Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 14, 2014

Aah, Friday! Monday’s more popular brother… – So, it turns out that it wasn’t necessarily ’tears’… and they don’t know as much about Rosa… well, not as much as Luann ‘knows’ boys, or something similar…. – She was forlorn…. Because her head is a gas tank, so full of fuel (from knowledge overload, in her opinion), and her ‘car’ isn’t going anywhere…. At least, not the ‘where’ that she wants to go….

So, Rosa Was upset because she wanted to join the Peace Corps before academia… ;)

Gunther is already past history with Rosa… ;)

“The Path Of Most Resistance”“Doing Is Half The Battle”“The ‘Not At Peace’ Corps”or “♪Know Too Much About History…♪”

I like Rosa more and more. She is kind, understanding and humble. She isn’t like a certain other character in this strip. Who, because her parents have money and influence, thinks her stuff doesn’t stink!

I thought Greg Didn’t read these posts…perhaps his daughter does? ;)

Go to Yale. Get a degree. Join the Peace Corps. Problem solved.

Gunther is smart, sweet, honest, and did I mention smart? And among all of these kids, who in real life is most likely to be boss anyway? All she needs is the full opportunity to make a man out of him. All of that will not show in the strip, but it might be a story arc. So give Gunther a break.

Oh besides Delta, sorry I forgot

“Sponsored” by….Channel 86 1/2… KPUT’s ‘Pitt Action News Team’… “If it’s action, we’re there!… If it’s knowledge, just give us a few minutes, please…” – and by.. Plotz’ Devices…. “Conveniently sold at… (ahem!) uh… Plotz’ Convenience Stores….”

We know that she’s smart as a whip… – The people that don’t know her well enough are Luann, Delta and Bern… you’d think that all this time, they would have learned some things… maybe it’s more indicative of them, as opposed to anyone else.. – Some people are there for the knowing, it’s just how much do people bother to pay attention?….

There are always needs for volunteers in so many other groups. Rosa needs to suit her desires to her current abilities. New Haven certainly has areas w needs, and everywhere I have lived there are options for volunteering, but if Yale does not fit her then she is likely to have alternatives open up. Gifts of one’s time enrich all lives and Rosa will do wonderful things in her life but she needs to learn how to be patient, not only for herself but also for those she helps. Just as Gunther is learning from her, she could learn a bit from him.

Hey- Rosa is really good at speaking without moving her lips!… – But on a more serious note (relatively), Rosa must be one of those persons who is better at doing things, and not sitting still. Almost like a “learning by doing”, or an “involved learner”…

“Same as always with Gunther.” Same as in him waiting to get back with Luann, if, indeed, they were ever a real couple? ;)

I just managed to spill tea all over my computer desk gggrrrrr! =-O BBT ’nite!

Luann can’t sympathize with Rosa because she doesn’t know anything about ambition, wanting to help people, or having a plan for her life.

Who knows? They probably had their minds on some “Fabio looking” grad student. They probably look at his “invincible” grades, his winsome confidence and demeanor and his ‘money material’ and then glance down at Gunther’s ‘paltry’ high A average, and think that Gunther is a “no goodnik” from the wrong side of the educational tracks. Must be why Rosa was trying to get him ‘coached up’ ……

Yes, true! - That is, unless, they never let him near their toast, long enough to butter them up….

LOLLLLL!!!!!

It now seems that Rosa was planning to attend college after the Peace Corps, until she found out that she would need a degree to join the Peace Corps. What will happen now? Without making any exact predictions, this reader suspects that Rosa will take a direction in post-high school life that may have nothing to do with Yale, the Peace Corps, or even Gunther!

basically just established that Rosa is a short-sighted idiot with test taking skills.

OMG you are probably right. That dialogue is perfect.

Earlier, I made the assumption that Luann has spent her entire life in Pitts, since I have never heard anything to the contrary. On that thought, has there ever been any mention of Delta or Bernice living anywhere else? Also, the comic seems to imply that Pitts is in the western USA (due to Luann’s time zone difference from Quill). It may not have to be in California; maybe is supposed to exist in Washington or Oregon.

Probably just the same way that some TV shows had two actors who played the same character, and one looked a bit different from the other “professional portrayer”…..

That’s a very effective letter.

This is off today’s topic, but it has just occurred to me. It is well-established that Gunther is expert at sewing— so then, why does he wear such bland clothing? It is indeed ironic that he does not attend high school wearing self-tailored outfits! Any theories?

Hooooooeeeeeeee!!!!! Think excremental effluvia andmotorised air ciirculation devices….

The Great and Mystical Swami now predicts the future…

I see Rosa talking to the school counselor for career advice, which will lead to a Family meeting. The family will decide that Yale would be better when Rosa is more focused on a major, and starting at a local college, possibly a 2 year, ain’t that bad.

Keeping the Gunther/Rosa arc moving.

