Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 17, 2021

Try Yahoo.com Answers, you two, though you’ll get numerous kinds of advice.

Sometimes itis just best to move forward….

Kaboom- wake call for Luann

Nancy is grateful Tara chased off a burglar who wouldn’t have been burglarizing if Tara wasn’t there?

Start with the question Nancy asked & go from there.

They are a little too chill for me.

So it’s come to this! Siri and Alexa are the new parent guides???

I’m certain that both Frank and Nancy have some practical experience given to them by their own parents on how to deal with this situation!

Gear Frank and Nancy, Parent UP!!

Sit at the table with the girls and start talking. But before grilling them. Exchange some pleasantries.

And they don’t know the burglar is Tara’s cousin?!

Siri, what is the value of pi to the last decimal place?

Finally, all that pie makes sense.

A question as easy to answer as Frank’s.

Start by closing up the place since it’s after midnight and ask for the keys.

Gee, Frank, you don’t need Siri to tell you how to deal with a bratty daughter. Just do what you normally do. — Yell at her, take away her car keys, force her to work at the Fuse (dishwasher or janitor) for a month of weekends.

Maybe, Tara should take Luann to Utah?

Frank is funny. But it be Nancy that will have the sitdown with Luann.

Alexa, are you sure?

I knew Luann was in hot water. The parents are having a hard time deciding her punishment.

Frank – Guess what – Next Lu & Bern are going to sneak Tara into the DeGroots’ residence.

Next, Frank will get on his Windows XP computer and try to find Cortana so he can ask on another platform.

.

(Hey, I could have suggested Windows 3.11)

Maybe after Tara is checked out at the hospital they can all have breakfast and start the story from the beginning. Luann was helping and protecting Tara while Bern was helping and protecting Luann which all resulted in Tara helping and protecting the girls which led to them all helping themselves to pie!

How about…What were you thinking?

Siri, is there the equivalent of a Turing Test to determine if a conversation came from a human being or a comic strip character?

After thinking about this: Luann does need a serious lecture about her irresponsible actions that led to a robbery and a hit-and-run. The fact that this didn’t turn out worse was just sheer dumb luck—-and luck eventually runs out. Luann needs to grow up and assume some responsibility—-and learn to be a MUCH better judge of character. Not just assume everyone wants to be her friend and is good at heart.

I wouldn’t be a BIT surprised if after this incident, Nancy and frank make a VERY tough choice: Tell Luann “you have violated our trust by giving a key to the fuse to someone else. we want our key back and we want you to find another place to live. we simply cannot trust you and can’t live with someone we don’t trust.”

Ah, come on. As if Miss Inner Beauty™ would get in any trouble, her life won’t change at all.

I’m surprised Siri didn’t say, ask Alexa.

Greg and Karen….don’t explain the joke!

Frank should be asking the three girls that same question, not Siri.

Great job Siri

And where’s the ambulance for Tara? That seems like an egregious continuity error.

Siri? OMG. Are we as a human race now dependent on a digital voice? Come on, Frank. Just sit and have a good talk with Luann about needing work on her common sense.

We’ve left the Fun Zone of a lighthearted cartoon and entered a morality play like Father Knows Best, or Ozzie and Harriet, or Leave it to Beaver. Life. It is what it is.

Meanwhile Tara is still homeless. Look out Utah, here she comes. Or not. How many spare bedrooms do the DeGroots have?

If they don’t take the Fuse key away I will drop kick somebody

Who paid for Luann’s car?

I think if Frank and Nancy knew the full extent of Luann’s shenanigans then they would probably be a bit more proactive on dealing with her. I doubt they know Luann snuck Tara into their house through a window and probably do not know how long Tara was sleeping at the Fuse and there is a good chance Bernice will fill them in on all this without thinking as she is wired that way, to report every detail.

I know some posters above feel this should get Luann a ticket out of Casa Degroot but I doubt that will happen. I suspect Luann will lose the key to the Fuse and perhaps limit her use of her car if they are helping her with the payments, expenses or insurance which I suspect they are. If they talk to Tara they may sympathize with her and try to help her out. Perhaps work at the Fuse, last week I suggested Bern moving back home and Tara getting her room. Tara now has her apartment “cousin free” so she might go back there and get a room mate which would be interesting.

