What’s Going On In Gasoline Alley? Is the place actually named Gasoline Alley? January – March 2023

Yeah, so, the town where Gasoline Alley takes place is named Gasoline Alley. In the current story Walt Wallet tells a few bits of how that came about. It’s mundane enough: the spot where Walt and his friends got together to try getting their cars to work was naturally named the “Gasoline Alley” and as town congregated around them the name stuck to the place. I suspect without knowing that Frank King didn’t have a particular town in mind for where his jokes were set, and by the time it mattered everyone called the place after the comic strip. I know that by the late-40s radio series the town was called Gasoline Alley and that seems to be as much name as it needs.

After reading this you should be up to speed on Jim Scancarelli’s Gasoline Alley for early April, 2024. Want to read all my plot recaps and, where available, news about the comic strip? Including, if you’re reading this after about July 2024, a more current plot recap? You’ll find everything I have to say about Gasoline Alley at this link. At other links, you might miss something.

Gasoline Alley.

7 January – 31 March 2024.

Last time I checked in on Gasoline Alley, Walt Wallet, a person of more than ten years of age, was having trouble doing the laundry. Clovia, his wife, took over the chore and found a note in his pocket. She wants to know what “The girls and I want to thank you for your generous gift! Your true love, Sweet Thing” could mean. Slim hasn’t got any idea. She kicks him out of the house.

Jim Scancarelli’s Gasoline Alley for the 5th of February, 2024. While I couldn’t imagine anyone seriously thought the love note was anything too different from what it was, I was surprised Scancarelli didn’t tease the story out by having Slim investigate and get some false leads, or

After a day spent at Corky’s Diner having coffee and schtick with Baleen Beluga, Slim falls asleep in the parking lot. The cops come waking him up, with the news that his wife filed a missing-persons report. Also that all is forgiven. The note was from Aubee, their granddaughter, who called to make sure he saw the note she slipped into his pocket for a surprise. It’s a thank-you note for the money he gave the kids’ cheerleading squad for outfits. So, a happy reconciliation in time for Valentine’s Day.

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And then, the 12th of February, started the current story, with Clovia and Slim hearing news so shocking they can’t tell the reader about it for over a week, telling Skeezix, and having Skeezix go to Walt Wallet. That news: the city council is considering renaming Gasoline Alley. To have something that sounds more modern and not-so-dingy they fed the problem to an artificial intelligence, and after burning up 346 acres of Brazilian rainforest it gave a sure hit of a new name: For Peanuts Or For Hobbes.

Jim Scancarelli’s Gasoline Alley for the 28th of March, 2024. The Wallets are quite worried about the idea of Imeswine changing the town name “arbitrarily” but, I mean, towns change names all the time. Mind, I’m from New Jersey, where whatever you called them every municipality was officially named either “Washington”, “Hamilton”, or “Dover” until the last thirty years when they filed paperwork to spread the names out to, oh, “City of Toms River”, “Borough of Toms River”, and “Town of Toms River”.

The Wallets go to City Hall, where mayor Melba is not. She was called out of her office “real sudden like”, according to comedy relief Rufus. Acting mayor Elburt Imeswine is happy to see the Wallets right up until they start talking. He shuffles them off with the promise there’s a council meeting next week when they can talk about it. And that takes us up to Easter and the close of my reporting window. How will Mayor Melba come back home and quash the renaming plan? How will it turn out Vice-Mayor Imeswine tricked Melba into leaving town? We’ll find out in the weeks to come, I’m sure.

Next Week!

Also in the weeks to come! Jules Rivera’s Mark Trail hits more security guards and there’s something about a banjo cat! That’s if all goes to plan, and the plan is what I’ve claimed it is. We’ll see just what happens by next Tuesday, though.