Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for June 24, 2014

BOOM… -….Message received.

Oh, oh, Gunther…Baddddd move! But if it Only for the summer, that would work. As Long As You Return to Pitts Before MU begins its fall semester!!! ;)

Whether for just a dinner, or for long term planning/communication purposes, Rosa will appreciate this sort of gesture….

Lima Ohio?

“Lightning In A Bulb”“A Capital Idea”“Reflections And Connections”“A Long Trip For Takeout”“A Taste For Peru”“Waking Up Late”or“Shocked, Then Aww!”

Actually…I approve, so long as he doesn’t give up college for this. Whether it’s for the summer, or deferred enrollment for a year, as long as he’s within the limits of the university, he’s not risking his future.

So long as no futures are being risked, I can support this. Lots of people wish they could’ve gone out of the good old USA to live elsewhere for a few months or a year.

Yep. Saw it coming.

Good for Gunther. Rosa’s suggestions really have rubbed off on him. Let’s see if he can make it happen.

Gunther, you have to follow Your dreams, too. Remember that engineering degree you want…? And, besides, your Mom would have a hemorrhage if you left her while you wandered around in Peru pursuing Rosa… ;)

But, I wonder for how long…? ;)

The good part is that Quill will be around. So Gunther’s mom won’t be alone in the house.

This is exactly what I’ve been saying. By arriving at this decision on his own, without undue influence, he is now actually motivated to do it. He has a fire under him, and he lit it himself. Rosa knew how to handle him.

Somehow Rosa, made a MAN out of him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64

As someone said before, there are good schools outside the US… We just focus mostly on what’s more so “under our nose” (the local stuff)… – And there’s still more to come, anyway… – So whether for temporary or for “keepsies”, it’ll all develop… just have to see how the rest unfolds….

Good luck getting a visa and a passport in two weeks, Gunther.

Just in case: the Pronunciation of Lima, Peru is different from Lima, Ohio… -The one in Peru is “Lee-mah”, and the one in Ohio sounds like a musical fruit….

….sniff, sniff, sniff…… our little boy is growing up.

“♫….Stand in the place that you live… now, face north….think about direction, now.. wonder why you haven’t, before…♫”

The National University of Engineering (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, UNI) … and science university located in the Rímac District of Lima, Peru.

Who are you and what have you done with Gunther?

And, Gunther, Where are you going to Get the money you’ll need in a foreign country away from family and friends? ;)

"♫….Signal transmitted, message received… Reaction making impact… invisibly…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kl4hJ4j48s

Apparently, Rosa’s going to gender reverse that, and show Gunther a whole new world…

Too many early wake-ups and not enough sleep…yawn…look forward to everyone’s posts today… ‘Nite all… ;)-——————————————————————————————-“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions; I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, then be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching."(“The Merchant of Venice,” William Shakespeare, 1564-1616)

It’s possible Rosa is taking a year’s deferment from Yale, not giving it up entirely.

That’s in Colombia….

“Till one of the drug cartels snatches up Gunther and her uncle can’t afford to buy him back.”

That’s just too horrible to even think about!

“Wonder how much that taxi is going to cost…”

That’s what I was thinking.

"Look closely at Gunther in the last panel. Now, substitute the words in his word balloon with: “I am goink to take ofer zee vorld!” ^Is that with a bit of a “mousey” dialect… or more of a “Kaotic” one?

A decision made in haste, influenced by emotion, without any knowledge of the facts you need. This is not good. Take time to think, Gunther.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNPQC2v38c

Passports, money…Love will find a way.

(Note: Remember, this is a comic strip. Common sense and logic are free to jump out the window of their choice)

I agree with those who think Rosa knew exactly what she was doing. She played Mr. G like a kazoo! We don’t yet know if Gunther is planning to stay in Peru for an academic year or just for the summer (or maybe just for a couple of weeks?), but if he was accepted into Moony already I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to suppose that he can still pursue his own Plan A in another year, or even after a semester.

I could still see him applying to Yale for September of next year, assuming Rosa is ready to head for New Haven after a year in Peru. He’s a resourceful and adaptable guy, may very well find some interesting volunteer work, maybe even an internship or paying job to keep him in groceries for a year in Lima. Remember, he’s not only an engineering student, but knows his way around a sewing machine.

The main thing I don’t quite see is money. Does Mrs. Berger have that kind of an emergency fund set aside? How will she feel about all this? Can Quill “reassure” her and hope Luann doesn’t find out? How would Gunther get to Peru? Will Rosa’s uncle be comfortable letting his niece’s sweetie sleep at the same house? That strikes me as a bit dodgy, particularly if we assume that her family are Catholic.