Gee That Rosa’s a Nice Girl.

So Ya Wanna SAVE The Planet, Huh Rosie?

How Thoughtful.

SAY, Have YOU Met this Delta Gal, Yet???

Until recently (in this comic), I was not aware that the Peace Corps still exists!

How about a plot where, the day after high school graduation, Rosa simply leaves town without saying good-bye to anyone (including Gunther)?

Yes.

So why not compromise…go to a local school and then volunteer locally.

“I’m not qualified to advise but I care.”“You couldn’t help anyway because this is on me, but I appreciate your care.”“Glad I could help — or wish I could help.”

Rosa really doesn’t want to go to Yale. Maybe she should stay in town and go the Community College with Luann, and after her Associate’s degree (two years), sign up for the Peace Corps. With her language skills, that should be enough to get her in. —If that’s what she still wants by then.

Does anyone ever REALLY know another?Luann knows many things but feels she does not know what she needs to help Rosa.

Good dialogueThey aren’t really jealous types, but if they were, it would be dead on the money.

A person who realizes she is sometimes self-centered is well on her way toward becoming even better..Even if she weren’t sometimes personal problems drown out even the worst problems of even our best friends.(And to be honest, as long as Gunther is mumbling and stuttering, he isn’t really ready to talk. Further, the things Quill would like about Luann would be related to what Rosa might see in Gunther.)NOTE TO ALL: Never tell your wife you don’t care how she looks because it is the inner person you love. She WILL take it the wrong way.

I was enjoying Rosa’s letter to home until the last paragraph. Up until then it was reading like a neighbor of mine.She went off to college, ran up several tens of thousands of dollars of debt in just a few weeks, failed all her classes, came home pregnant and clueless regarding the father or even the party involved.

C’mon, Luann. Don’t be a cop-out. Time to grow up another notch.

Only a idiot refuses to keep learning.

Getting boring…

Rosa’s parents want to brag. The mom is probably the obnoxious type popular in my town, who will find a way to tell you that her kid is in AP classes, like, You, “nice weather we’re having.”, Her: “Yes, my daughter is in 3 AP classes”.

Luann is not really comfortable with talking about anything but her own interests. Still, it is nice of her to attempt to show interest in someone else for a change.

Rosa, get the degree and then join the Peace Corps. Right now your road to the Peace Corps is blocked. Choose the other road.

Poor baby, doesn’t want to go to one of the best colleges in the world- an opportunity that is available to a percentage of the human race that would require so many zeros to write out you’d have to count them several times. And, the American people are sympathizing with her? Just being an American is a situation we should all wake up every morning and fall on our knees to be thankful for. Her only thought should be how can I use this incredible opportunity to make life better for those people I would meet in the Peaces Corps.

-Maybe too many of the posters on this site have forgotten what it’s like to be a teen. I still remember high school and how we were all in such a hurry to grow up and start our lives, to be in the ‘real world’. We felt like spending time in school was postponing real life. My friends and I did volunteer work, but most of our ‘free time’ was spent with homework, so we kept dreaming about how life would be when we didn’t have to write papers about books that didn’t seem to relate to what was going on in ‘the real world’.-I suspect that nothing has changed for today’s teens. Even though they can carry ‘the real world’ around on smart phones and tablets, they probably still feel like time is dragging while they are doing homework instead of doing ‘real’ things…

There’s two things I’ll add: (1) Greg would have written this comic way ahead of time and would not be influenced by a comment someone wrote yesterday. (2) Though Rosa may not be as interested in Gunther as she used to be, there’s the possibility that Gunther will also get in Yale.

Luann knows her limitations? That’s impressive— shows more self-awareness than I’d expected.*Looks like Rosa is being steered to some sort of OTJ, on-site learning program. Anyone know if Yale sponsors one?

Looks like Rosa’s parents have their heads on right. Although if she fights them, a little OK your on your own call us when you want to go to college wouldn’t hurt.

“Are you sure those call letters aren’t KAOS?”^Well, KPUT= Kaput, so that’s where the “86” comes into play. Sometimes stations base their call letters on a short phrase of local meaning, like here in the Baltimore area, WBFF was chosen, to signify “Baltimore’s Finest Frequency”. WHYY, the “Edu-channel” in Philly naturally uses “WHYY” as in wonder, learning. So I just imagined an ironic twist to one of Pitt’s potential channels, “KPUT”…. – I was tempted to say “Channel 86.99”, though…. but I “missed it by that much ….”

“Maybe she can become a ventriloquist, and Gunther can be…part of the act! =o)”^Hey- Gunther’s no dummy, Lol!

Yes, and also New York figured prominently, as well. That’s part of how the Lodges came up (along with a bit of actual historical ties to real Lodges in the NH/Mass. area), and it transferred to “Ronnie” having her parents and family being from Boston, NY and Atlanta, as well. – Also of interest, a long time ago, there was speculation of them actually naming where Riverdale was, in the comics. For a period of time, they pointed to a place in Kansas, but that wasn’t built upon, afterwards. The new ownership seems to take a liking to making it a place that the reader will identify as their own, consistent with the new “all inclusive approach” they have been taking…..

