Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Earlier this week I celebrated my birthday by doing what I like best: drawing cartoons for you.

Here's a look back at the ones that ran over the past six days:

Once again, something ridiculous we put in a cartoon turned out to be close to an actual thing. This typically American form of overcompensation has been known to result in incidents of trail rage.

There's no particular significance to the reversed Greek letter sigma on the character's shirt. I wanted to be sure I wasn't identifying any actual fraternity, so I flipped the letter.

This scene reminded me to continue to be grateful for my partner, and glad that I'm not out there in the dating world.

Wednesday's gag includes plenty of extra ink lines, at no additional cost to the reader.

This one was fun to draw. Normally, I like to keep the background simple, and remove elements that don't contribute to the gag, but in this case, the extra stuff was integral to the joke.

Readers are invited to submit suggestions for the name of the band whose "Harshest Hits" album is shown in the lower right side of today's panel. Post your suggestions as comments to this blog entry. I look forward to much creativity from the Jazz Pickle community.

Door-knocking for political candidates must be the worst of all volunteer jobs. The next time a campaign volunteer comes to your door, try offering them a glass of bubbly, if only to throw them off their game.

Not only is it a flying carpet, it's a taunting carpet.

Thanks for your readership and comments. Don't forget to browse Dan Piraro's blog for even more color and commentary.

Bonus Track

On May 30, 2019, music lovers lost the great Leon Redbone at the age of 69.

Mr. Redbone was a singular performer, and in 1990, he gave my good friend and bandmate Tom Roberts his big break. Back then, Tom was a high school music teacher. He handed Redbone a cassette tape and a business card after a concert here in Pittsburgh, which led to an audition, and then his first gig outside the city, playing with Leon on The Tonight Show.




That's young TR on piano, facing the back of the stage.

Tom toured with and arranged for Redbone for about six years, and has never forgotten the man who recognized his talent and changed the course of his life.

The day after Redbone left his earthly body, our band had a gig at a favorite local pub. We toasted the great man's life and work with a glass of Jägermeister (Leon's beverage of choice), and performed a version of Jelly Roll Morton's "Te Na Na," a song that was part of his repertoire for many years.

The Red Beans & Rice Combo, with Bier's Pub owner Jake Bier

If you aren't familiar with Leon Redbone's music, do yourself a favor and sample some. 

Sample Jägermeister at your own risk.