Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for January 21, 2018

Rat probably reads Jane Austen when no one is around.

Not a lot of marriages seem to get past Stage 3.

That couch in panel 3 makes them look like children or dwarves.

Shouldn’t the line “You need to be changed” come after “I accept you as you are”?

It depends.

Marriage is like taking a bath, it ain’t so hot once you get used to it.

that’s kind of sad, really.

This is a little close to home.

Awww, that’s actually a sweet comic. (Must be a guest artist.)

Reminiscent of Moe Szyszlak, the bar owner in The Simpsons.

We went straight from panel one to six. A few bumps along the way. (Not counting the title panel.)

Awww! So touching! No baseball bat for Toon Boy today.

But, since this is Rat, and he did make me get all misty, can we at least lock him in a room with a continuous loop of Barbra Streisand singing “The Way We Were” ?

This is actually very sweet! (Wow.) How fast the relationship gets to stage 5 makes a big difference; glad mine got there quickly. And actually, the stage 6 feeling can be concurrent with stage 5.

Heck….It took me three tries at Stage 1 in order to get to Stage 5. I’ll be happy to wait a long time before Stage 6 shows up, but I know it’s closer today than yesterday.

Watch the first 10 minutes of “Up”…

The last panel is far from real. Usually the one ending dead is the husband. If you don’t believe it just check at any doctor’s office and look at all the old ladies sitting and chatting about their dead husbands….

Rat, and soft side? I smell a Rat!

Unless the get divorced after stage 2 or 3.

My wife is still stuck between stages three and four.

I suspect this has a personal side.

Too late.

At which stage do you get kicked to the curb to sleep in a basket on the front porch?

Been there, done that… good strip today.

What is it with “GO COMICS”. They don’t understand that I am not going to become a member and they just have to keep hounding me? I guess they think if they use enough ‘pop-ups’ that I’ll give in……WRONG. I’ll just go somewhere else. Must have voted for ShrilLIARy.

That’s not been my experience….

with rat, I expected the husband’s cane to be a shovel…

Marriage is an institution, and as a 45 year veteran of that I can say you should be commited. At times you don’t know you’re own mind, and wind up thinkin’ “I musta been crazy”.

awww

Saddest thing: a friend told his wife in public that he want her to live longer, because he didn’t want to live a minute without her. She passed away in her forties.

RAT wrote THAT?!?!

You nailed it! A very serious “comic”, and after 45 years, I too am the widower (which is rare) Keep up the innovative work!

I’m not married or in a relationship and I’ve never been so happy. I know what is right and what is wrong for me.

xxx

PBS’s version of Pixar’s “Up.”

Rat is so much like me on this one, it is scary!

Rat’s soft side is a nice discovery, I guess. But, like one or two others above, I’m part of the Never Married club among seniors….

After a couple of false starts (I wasn’t so bright or mature back then), I finally married a good one at age 51 (she was 50). We just celebrated our 22nd (yup, we’re 73 and 72). Had some struggles along the way, but I’m pretty sure we are at stage 5, even though I/we can say now the words that rat attributes to stage 6. The irony is that making it to stage 5 just makes stage 6 all the more difficult for the survivor. I don’t want to be the survivor, but I don’t wish that on my precious, either. I think this is the first time a cartoon ever brought me to tears (stage 6 panel).

This one actually brought a tear to my eye. Didn’t know you had it in you, Mr. Pastis.

I became the widower October 15, 2017 after 54 years of doing a lot of stuff together, four years of corting before, two kids, five grandkids Who woulda thought?

I’m glad I got to stage 5 when we were in our 40s. It’s made the last 10 years a lot easier & I hope we have a lot more years to go.

Been married 29 years and I’m in stage 4. I don’t know what stage my husband is in, he doesn’t talk to me much.

Sad to hear…..enoy each of your days…..anyways! In actuality, you only have one life to worry about and answer for……your own. HUgs!

We got to stage 5 in 12 yrs. (my third try, third time’s the charm) #1 was 1,2,4. (he came out as gay) and #2 was 1,2,3,4 run away!

Stage 1 – 20s, Stage 2 – 30s, Stage 3 – 40s, Stage 4 – 50s, Stage 5 – 60s, Stage 6 – 70s

;-;

.

Teared up a little at this one. Nice job, Rat and Pastis.

Rat impressed me with this one. It’s nice to get a sweet strip every now and again.