Do we know if Gunther has ever actually met any members of Rosa’s family? I imagine he probably got introduced to whoever took Rosa’s picture a few days ago, but that’s the only even potential contact I’m aware of.

@Angelalex242: A palpable point, that. Greg isn’t overly troubled by practical issues concerning work permits, passports, grocery bills and such. It is, after all, just a comic strip, however invested we get in the characters.

Something something awful pun about Lima beans.

Gunther takes Rosa to dinner in Peru, Rosa eats lima beans and llama meat, gets food poisoning, gets run over by a llama, exclaims “What a dump!”, dumps Gunther AND Peru.

Gunther strikes a John Travolta “Saturday Night Fever” pose, putting yet another nail in disco’s coffin.

Greg is now patting himself on the back for not having Rosa come from Honduras. Gunther gesturing dramatically and shouting “—in Tegucigalpa!” just wouldn’t have the same effect.

Forced writing and contrived plot…

If he does go to South America to pursue his sort-of high school girlfriend, it will be a totally implausible way of writing him out of the strip. Gunther is supposed to be smarter than that.

Gunther has a plan. Best wishes to him.

Try Rosita Rios in Rimac, the oldest restaurant in peru. Excellent!

Rather impulsive there, Gunther!But if Mom (Mrs. Berger) concurs, your scheme just might carry the day! (Of course, we have yet to see Rosa’s parents consenting to her trip to tio’s clinic in Peru.)Certainly, this is a new, more decisive Gunther emerging before our very eyes. I wonder what Quill will say next?

WHOOMP… THERE IT IS!… WHOOMP THERE IT IS!!!!

And no, not “Ohio.” That’s “Lima” as in the “bean”, not “LEE-ma…” :-)

Gunther has been working all through high school and probably banked it all at his mom’s insistence; no car, no car insurance, living frugally. Rosa’s dad could wrangle the visa, uncle could give him a job. Passport…problem: Travelers need a passport valid at least half a year with at least 2 free pages in the visa section when entering Peru.

Does Gunther even speak Spanish?

And just WHO is gonna PAY for this little “Junket”? Mom? I Think NOT!

Here’s a big cheer from me. YOU GO GUTH!!!!

The thing that should not be?

Gunther, a four week volunteer opportunity in Lima, Peru will cost you $4,541. If you have enough in your savings account, check it out. When you come back, you can work for awhile to earn back that money and then enroll at Moony. It takes only a little time of your entire. (I admit I haven’t checked throughly enough to see if Gunther would qualify.) https://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/enroll/Lima/1404532800

And finally—the cajones descend.

Gunther can work on a degree anytime. If he lets Rosa slip through his fingers he may never have the courage to pursue another. Go for it Gunth!

[shaking head in frustration] Gunther… I really never thought you would be so foolish as this. This is just much, too much. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I suspect that (unless you have a full-ride scholarship) that you and your mother may be quite taxed to pay your tuition for college. Even if you have a full-ride scholarship, I suspect that there are not bales of money laying about in your home just going unused. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++So, what is your plan? To go to Peru to live forever? To go to Peru for a Summer? To go to (Lima,) Peru for a wild, whirlwind evening dinner? No matter how you slice it, its going to be pretty darn expensive. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++What again is your plan? Oh, I see… you are going to a) make some dresses and sell them on eBay? Nah. b) you are going to submit an application to be on Project Runway this Summer and win the big prize with your gowns? Nah. c) You are going to squander your minimal savings for going to college to head after Rosa to Peru?!?!?!? Yeah, thats the ticket. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I am glad you are only a cartoon character. Sadly, you do mirror the way some folks are in real life… but fortunately I do not have to deal with those folks.

Haha…. to all the folks who suggested Gunther take Rosa to one of the other Lima (Ohio, etc)…. I applaud you! That would be funny, and fun to see.

Gunther wouldn’t be skipping college if he followed Rosa to Peru…he’d only be delaying it, which is what the majority of Mormon missionaries are doing for two years. If anything, Gunther would be more mature than the average college freshman because he’ll have spent a year living in (and adapting to) a foreign culture.

Maybe Gunth will go, be kidnapped by anti-government rebels. and through a Stockholm syndrome like situation become a rebel himself!! Che Gunth!! A new strip! Movie soon to be made.

Played him? Making a mistake?

Gunther has been wanting to change, but did not know how to start. He couldn’t find that first step. Now he’s found it. And Rosa let him find it, rather than point it out. That is exactly what he needed. Exactly what he wanted.

