This is my 2,000th Mary Worth post, and while it feels like a milestone, I can't help but remember that every post I've written was inspired by a comic strip written by Karen Moy and drawn by Joe Giella. Even though I don't post every day, they do.
While some people mock, I am absolutely delighted by this comic strip. I may crack a joke or two at its expense, but I assure you that my only motivation is the absolute glee I feel each morning when I see what Moy and Giella have come up with.
I have tried to create a blog that reflects that sense of delight. From the Charterstone Jukebox, to the annual Worthy Awards, I've tried to make this blog a place that I enjoy visiting, and I hope that others have fun here too.
Which brings me to you, dear reader. Once in a while, after I post, I'll scroll down to the Live Traffic Feed widget and see where visitors are visiting from. I'll see many cities that I recognize, even places where I've lived, like Cincinnati, Ohio; Boston, Massachusetts; and Palo Alto, California. I'll also see places that I don't know, and I wonder about them and the reader who lives there, places like Lawnton, Pennsylvania; Elyria, Ohio; and Greenacres, Florida.
Then I will read your comments, and I will laugh out loud (which stands for LOL) and think, "They're having as much fun as me!" Yes, there are regular commenters like fauxprof, and KitKat, and Chester the Dog... (I'm sorry for not mentioning everyone!), but then there will be those who post for the first time, and I think, "Oh, I'm so glad they felt like they could post a comment," and then there are the mysterious Anonymous posters, and I wonder who you are, and what deep dark secrets you are hiding (email your secrets to maryworthandme@gmail.com).
And then someone will actually follow the Charterstone Jukebox on Spotify, or drop twenty bucks in the rehabilitation jar, and I'm amazed because to me that represents real commitment.
This site evolved when I started a personal blog in 2007 and I noticed that when I wrote something about myself, it just sort of sat there, but when I posted a comment about Mary Worth, people were actually reading and responding. So I created this blog that's more about Mary Worth than it is about me.
I hope you'll continue to share the Amazing Adventures of Mary Worth with me. I hope that whatever your personal circumstances may be, that you'll find Mary Worth and Me a place of delightful agony.
Your pal,
Wes Andersen (aka Wanders)
Today's Full Strip
(Warning: it contains more packing)
Years ago I was selling advertising for the Bham News when a big battle broke out over our removal of Mary Worth from our daily comics. Our lifestyle editor was trying to make room for a new strip, so without warning, he ripped her out of our pages and the lives of what turned out to be a lot of readers.
ReplyDeleteWhen all hell broke loose, he corrected his error and put her back where she belonged.
Reading about this intrigued me. I started reading and have been hooked ever sense!
I found my first can of Mary Worth catnip with the Comics Curmudgeon. One of his posts led me to you.
Thanks for the AWESOME blog!
I have just moved from Birmingham to Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Some people would look and see beautiful beaches and water. I see people of all ages and backgrounds who have one thing in common; they need Mary Worth.
My work is cut out for me!
The Chaptain
Congrats on the milestone, Wanders! I am a faithful reader of your blog since I discovered it several years ago while googling "comics Mockage pages". You and the regulars give me the laugh I need every day. I wanted to mention you forgot regular poster Meg, who always makes me LOL. Anyway, keep up the good work!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chaptain... I used to try to alert people when a paper was attacking Mary Worth using the tag "Slow Death," but it's been a while since I've seen a similar controversy. Good luck with your evangelizing on the beach.
ReplyDeleteRegina, didn't mean to omit Meg, I just couldn't include everyone. Thanks for mentioning her.
Just like The Chaptain, I was led here by the Comic Curmudgeon. Never considered reading a strip like Mary Worth before. Now that this blog has opened my eyes to the potential hilarity to be found (mainly from all the clever commenters on this blog!), I can't turn away from the train-wreck that is the Moy-Giella partnership.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Wanders and to everyone who makes this blog a fun way to spend a few minutes of my day.
Thank you ever so much, Wanders, for this bright spot in my day! I look forward not only to the strip (for all the reasons you mention), but to the witty commentary that you and the others in this community offer.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Fairmont, West Virginia for over thirty years now, and thoroughly enjoy the friendly, small-town atmosphere. I'd tell you more, but then everyone would want to live in this beautiful, under-appreciated state!
Kudos, Wanders!
Thanks,Robot, for participating here. And Anonymous, I'm a huge fan of West Virginia as I am in Maryland and love to get away.
ReplyDeleteHappy Milestone, Wanders!
ReplyDeleteI was all set to make a snarky comment, and then I read your lovely post. For years, I had been reading MW every morning and inflicting my humor on poor realprof, and then I discovered your blog. I lurked for a while, commented anonymously for a while, and finally came up with the name and the kitten and a few awful song parodies.
During the past few months, you and the Mary Worth and Me family have sustained me through my broken leg, surgery, rehab facility and prolonged homebound recovery. (Now bearing full weight with a walker, beginning to use a cane.) so thank you from the depths of my heart--Moy and Giella as well--and here's to another 2,000 blogposts!
Love,
Sarah fauxprof
Hey Fauxprof, thanks for the update on your recovery. We're all cheering for you!
ReplyDeleteHello! I have been reading for a few years. I love your blog...it's an island of intelligent but not unkind humor. Your commenters are also so funny. Thank you for making people laugh. It matters!
ReplyDeleteWow...THE Wes Anderson?
ReplyDelete(I feel like "Bottle Rocket" was inspired by The Catcher in the Rye. Was it?)
Anyway.
I can't recall how I got here, but now I can't get away. Send men.