Frustrated seems to be a good word to describe her feelings….. – It could have been that Greg was shipping her off, so that she was going to be “going abroad”. as a way for her to exit. – Unless he’s keeping her around, and this is just a bit of “growing pains” for her, to move things along…..

Being a good listener goes a long way.

There are some thoughtful and helpful comments on the ArcaMax site today.

How about joining AmeriCorps, Rosa? You don’t need a degree. Join AmeriCorps, then go to Yale, and then go into the Peace Corps. So now your road to the future has three forks, and one of two you can travel now. It is your pick. The third one, Peace Corps, will be unblocked when you earn your degree.

Yeah, that’s another good question. – I know it sounds obvious, but seeing how the choices are seeming to be his desire to stay at Moony, and her desire to leave from the Pitts area, Maybe that’s an indication. If Rosa decides to do a 2 year “domestically”, maybe it means they both stay. At least for a bit more. – And of course, if Gunther somehow finds that he had another acceptance letter laying around, which “conveniently” places him reasonably close to the New Haven , then he and she will be shipping off.

A classy exchange between Luann & Rosa. Rosa wants to get outside her comfort zone so she can find out who she is. Rosa is lonely and Gunther isnt bringing her out. However dating Les is TOO far out of her comfort zone.

“Frustrated seems to be a good word to describe her feelings”*Another good phrase is “penned in”. I felt that way too until I finally escaped at age 18.

Then I started to fly!

A scenario that is not unreasonable, and not improbable……

If Rosa goes to Yale, she WILL start doing things. That’s what Dwight Hall is for. Also, since all student organizations are student (not faculty) created and led, she will have plenty of opportunities for leadership.

Got news for you… “chicas” come in a lottta different shades… I should know… my paternal family has a good deal of them….in fact, in my family, there’s just about nearly all the shades in the Latin community….

What about AmeriCorps? A friend’s daughter participated in one of their programs and found it very rewarding.

“Rosa looked so much more chika in that earlier strip than she does now.”

Actually, the current Rosa looks more like the daughter of a wealthy Mexican than she did back in the day, where she looks more like the daughter of a Mexican Indian. I’m not saying that to be racist, because I’m not. But I am married to an upper class Mexican from a wealthy family (I am not Latina), plus I lived in Mexico for twenty years. Most of these upper class Mexicans are very proud of their Spanish ancestry and are extremely racist about their darker countrymen that are descended from a mostly indigenously Indian background. My very guero (pale) son has had in the past and currently has a Latina/Mexican-American girlfriend. All three of these young women are extremely pretty I might add. However, when my husband’s family visit, they don’t approve and say that the girlfriend looks like “the maid” and that he can “do better.” My husband just says the current girlfriend is better than the last one, which means he still doesn’t approve either. My children and I don’t care what the family thinks however, and we tell my husband what racist jerks he and his family are!

I SO forgot that it’s “Pi Day (3.14)!”….

Ha ha ha!!

“43 isn’t half the man you are, 86,” said 99

I get the feeling that with new brains behind the Luann comic, we are seeing the test run of a spinoff for a new strip about Rosa & Gunther. Kind of a Mother Theresa meets Bill Gates story, combining school with trips into jungles for social work and applied engineering. It could have a Gilligan’s Island humor if Tiffany and Knute and Crystal all joined in occasionally.

“I am glad your boy is looking for character. I hope he finds his ‘best’.”

Yes, Lord knows I’ve made a lot of parenting mistakes, but at least this part of me rubbed off on both my kids!

@flowergirl19 .Actually, that SHOULD be number 159, but maybe a comment was erased or deleted.Still, the idea of knowing the person you are marrying continues to strike me as wise rather than finding out later and complaining repeatedly..The fact that most of the planet is racist is obvious. People arbitrarily decide one group is better or worse. I had a friend who tried hard to marry his daughter off to me, not because I am the wonderful person we all know and love, but so his grandchildren would be down to just one eighth black. They call it “breeding up”.I was amused at the thought that having children off of me would be an improvement. (Not that my children aren’t the best the world has ever seen.).He was racist in thinking having lighter grandchildren was better. Nice fellow but hard to respect. (Obviously Chinese is best.).Another friend explained the Portuguese would not educate black people, that he had to get his education at a mission school. I reminded him of a co-worker who was indeed educated in Lisbon..João explained my error in that the other was not really black.“Whoa, he’s darker than you are.” (Coal black versus very dark brown.)“No, my friend, he is only black on the outside, inside he is white.”.So confusing. If you don’t act black, then you are white?The lighter, the better?.I love this world with all its many interesting people.