Anyhow, right now Frank and Nancy, like any parents, are just happy the girls are okay as it could have went down far worse. Luann goes on “double secret probation” and hands in her Fuse key.

Hey Frank? The past tense of sneak is sneaked, not snuck.

No wonder Siri didn’t understand your question. :P :P

I’m happy to see that the Degroots will be addressing Luann’s misguided and dangerous behavior. She basically had good intentions but that doesn’t excuse what she did. The Fuse is not her place and she had no right to let someone stay there without her parents knowing about it. She definitely needs to apologize, have the store key taken away from her. Possibly have her work some shifts at The Fuse with no pay to help teach her responsibility…..or at least until she has worked off all those slices of banana pie!

I don’t think Tara “chased off the burglar.” Stella got what she came for, and was leaving. Why stick around? As the song says, take the money and run!

Tara doing martial arts poses and yelling while trying to run after Stella, didn’t do anything except give Stella plenty of time to get to her car and get inside. Although I will say trying to do poses while running isn’t easy, it didn’t do anything to slow Stella down, just Tara. :D And then she stands in front of the car. What was she planning to do? Karate chop the hood?

Not too effective IMO. At least when Miss Piggy yells HIIIIIIII——YAAAAAA! and lets fly with a karate chop, she always makes contact. Somebody get the hurt put on them. :D :P :D

Take her keys, no more free Fuze food. Bernice may need to find a new place to live and/or Luann starts paying rent to live at home. If the Degroots live in America Someone will have to pay that 911 ambulance fee.

Do we know whose money Stella stole? The fuse’s or Tara’s Utah money. Just curious to know if TJ leaves money in the register overnight or puts in in a safe or brings it to the bank. They may need to make some procedural changes.

Helping a friend is irresponsible ? Wow, glad you are not my friend !

Okay, so, beyond having a “serious talk” with Luann, what other info is there? “Tell them” what?

But Luann has Inner Beauty. You can’t punish her.

Frank should consult the Magic 8 Ball!

While you’re at it, Frank, why don’t you ask some questions about the fake lingerie that must still be tucked away around there somewhere.

Apps like Siri may seem like they have all the answers, but situations like this aren’t in their databases. Try Ann Landers, or, Dear Abby.

Well, at least we know the problem is going to be addressed and they aren’t just going to brush right past it.

At the very least they need to take that key to the Fuse away from Luann since she obviously can’t be trusted with it. I’d get the locks changed, too, since they don’t know what Tara did with that key while she had it.

To answer your first question, dad, two words: Tara’s cousin

TJ still has not shown up yet. Incident will be a huge surprise when he gets the details. Maybe he will while Frank is on the phone.

You could ban her from the store or you could kick her out.

“But why?….” works well. The immature mind is a dangerous place in which logic often times takes a back seat to emotion.

How about “we love you and are glad you’re alive.”

I was pretty much gone from home after I graduated high school, going to school and working full time. Kids in my era mostly left home as soon as they could, not wanting to either deal with parental discipline, or in my case not wanting to be a burden to my loving folks. I guess that’s a lot more difficult today.

Sex and violence have deteriorated into earnestness. Disappointing…

heck yes….consequences….yes yes yes

Yep. They definitely need to have a serious talk. I’m sure it will be a good discussion between parents and daughter. Luann will explain Tara’s lack of trust in adults/parents and her desire to keep all a secret. They will probably understand. I know it’s really improbable, but I’d like to see Luann move in with Tara and live in the room she shared with Stella. Or Tara stay with the Degroots for some times.

You say “WHAT were you thinking?” They would have helped Tara if Luann would have confided in them instead of all that cloak and dagger. We could have had a nice arc of the DeGroots mentoring Tara and getting her back on her own two feet.

Maybe Tara will go back to Tara because tomorrow is “Anotha Day”. Took linguistics in college, but IPA and Traeger Smith can’t be done on a regular keyboard. My apologies to Peggy Mitchell.

I think it is a sad statement about society that two reasonably intelligent adults need to consult an electronic device before talking to their daughter.

