There's a grass joke in there somewhere...

Honestly, strips like today's strip are the kind that I like the least. I can't get annoyed with Al going over the same material over and over. There's no particularly egregious grammar. There's no "Ohh yeah!" or "to the moon" or "the urge to" or "living on the edge." (OK, I admit "hose water" is kind of bizarre.) It's the kind of strip where you look at it, and go, "Yeah, that sucks." I can't relate--I live in an apartment, so I don't have to worry about the lawn. Honestly, I have nothing to say about this. If you have any amusing comments about rain, or fertilizer, or grass seed, feel free.

Migratory complaints

I'm not entirely sure I understand today's strip, although I do see that it was submitted by a cranky Florida reader. If they're not careful, they're going to get their own tag. My biggest point of confusion is whether the Arfo and Elpie own two homes--one in the south and one in the north. The expo box isn't sure ("To visit old friends or what?"), and she says that they come up every year. If they're staying with friends, that is a bit obnoxious. But if they have a place to stay, what's the big deal? It seems logical that a couple might want to go south in the winter, and north in the summer. Lots of retirees do it; my grandparents did. And if they came north just for a vacation, is there even an issue here? I guess this might be a "grass is greener" situation.

I only just figured out the "They usta say it's not bad" comment. What the heck is "usta"? Al frequently tries to write things phonetically, but he fails miserably here. "Usta" does not mean "used to." Ever, pretty much. And people who scoff at the "dry heat" comment need to feel what 95 degrees feels like in Arizona, then feel 95 degrees in DC in July. They're very different.

Of course, this doesn't make sense if Arfo and Elpie moved to Florida. You can't say that the heat in Florida is dry. And why is the Florida person complaining? It means that people leave in the summer, which you think would make them happy.

Weather ranting

Oh man, today's strip is veering into the territory of one of my pet peeves: people complaining about weather forecasters. Check out this entry if you want to read my standard rant about this.

Anyway, the kid's an idiot. I learned very quickly to always assume that school wouldn't close. In a lot of ways, it makes the snow day that much nicer because you don't have to worry about your homework. Seriously, never ever assume that school will be cancelled. And it's not like he'd "miss" the exam--it would just be pushed back a day.

Then, of course, are the problems with the strip that are above and beyond the concept. The kid is up, dressed, and eating breakfast before he noticed that the huge storm missed the area? He didn't bound of out of bed and look out the window first thing? What teenager is all, "Sure, I'll get up and shower and dress at 6 a.m., even though I believe school is closed!"?

And Al, we can't actually listen to what's being said in a comic strip. We have to read it.

Mmm, vacation

I can kind of sympathize with today's strip. Growing up, my family tended to take trips to tropical places during the rainy season. But really, this is more a case of, "Yeah, that sucks" (which is the correct description for the examples in "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette) that something that happens every time. Unless you have particularly bad luck. Or parents who travel during the rainy season.

And while that does totally suck, if you're going on a tropical beach vacation, you're probably going to relax. Which, quite honestly, you can do in a hotel room. And then you won't have to worry about sunburn! By the time I went on a cruise last fall, I didn't really care if it had rained the whole time. I could've spent the week in bed and been content. Though going snorkeling and parasailing was awesome. So.

The people in the background frustrate me, because it shows that Al can draw attractive people, he just chooses not to. Ever.

And what's up with the arror pointing to the balloon in the top panel? Oh, we're supposed to read that! Thanks for pointing it out, Al!