Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for December 09, 2019

Amen

amazing and really cool, dude

^5, Stephan.

Thank you, firefighters!

Amazing. Can’t give this one enough thumbs up.

And thank you Stephan Pastis for saying it so well.

Well said, Stephan.

Hard to believe what these fire fighters have been dealing with, again and again. Well done, Pastis.

salute

A few thousand of those firefighters in CA are prisoners, at CDCR fire camps, who are paid around $2 to 5 a day plus $1 an hour while fighting wild fires. Several have died, but since they’re not “employees,” their families don’t get state death benefits. After their release, the vast majority cannot use their training to become firefighters due to their criminal record. A bill to change that was recently gutted by the CA legislature. Those firefighters need more than thanks.

Heroes are people who get the work done!

Very nice gesture, Mr. Pastis. Thanks to all Fire Fighters.

A salute to all American AND international FDs.

“Just doing my job” or “Just doing what’s right” are the words of real heroes.

Amen, Mr. Pastis.

Well said. Cannot top the sentiments.

Firefighters are awesome people!

:thumbsup:

I like the strip but am appalled by people who live in fire zones not doing more to allay forest fire danger. There is plenty of text that gives a sizeable number of tips on fire resisting your home.

Dang straight, Pastis. Some run toward the sound of gunfire, fire, natural disasters. Cops, Firefighters (who impress me no end), rescue workers, military personnel. Any of those who put themselves at risk to protect us.

And let’s not for get the constabulary and other first responders! A hearty salute and thanks to all the true heroes out there!!

Sometimes getting real is the best thing. I salute you, Stephan!

Excellent message, Mr. Pastis! Thank you to firefighters and anyone else who puts their lives on the line for the safety of others!

Well said Mr. Pastis. Thank you first responders.

I am an American living in Tokyo. My Japanese brother-in-law was a firefighter in Yokohama. He suffered some bad injuries. The burns healed, but his shoulder did not fully recover. So now he is an EMT. People like him and his wife (a nurse) deserve our appreciation!

Yes, even Rat knows when to be humble and appreciate those who REALLY deserve to be called heroes! Well done, Toon’-boy!

It’s touching when Rat shows sentimentality, compassion, and gratitude.

Firefighters and the US Coast Guard. When everyone else is seeking safety they are going out into danger to rescue/protect us.

2 years ago I had a wildfire next to my house, My Hero was the farmer who took his cat and plowed a fire break around my house.

The fire department and rescue were not even aware that I was living there and made no additional effort to help.

Heros are anyone who will go beyond for someone when they need it. Unfortunately most people are not.

It is what it is! THANK you to all responders who endanger their own lives everyday!

Amen!

Bravo Pastis

Kudos Mr. Pastis

Any day is a good day to thank a veteran or those who lay their lives down for civilian safety. Thank you for your service.

Nice….Very nice, Mr. Pastis.

A-fraggin-men.

Thanks, Stephan, for your recognition of a group of real heroes – those dedicated, brave men & women who risk their lives to keep the rest of us and our homes safe.

Fighting brush and forest fires is a particularly grueling, frustrating, and often thankless job. They deserve our praise, prayers, and sincere gratitude!

While we’re at it, let’s fund good healthcare to handle all the eventual illnesses caused by God knows what the firefighters and firemen/women are breathing in.

These aren’t forest fires, they are grass fires. Notice the brown grass hills in the first two panels and the green grass of the last panel.

I remember watching I Am Legend with my son. After the movie ended he said “He was a hero, why did he die?” I told him many heroes are heroes because they made the ultimate sacrifice…and no one noticed, especially during war.

Come on people! Listen to the President…Only you can prevent forest fires…by not flushing 10 to 15 times and by raking up all the leaves and he does not want any Quid Pro Quo!

Can we get an Amen for all who rush towards danger as part of their job? We can’t thank them enough.

One of Pastis’ best strips ever.

True, very true.

I love the ads I’ve seen that say “Real heroes don’t wear capes”. Thank you to all first responders and soldiers too!

Fire breaks are beautiful things and landscaping/greenscaping with materials suitable for the environment help and can be wonderful at the same time. However, I’m still looking for the T-shirt that says, “Only you can prevent forest fires. No, seriously. We got defunded.” Forest service and fire crews in other areas aren’t sexy things to fund until it gets to be too late. Where’s all the infrastructure improvement we were promised? Skip that wall BS and take care of letting mother nature do her thing and maintaining roads that allow people to get where they need to be faster.

And only you can prevent forest fires.

What about the many people who rake the forest?

I see Stephan lives in a super-rich area ! Nice to see he’s doing so well.

Very Nice

I used to be acquainted with the chaplain of a fire department near my hometown. He said something I’ve never forgotten: “A firefighter is the type of person willing to run into a building that every other living thing, including the cockroaches, is running out of.”

That’s the first nice thing I’ve ever heard come out of Rat’s mouth. Oh, and great strip.

Two men are responsible for the California fires, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. No others.

Thank you Stephan. THANK YOU First responders.

It’s been my experience that those who are “just doing a job” are not often looking for thanks. That being said, they are very appreciative when given them.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John XV;xiii (KJV).

Thank you, fire fighters. You are certainly MY heroes.

A rare strip that the world needs to see right now.

Amen Pastis

Great one, Stephan. Sorry for all the fires that have been happening over there in CA. God bless

Can’t ‘like’ this one enough!! Real heroes!

They are the best, great strip.