Question: What is it about the stupid banana pie that is an essential feature in this arc??

Am I the only one who has never asked Siri, Alexa, or Cortana anything, and doesn’t want to?

Good heart, good intentions, bad judgment.

“Adult Child.” Yep, that describes Luann.

The hardest part about watching this strip evolve SO slowly is that I’ve been the same age as her, older glad I’m not like that anymore, and now nearing Frank’s age where her childishness is infuriating.

And at this point I’d almost like them to start moving a little faster. What’s the saying? “[Beep] or get off the pot!”

If Frank has to consult Siri on this, he’s either a hopeless parent…or its a comic strip.

So the whole story has come out. They know Luann harbored Tara in their business, and they know the burglar was Tara’s cousin. To be fair, Tara at risk at home from the psycho Stella, so Luann wanting to shelter her could be understandable. It was using the business as a shelter that made everything go wrong. This will end up being blamed on Bernice because Luann knew she would never share her room with Tara and Luann will go Scott-free as usual. Frank and Nancy have an interesting parenting plan. It’s called Sit Back and Let It Happen.

If Luanne has a shred of maturity she will be the one to bring it up — to apologize, to explain and to assure them that she has learned her lesson.

The first sensible Siri reply on record.

It’s admirable that she wanted to help a friend. It was incredibly dangerous and stupid to do so by letting her crash in the backroom of her parents business. So many things could have happened. She could have asked her parents if Tara could stay in her room for a few days while they figured something else out. The worst they could have done was say no. But Luann put Tara, herself, Bernice, and her family’s business in danger with her rash, irresponsible decision.

No creo que preguntarle a Siri le ayude a Frank a proyectar una imagen de autoridad.

Voice of Siri says nothing. Voice of Reason says pull up two more chairs and confront the problem.

Although she is painted in a good light, Tara is a bad influence on Luann but I am torn. Luann has been so sheltered that this does give her some life experience that, if she doesn’t get killed, assaulted or adopt a serious drug addiction, might benefit her over all.

Luann’s Dad depends on Siri for advice?

I think it’s time Luann had a bit of a serious turn. I don’t want her to change her Joi De vie, but she continues to have this streak of immaturity that I think needs to age out. She needs to show she has learned some things from her adventures. I love this strip!

Looks like Tara can go home, now that The cousin is in the slammer!

To all who say “kick Luann out”, , where the hell is she supposed to go? I am so sick of people, especially people WITH NO KIDS offering ‘input’ to parents as to how they should raise their kids.

This 18 and out crap is BS, this you screwed up sot get crap is BS, this is all BS!

I HOPE you never need anything from your kids if you do that. They would be right to abandon YOU.

One of the main reasons aside from the fact that she is my MOM that I look after her rent, etc, and her appointments etc, is because SHE HAS ALWAYS LOOKED AFTER ME.

YOU ALL FORGET that Luann is about 19-20 years old. Of course SO MANY of you were perfect at that age. Amazingly perfect. CANONIZED even. give me a break.

FINALLY – the awkward question about why this all came to be in the first place.

Now Luann has to have a “Siri-ous” talk with her parents about the limits of voice assistants.

No, once Luann explains, they will understand, just as Bernice did.

The best thing for Frank and Nancy to do right now is talk to the three of them while they’re still there. They need to hear everything the three girls have to say about Tara’s situation with her cousin.

Only then, can they make a sensible decision on how to deal with them.

Better to ask St. Patrick for advice.

Asking Siri how to discipline your daughter is basically an admission that you suck as a parent. Still, I give them points for trying. I hope they don’t back down; this girl is long overdue for some tough love.

To all of you people who are insisting: “Kick Luann out! Punish her! Make her work for no pay! Force her to grow up!!”

You do realize the only people who can have Luann start acting like a mature young adult is Greg and Karen? Remember them? The people who write the strip?

If they want Luann to continue to act like an air-headed 14 year old (or even younger sometimes) then, that’s what’s going to happen!! Apparently they, at least, find it incredibly funny to make Luann behave that way.