Great blog. You are an Original.
My congratulations and thanks to you, Wanders! I think I also found MW & Me via the Comics Curmudgeon. It was a happy day when I did, because it's become a source of hilarity, camaraderie, and so much more. Let's all raise our glasses of regular water and offer a toast to Wanders here's to the next 2,000 posts!
ReplyDeleteRe today's strip: (1) Does Amy's comment mean that Goleta is NOT exotic? (2) Did Gordy get packed in a box (marked "Gordy"?)?
Wanders, thanks for making us laugh all these years!
ReplyDeleteI rarely post, but on this momentous occasion, I wanted to share this sketch (which re-ran recently in an episode on MeTV) for anyone who hasn't already seen it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZriOVCQTgAI
Too bad there aren't greeting cards for milestones like "2000th blogpost". .Just want to also say thank you to M. Wanders. . .Funny enough, it is sometimes the things you post that don't directly reference the world of Mary Worth--like last week's article on how "Cold Builds Character"--that often surprise me into new ways of thinking. This winter in Ohio has been like living in a bad re-make of "Dr. Zhivago". The article you posted brought me a welcome new way just to keep on keeping on. . . But it ALL starts with Mary! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Wanders! I found the Worthiverse about six years ago after FOOB went into reruns, leaving my life devoid of affectionate snarcasm. It's the first thing I read online every day. And since a number of these witty commenters live here in Northeast Ohio, I'm still hoping we can do a meet-up sometime.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...who will babysit Gordy, while Amy and Dave honeymoon in Tahiti or Belize??
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the milestone. Longtime lurker here because I can never seem to think of anything funnier than what you and your brilliant commenters bring every day. Thanks for the chuckles!
ReplyDeleteHappy 2000! From Santiago, Chile. Incidentally, they LOVE mayonnaise on everything here. I fully expect to see Wilbur Weston wobbling down the street soon, in a full-blown mayo overdose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the posts Wanders - always gives a smile to start off my morning. You should put a big floating head of yourself on your website to commemorate. Looking forward to the next 2000.
ReplyDeleteCongrats and thanks endlessly for the entertainment, from Angleton TX (no I am not from here I just live here). I too came here from the Curmudgeon last year and my husband can attest to how much time I spent hogging the laptop going through all the posts here and laughing my ass off until I had read them all.
ReplyDeleteYou are hilarious and articulate and respectful to your subjects (except when you post about things that don't deserve it like that trip to Hershey Park where everyone had cutoff t-shirts (right?) that makes me laugh every time I think about it) which is admirable in this day and age.
Keep on keepin on, you're one of my daily stops. MW 4EVA
Foxy J
Happy 2000th, Wanders. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed MW&M over the past few years. My day starts with reading Mary Worth in the local paper over a cup of tea, and chuckling at the thought of what awaits me when I check in here later in the day. Clearly, Greenacres is NOT the place to be - the Worthiverse is!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember how I found MW&M; probably through the Comics Curmudgeon too. Sometimes I try to share a hilarious comment or some atrocious artwork with my husband, but he just...doesn't...understand.
ReplyDeletePS I am pleased to say that I have actually been to the town of Goleta, California. If I had known that Santa Royale was so close, I would have gone for lunch at Diner.
Thank you so much for your commitment to this blog. It makes me smile or laugh every day.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of your daily readers from Cincinnati! I read MW as a kid, but it hasn't been in our paper for years. I found your blog through Comic Curmudgeon several years ago. Congrats on your milestone!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Thanks for 2000 laughs, Wanders! I LOVE your blog! I'm sipping a margarita poolside at Charterstone and sending warm wishes your way!
ReplyDeleteAs for today's strip ... is it just me, or is the strip suggesting problems in both marriages? Sean wants Hanna but not her stuff in his Somerset condo, and Dave seems to be more interested in Gordy than in Amy. Interesting events await! ... Or maybe not.
Thank you for brightening 2,000 of our days, Wanders. And a special shout-out to Joe Giella -- may he live and draw forever.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh drat. I had a lovely comment all typed out on my phone and when I went to post, it disappeared.
ReplyDeleteA while back, after reading the same few comics for many years, I decided to start reading all of them to see if I was missing anything. I discovered "Luann" and "Pajama Diaries" which I now love, and I discovered "Mary Worth" which I found strangely fascinating. "Why does Mary look so different between these panels," I would ask my hubby. All I'd get was a shrug of indifference.
One late night, while up with my baby, it dawned on me. Moy and Giella, two names, it must be drawn by two different people! A quick internet search later and I found myself on MW&M. I couldn't believe how may other people found the same fascination with MW as I did. As I binge-read back posts, I had a sneaking suspicion Wanders and I were both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I hit a rough spot in life for about six months and missed MW&M. When I started reading again, it was the strangest feeling, like being with old friends. "Hey, there's Chester the Dog, I remember him. And Kitkat and Dawn's Evil Twin. Oh fauxprof, you remind me so much of my college roommate, who is now a professor and a great lover of cats." How odd to have missed people I have never met and probably don't know I exist because I rarely post (stupid phone erased 3/4 of the ones I did type up). My kiddos keep me pretty busy and I am usually 2-3 days behind, so it seems pointless to post any witty thoughts I may have-plus compared to meg, my comments seem lame:)
Maybe it's like #TheDress. Some see MW for what it is (blue/black), some see it in a bright light (white/gold), then there is the MW&M community who is able to see and appreciate the whole spectrum.
Thank you Wanders for all the time and effort you put into this. Thank you everyone for all the witty, humorous comments