Mary Worth 3557

Saul didn't get as big a laugh at his broken-hip joke as he expected.

Mary Worth 3556

I am really looking forward to this story! It's gonna be good. As you know, I live in Philadelphia, and there have been so many great movies made here. Why am I expecting this one?

Mary Worth 3555

Wow! It is definitely a good thing that Saul is still a "young stud" because he just caught a falling 175 pounds with his forearm and wrist. I'm sure he will have no problem relocating her shoulder either.

Mary Worth 3454

Eve, be careful! This is how people fall in love!

Mary Worth 3553

C'mon, Eve. Show some Philly pride! She could really take lessons on hometown smugness from Hugo Lambert.

What's the big deal? You can see a few Philly Phamily Photos here!

Mary Worth 3552

Speaking as someone with a 215 area code, great T-shirt idea: "Philadephia: It's nice enough."

Mary Worth 3551

Why do I feel like Saul is trying to freestyle? And why am I so excited?

My eyes have bags
I'm hanging with hags
But I've never been a low ridin' hoodlum.

My lady she's cryin'
And sniffin' and sighin'
But this other lady lays out the wisdom!

Okay, I'm gonna stop. But you don't have to.

A very special thanks to Yahoonski and Leslie for their donations to "the Santa Royale Rehabilitation Fund." I will use it to help Saul learn to freestyle.

Mary Worth 3550

The green clouds of California smog really add a lot of beauty.

Mary Worth 3549

No, no, Eve... your delivery is all wrong. I would have killed with your material. Killed.

Today might be a good day to start a Mark Trail blog. If you stopped following because the art is now crap, you were wrong.

Mary Worth 3548

Maybe she should try Hare Krishna.

Okay, okay, I can see I'm going to have to explain this joke. In the Muppet Movie (1979), characters kept getting lost, or using the word lost, and everytime anyone said "lost" someone else would say, "Maybe you should try Hare Krishna." And finally Kermit says, "Good grief, it's a running gag."

Which is exactly how I'm feeling about this strip's nonsensical and repeated recylcling of the classic Jerry Seinfeld quote, "It's not you, it's me."

It's been a rough month, I don't have much of a sense of humor I guess.

Mary Worth 3547

Whew. I was worried that today's strip would just be about talking about doing something (see panel 1) instead of something actually happening. And then something happened! It looks like the next seven days we will get to hear all about Eve's feelings. Make yourself comfortable on that bench, Saul! You asked for it.

Mary Worth 3546

I find it ironic that Karen Moy is writing a male character who doesn't understand a female friend's emotions, all the time thinking that the male character would actually care.

Mary Worth 3545

Never forget that Saul and Greta are eating chicken for dinner. Green chicken.

Mary Worth 3544

What if Eve is dead because she wouldn't let Saul take her to urgent care?

Mary Worth 3543

Saul, do you remember when your old dog (Tanya? Olga? Eunice?) died? Do you remember how you felt? That feeling is called, 'sadness.' It is an uncomfortable feeling, but usually does not require medical treatment unless it becomes a chronic symptom. I liked Grumpy Old Man Wynter a little better than Sensitive New Age Saul. Old Man Wynter was funnier. Although this is pretty funny, too.

Mary Worth 3542

You can't take any chances at your age? You took her to an indoor mall for lunch where no one is wearing a face covering and you just handed her your own handkercheif to wipe her tears and nose with. I get that the author has decided to keep the strip COVID free, but at least don't put characters in situations where the rest of us are cringing at everything they do. Although, I guess... we were cringing before COVID, so what's the difference?

Mary Worth 3541

Bravo Helen Clark, KitKat and others who predicted that the headless manaquin would remind Eve of her late husband. Many years ago, I had a choreographer who was decapitated when his car went under a truck. It was a horrificly brutal and traumatic experience for his wife. She was in the car and it was said she tried to put his head back on his body. There was nothing funny about it, until the character Creed Bratton on The Office told Michael Scott that it was exactly how his boss had died. Everytime I see that episode, I feel guilty for laughing so hard. And now, every time I walk into a department store, I'm going to feel equally guilty.

Mary Worth 3540

UHNN... It's called a necktie. They're very common. But if you put one on Greta, she'll probably strangle herself to death.

Mary Worth 3536

Hey, you two, your dogs aren't with you, so you don't need to wear your matching tie and kercheif, at least for a few hours. These two have all but abdicated their free will to their mutts. You better believe you're going to make it up to Max, Eve. And it's going to be brutal, and it's going to be rough - no pun intended.

Special thanks to Mary, Jim and Brian for their recent donations to the blog! Thanks so much.

Mary Worth 3538 and the Panel of the Year Runoff Results

Well, I'm glad to see that Saul doesn't put off birthday shopping until the last minute.

This morning I woke to all kinds of news about the Runoff Vote. Every headline. I had no idea we had garnered this much media attention, but today is the day that we announce the winner.

As a reminder, the two leaders in our original Worthy Awards Panel of the Year category were separated by only one vote, forcing a runoff between:

My Water Dish is Empty

And...

Take This Onion Ring

 Again, this has been an incredibly close vote. Our winner had 50.6 percent of the vote. Which comes to a 16-vote lead after 1,236 ballots were counted. Very close, but still, under the Charterstone Condominium Association Rule 58a (II)c (1997 edition), close enough to declare that the 2020 Panel of the Year is...

My Water Dish is Empty

These are definitely divided times. I feel a civic duty to unite and heal. Those of you who felt the Onion Ring was best, will be deeply disappointed. Those of you who were moved by the compassion of a thirsty wiener dog, must now apply those same feelings of compassion toward those with whom you disagree. Santa Royale is a special place, and it is time to come together, white middleclass WASPS and ... and ... and ... See, it is true that in Santa Royale, we share more similarities than differences. The Worthy Awards celebrate winners as much as losers: Losers like Toby, and Ian, and Wilbur. Put down that foil wrapped chunk of cobbler, stop throwing muffins, and sit on the sofa with your cup of Sanka and just... relax.

Mary Worth 3537

Clearly, Max and Greta are still exercising canine mind control over their owners' words and actions. They continue to say things only a dog would say, and neither Saul nor Eve have taken a bite of their "tasty" hotdogs, clearly saving them for their masters... er, pets.

Mary Worth 3536

Here in New Jersey, when you stroll down the boardwalk, there's always lots of fun places to buy candy and ice cream and food. Even in January you can find fun stops along the way. Just last week, we took the whole family to the Asbury Park Boardwalk to visit the Silverball Pinball Museum. Here are some photos.

But when the weathers nice, there are lots of people enjoying these beachside walks and amusements:

You can see why I am amused at the thought of a hotdog cart on that narrow catwalk they keep calling a boardwalk in Santa Royale. So I looked up California Boardwalks. Of course, I was already familiar with Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park because I grew up nearby:

But then I found this:

This 0.75-mile, fully-accessible walkway is in Carpenteria, Santa Barbara County - very near Santa Royale. It was built in two phases over several years, thus creating a north end and a south end I suppose. It looks very similar except for the side curbs that keep your push walker from rolling off the edge. So, June's depection of a west coast boardwalk isn't without precedent. However, this is located in a state park, and I don't know if they would permit hotdog carts. I'll see what I can dig up.

You're welcome.

Mary Worth 3535

This ominous message bodes poorly for 2021. New, completely original stories have been promised. No more characters breaking up and then getting back together. No more pet owners going for endless walks. No more talking by the pool about all the exciting things going on in someone else's life. Whatever will we do without the old familiar rehashes? Happy New Year's Day everybody.