Luann has, on a few occasions, shown she can behave on a more mature level, and I for one, was very happy to see her that way. I kept hoping her creators would let her stay that way.

But they didn’t. :(

I see Greg has been reading the comments and decided to give the majority what they want. Luann was trying to help a friend who was in danger. Yes, she went about it the wrong way, but we all know she’s not that bright. She needs a talking-to, but she also needs to be valued for her big heart.

How exactly do you “punish” an offspring who’s practically an adult?

This ain’t the 14 year old Luann whom Frank and Nancy “ground for life,” remove phone privileges, or send to bed without supper. The best the DeGroot Parental units could do would be to cut Lu out of their wills. Big Deal.

“Put her out?” Ain’t happening. I suspect We’ll see an “Ozzie and Harriet” type heart to heart talk, followed by Luann declaring that she was just helping a friend. Followed by Frank and especially Nancy figuring out a way and offering to help that “friend.”

Whether or not Tara takes them up on that offer will dictate she stay in the Strip or saunter off into the vast unknown.

There do have to be consequences. But they need to keep in mind that they did raise Luann…so her hit-and-miss maturity are kinda on them too. And she had good intentions, regardless of her bad decision making.

I have a different take on this arc from the DeGroot perspective than most here; while Luann took an uncharacteristic here to help out her friend, who clearly was in trouble, but who was on bad paper with her judgmental bestie, who has her own issues going on, she stood up. It was doofus but it was caring. Now of course it was risky with her parent’s property and was risky to Tara although Luann did not know how dangerous the cousin really was. I think a serious discussion is in order,but no teenage punishment because these are young, if a little silly women, so deal with this not a correction not punishment. That is MY take on how the story should go but we all know GnK will do it their way.

The girls, apparently, still think this is one big lark. Laughing in the background, eating pie. Frank and Nancy need to come down HARD. The girls still don’t get it. For them, this is just one big adventure with no consequences. For the love of all that’s holy, LET THERE BE CONSEQUENCES!

Adults are always dealing with deadlines, limitations and contradictions. It is time to move Luann into that world. Bradley Degroot make the transition when he moved out from the Degroots Family Complex.

Tara is a student practitioner of Krav Maga, military style of Martial Arts. Tara can protect Luann & Bernice.

I’d also get TJ involved. He has a strong financial interest in this, and may be more objective in dealing with luann as an employee rather than a daughter.

We have reached humpday once again and like last week nothing exactly has happened. The girls are still stuffing their pieholes with pie while Frank and Nancy stand around concerned but have yet to say anything to the girls. Are we ever going to see them tell Luann how angry they are with her for abusing her use of the Fuse’s key. For lying to them by omission (since she never told them that she had let Tara into the building.) And for loitering around a closed building late at night. These things need to dealt with. But from the way things are going it looks like Luann won’t have that Serious Talk She Deserves before next week, and that’s just dragging this story out too long.

luann can move in with tiffany , she has a few extra rooms at her house. maybe she’ll grow up be tiffanys mom

Nancy has pretty much said what needs to be done…figure out the why. Why did Luann bring Tara to the Fuse? The ‘burglary and endangerment’ came as a result, but level-headed Nancy will want to know the why. I’m guessing Nancy is tired of working at the Fuse and will offer up her job to Tara and a solution will be worked out for some living arrangements. Maybe where her cousin was living, maybe with Bernice, maybe something else. Luann will be reprimanded but only so far as not telling her parents in the first place so they could step in and help and not lead to the adverse situation that was created. Many of you whine and complain all the time about Luann not being in the strip enough, so here she is for almost 2 weeks now. And yes, G&K have a plan already as has been pointed out, so we wait and see.

Luann is going to get in trouble by the DeGroots before this week is over!

I’m a little disappointed in Frank in that he’s relying on a computer program to determine how to discipline his daughter. If you keep treating her like she’s 12 years old, she’s going to continue to act that way.

If I was Frank I would tell her to pack and move out. That’s the only way she’ll ever mature.

Easy joke at Siri’s expense. But the adults here do end up looking/sounding rather lame….

I hate those commercials where people think they can have a “conversation” with their phone, and now it is in a comic strip

It’s a comic strip!