Anonymous said...

I don't get this story line and I agree with Scotty McW. What's the point of this story? You are not a looser so move on? I mean, jees, at least put Journey's "Who's Crying Now?" on the juke box!

KitKat said...

Nance, I'm awed by your ability to be both topical and witty! (I bet no one ever says that about KM.)

I also have no recollection of Tommy volunteering with any kind of kids unless he's still conducting scripture studies with the inmates of his prison alma mater and refers to them with affection as "the kids." The thought of him volunteering with actual kids fills me with dread. However, t's just like KM to toss in a red herring like this, like Mary's one-and-done charity work at St. Ann's Church. That lasted a nanosecond and was never mentioned again.

Tim said...

June Brigman sure likes to draw men with ripped bodies. There's Tommy, Hugo and Wilbur has massive arms. Why isn't Tommy dealing with his stress by pumping iron?

LouiseF said...

I love these moments when we get a window into what these characters are doing when they aren't on center "stage" each day. I imagine Tommy coaches something like pickle ball down at the rec center. The thought of Tommy with a pickle ball paddle brings me a ridiculous amount of satisfaction, unlike the actual story line...

Anonymous said...

Great comments, everyone, as usual! The Haiku is my favourite, Nance, maybe of all time, which is how long this story line seems to be lasting.

I agree with LouiseF that the asides really tell more interesting stories than the ones on the page. Unhampered by any kind of reality- or fact-checking, how likely is it that Tommy, an ex-con with a narcotics record (dealing as well as possession?), is volunteering with kids. Some context for this might be a thought.

Also, this is the lousiest depiction of recovery ever. No sign of qualified support of any kind. Tommy is white-knuckling it, wandering around alleys looking for confirmation of his destiny, hugely resentful of 'Babe' when she didn't dive for the onion ring of love and utterly oblivious of her obvious mental health issues.

He's a stinky potpourri of chippy inferiority and massive self-pity. Tries to repair his relationship breakdowns with sticky notes. Pitches Mary his Loser Me narrative (what a freakin' softball!) and the clichematic spins into high gear.

Maybe, he should go back to... oh, never mind.

It makes me surer than sure that kids and any knowledge of the helping professions form no part of the Moy-a-verse.

Grateful Ole Doc

Jana C.H. said...

Maybe these are the sort of kids Tommy works with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzN2_38VIwQ
Making funny videos about baby goats would be a source of great spiritual and artistic fulfillment for Tommy.

Garnet said...

Yes, volunteering with vulnerable people (children, the elderly, etc) usually requires a background check. Maybe he goes around to schools warning kids about what doing illicit drugs can lead to - jail, twice, and then you become a sad, pathetic man nobody trusts and who still lives in his mother's apartment. He would make a good warning to others.

meg said...

Wanders, you are undoubtedly MW’s BFF, so I won’t get all ‘fannier than thou’, but I did have a look back to see if I could spot Tommy’s kids. I didn’t, but I did find a series of panels that are near duplicates of this week’s dullfest. Tommy’s come a long way; he fears losing Brandy, and he even carries Mary’s groceries. Mary wore puce, Tommy was hoody-clad, and Mary turned him over to the man upstairs, and I don’t mean Wilbur!
(MW 2929, 7/23/18)


And speaking of Tommy, remember how some of us hoped he and Dawn would get together? Well, I stumbled upon their only encounter, and of course now I can’t find it again! Remember when orange pony-tailed ex-con Tommy sold pills in the park to a student who immediately passed out, and nearly passed on? A girl held his head in her lap, and that girl was Dawn. Good times...

MissScarlet said...

Oh, Nance! Congratulations! You hit it out of the park today.

What I would actually enjoy (so we'll never see it) is if Tommy pulled himself together, actually volunteered, got a better job, began calling himself 'Tom' and then when Babe tried to make a comeback, turned her down - gently, of course.

No, I know. Never gonna happen.

meg said...

When Tommy met Dawn:

https://www.comicskingdom.com/mary-worth/2004-10-15#comic-comments

October 15, 2004

Nance said...

Thanks, everyone. Great comments from all of you, too. The lack of creativity and actual plot from KM is bringing out the best in us. We're doing her work for her.

And doing it far better, I must say.

Chester the Dog said...

BY "kids", maybe he is referring to the punks who try to steal shopping carts for scrap metal at Freda's.

Anonymous said...

i say they should just show him hanging in the alleyway and preaching to people for five straight days

Anonymous said...

I think KM has a thing for Fabio.

HelenClark

Michael Beaumier said...

I have to give Ms. Moy a little slack when it comes to Tommy — he brings out the worst in all of us — but Nance, you are pure genius.

Yahoonski said...

WEDNESDAY
Tommy's first speech to school kids about drugs: "Drugs are bad! They will cause your hands to shrink up so small you can barely hold a phone."

LouiseF said...

I would suggest his counselor NOT have Tommy do a speech about safe driving. He appears to be chatting while driving one-handed. Apparently his judgment has not been rehabilitated.

Anonymous said...

WEDNESDAY

I think Tommy's using my old Nokia phone that I lost 14 years ago.

HelenClark

Garnet said...

Haha - he really is going to schools to be an example of how not to live your life.

KitKat said...

Coming to your school soon (if your school is extremely unlucky): “Scared Straight, featuring Tommy Beedie”

Carlye said...

Tommy, it is illegal to hold a cellphone while driving in California. So, Brandy was right about you, you are back to breaking the law.

Michael Beaumier said...

So Tommy’s sponsor is also his speaking agent?

Yahoonski said...

Brandy sorts her thoughts on the boardwalk: "I wonder why they call it a boardwalk; it's actually constructed out of solid 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 beams rather than boards. Boards with some sort of supporting frame would be better, cuz then the water could pass underneath. And speaking of water, why did they build this "boardwalk" so close to the shore. Won't it be underwater when the tide comes in? Maybe it's a "bored walk" instead of a "boardwalk" because people come and walk here when they're bored. And I wonder why there are no rails. Those old farts from Charterstone could fall off and hurt themselves."

lmjb1964 said...

Yahoonski, that killed me. Too funny.

Look at happy "the kids" are listening to Tommy. They're all probably thinking, "I may have troubles, but at least I'm not a loser like that guy."

Marjorine Bailey said...

Yahoonski, I love it, sounds like the kind of thoughts I have when walking! (I don't run)