December 1st, 2010

The (Post)Thanksgiving Lowdown…

by Terri Libenson

So every year, the Kaplan family either travels to Florida to visit Jill’s mom or Jill’s mom makes the trip up north. What can I say, it’s tradition. I introduced the “Judy” character the first Thanksgiving “Pajama Diaries” launched. She makes a few reoccurrences throughout the rest of the year(s), but Thanksgiving is always all about Judy.

It’s apparent she demands attention — as she should. Originally modeled after my own mom, Judy is both a worrywart and a guilt monger. She also happens to be a widow (my dad passed away in 1996). This year, I decided to reward Judy with an early holiday gift…that is, a boyfriend.

My own mom has a long-time boyfriend of her own. He happens to be my #1 fan (in an endearing way, not the Stephen King way). I warned him I would introduce “Harvy” into the comics during this year’s Thanksgiving series. He was quite tickled. Yet that’s where the similarities end. Harvy is no doppelganger. He is own person…semi-deaf, semi-blind, and with a heart of gold (the one similarity the two share). He also happens to be Judy’s late husband’s cousin (not a similarity).

This strip above is one of my absolute favorites. I don’t know what it is about these characters; they start out derived from real people and then take on a life of their own. I suppose that’s the beauty of this medium. Anyway, I’ve always wanted to work “JDate” into a strip, and Harvy provided me with the perfect outlet. God bless him!

So… back to the Thanksgiving topic. In real life, we couldn’t actually celebrate with my mother this year, but we had a great time with family and friends. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too …surrounded by the inspiring characters in your life.