Real heroes should be celebrated – and we must never forget that there are those every day heroes which put them self up front when the going gets tough.Fire fighters, emergency rescue people, life guards, doctors and nurses of which risk their lives dealing with dangerous epidemics or operate in war zones, police that deal with dangerous criminals and all the other people which choose to put their lives on the line to help others. They are all heroes – many of which are often taken for granted.

I believe it is the new generation of building materials. They used to have gravel, slate or clay tile roofs and plaster or adobe exteriors. New buildings are built with Oriented Strand Board which is laminated large chips of wood. The urethane glue burns like fuel and sends the delaminated embers flying. It loses structural integrity and collapses in minutes. A new large OSB building under construction caught fire locally and the ember firestorm burned houses for the next 4 blocks. The homes association had a mandatory cedar roof clause that the city immediately nullified.

Spot on, Stephan – what a great way to start the week! Mary Callahan’s article on the “Battle of Windsor” where the firefighters made their stand against the Kincade fire really shows what these heros are made of…

OK, Pastis, you have made up for all your horrible puns – thanks, dude – Santa will leave you more than a lump of coal this year

Seeing Rat being grateful weirds me out.

Wow! that was different but well said.

I lived in So. Cal. back in the early ’70’s and I recall going out the back door of the house we lived in and seeing the hills across the valley gloriously aflame. Turning around walking though the house to go out the front door to see the hills on that side also gloriously aflame. I understand the smog is better now. When we left you couldn’t see across the valley most days.

Who are you and what have you done with Stephen Pastis? (During my National Security and Emergency Preparedness career days, most fire response classes were taught by California firefighters who taught in our WI military bases.)

It’s good to recognize the ‘average’ people who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. For way too long, the only ‘heroes’ noted were big names. The heroes are the ones who do their jobs every day, not for the Glory, but because it is their job. Bless them, every one.

those firefighters really went above and beyond this wildfire season; less total damage then either of the past two years.

Here! Here! Well said!To all the wildland ,forest service, park service, smoke jumpers, city, county, and volunteer firefighters! Anyone that runs toward disaster as we run away, is a hero!

Next time I need help, I will call an Actor or an Athlete, not a Fireman, Police or EMS! Lol! Great strip today!

Very nice and true. AND move out of California…. duh!

In 1993 a fIrestorm ripped through Laguna Beach and destroyed my home. The fire was set in the canyon by a stupid deranged criminal.They never caught the criminal. My home was on the front pages of many news papers. Not an honor I appreciated nor my 3 children.I have lots I could say about a wind driven firestorm and what happens after but it would take pages.

A PSA. Sadly, it will be ignored after a few months. More likely a few days.

Firefighters are cool, and it’s good to honor them. But please stop using the word ‘hero’ as though there actually were such a thing. There isn’t. Unless a man is literally the son of a Greek god (usually Zeus) and a mortal woman, he should be called something else.

Let’s be real. They fight fires because they get paid buku bucks with every perk a job can give. There is a huge waiting list for every job opening.

My salute emoticon:

/..

YES!

Now, how is the nation going to get municipalities and home owners to NOT live in the areas that are too prone to natural disasters like fires and floods, and how is the nation going to get external as well as internal measures that improve fire safety and flood safety for homes and businesses? When I was young the governmental protection for seaside structures applied ONLY to businesses which NEEDED to be there, so not to clubs or shore homes. Several decades ago a relative bought a small vacation home near a major forest considered a fire hazard so it, too, had no insurance possible. Hey, it is unpleasant, but allowing insurance companies to return in all states to setting logical and reasonable standards for what they will insure, and having states and feds not insure things that do not have to be located in risky locations may be start.

Here here! And thank-you Mr. Pastis for the tribute to firefighters.

Bravo! Well done Mr. P!

A twofer: (1) recognition of the true heroes; (2) No pun today!

The first responders all say that “They are just doing their job.”

And many of us are alive because of it.

And THAT makes them all HEROES.

Beautiful

I don’t get it

Thank you Mr. Pastis for recognizing those who do their best for us. They are the real hero’s as you so thoughtfully pointed out.

Having lived in Ventura County for a year between 2017-2018, I have a great respect for these heroes. And also for the fragility of the agriculture that our entire country relies on.

Good show, Cartoon-Boy! Rat & Pig add up to the proper gesture to the valiant firefighters!

Thank you, Mr. Pastis. Very much. Our local fires were set by an arsonist who flew in from Missouri to set us aflame. Thankfully they caught him and got the five fires out in time—because firefighters are amazing human beings.

That’s hilarious.

Not allowed to in California. Might piss off a mouse.

I lived in Santa Rosa (Sonoma County—just a beautiful area) for several years and it never occurred to me, at the time, that someday Santa Rosa would burn. Farthest thing from anyone’s mind at the time, but the times do change, don’t they?

You are so right, Stephan. Firefighters are the true heroes of our lives!

Stephan, you are a wonderful guy! At risk of sounding maudlin, I just love you to pieces. My husband knows and approves.

This is so heartwarming… thank you, first responders.

There are at least 947 people who care in this world

First and foremost, well said. But it’s also important to note actors and athletes can be as heroic as anyone — as role models, as advocates, as people who can give us new outlooks on life, or just entertain us, because while it’s not running into a burning building, being entertaining important in its own way. And for that matter, lots of them put their minds and bodies on the line to do the work that they do — Daniel Day-Lewis and Larry Bird being a couple of examples — which only enhances the inspirational impact they can have. To say nothing of the actors and athletes who have done heroic things outside of their profession like serve in the military or give to charity (both of which David Robinson did). Just kind of a gatekeep-y thing to say in the middle of a positive message. But again, great tribute. Salute to all our firefighters.