Gunther needs to get away from his mamma in order to be allowed to grow emotionally. Gunther, go to Peru if you have the funds, come back, put in ten months with AmeriCorps to earn college money and grow some more, then go to Moony for your engineering degree. That will be about the time Rosa will be coming back from Peru and enrolling in Yale.

But will Rosa rejoice or recoil?

@melmarsh9v Exactly Whats in Lima?…. is there even a traffic light? :-/

Note that no one here is urging Rosa to defer her “Peru” plans in order to stay with Gunther. Why, then are folks urging Gunther to defer his “Moony Uni” plans to follow Rosa?

You got the bread, Gunth?

They do have universities in Peru.

That will be one expensive dinner. I hope he doesn’t throw away his dreams and goals for a woman. He would be miserable in Peru watching Rosa follow her dreams.

Gunther has finally taken the roll down the hill mentality to heart.http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2014/01/18#mutable_1108171

Man, I can’t believe I scrolled past your great jokes about Lima stuff. Now, you know how to write good puns! I couldn’t even come up with one.

Gunther is being urged to follow Rosa because he has apparently found the great love of his life. He has become a better man because of her. He will have to stay with her forevah. She’s the best thing for him.-Of course, I think it’s ridiculous! Kids that age are kids, the human brain actually hasn’t finished developing at age 17 or 18—I’ve read that that’s why teens can be so reckless. They take risks, and it’s easier for them to develop lifelong addictions to drugs and alcohol because the substances change their still-developing brains. However, we are to presume these two know what they’re doing in their little soap opera world.-Personally, if I had enough intellect to get accepted into Yale, I would definitely go to Yale!

ReallyBad…. I always enjoy your comments… Thank you.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Your comment “taking risks is manly and if Gunther doesn’t want to be a loser he has to take huge risks” is very important…. I think that is the impression we get about how Gunther feels, and it represents an idea of how society in general thinks as well. It is frustrating and sad.

Hah! Perfect!

HowtheDuck said…. “Hey, Gunther! Knute called to tell you to stop infringing on his part. His character is supposed to be the one saying stupid things.”

I don’t understand, usual teenage romances seem to only last a little while, at least nowadays. He must really like Rosa.

From your description, sounds like a normal old day in DC…..Or LA……

Yeah, but Greg put it in his script to say “Lima”. So…. perhaps during the strips’ rehearsals, Gunther could have asked Greg: “Why Lima?” … maybe even just before the appearance of today’s strip, he could’ve asked…. but eventually, and now obviously, he got his answer…..

Yay! nothing wrong with taking a sabbatical. My daughter (warning, parental boasting ahead) took a year off after junior college to go on a concert tour with Björk. (boast finished). Only good things come from such experience and they will live on the memories for their whole life.

(their cartoon lives anyway ;))

We have some like that.. Rehoboth, Wilmington (Del.)…. York, Reading (Pa) or Jacksonville or Phoenix (the Md. ones… next door to each other, at that!)

Forgot to mention Texas, Md… also nearby…

Gunther’s going to end up on “Locked Up Abroad”

Travolta maintained he revived disco.Maybe Gunther will do likewise.

You know, there IS a middle ground between over-thinking everything and just acting on impulse, Gunther.(Congrats, Quill, you’ve created a monster.)

Given that logic, shouldn’t every character in this strip go overseas and not to college?

Maybe, but we’re only dealing with Gunther right now. And I’d argue that the other students, even Lu, have been far less sheltered than Gunther. He really needs some remedial help, here.

> Given that logic, shouldn’t every character in this strip go overseas and not to college?>Maybe a whole bunch of them will, if Greg Evans thinks he needs to clean house and replace Luann’s high school friends with a new cast that she meets at Pitt CC. Having them be sent overseas seems extreme, but that seems to be how characters are written out of this strip. Pretty lazy writing, actually.

> I guess one alternative would be to have the entire cast with the exception of Luann board a bus for ComiCon and have it go off a 500 foot cliff.>Or have them all walk through an open field. In this strip, that’s a killer.

Let her go, Gunther, you’re not Indiana Jones, and if she lasts 2 years she’ll have chronic dysentery and chronic malaria. After 3 years, her breasts will dry up and her wrinkled skin will be like leather. She will age about 20 years and and travel everywhere with a monkey on her shoulder.

…Exactly!– (and of course, they’re secretly on the lam!)

Oh, Gunther. Are you going to end up like you did at the bottom of that little hill?

This is where TinyPic comes in handy…