Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for September 20, 2023

No, it’s death

I don’t like the idea of a dirt nap; I’d have to buy lots of Shout.

Stephen has been really negative lately. He should stop reading Ecclesiastes where everything is meaningless. On the other hand, maybe he’s just being a realist. yesterday Pig was handing out certificates for making it through the day.

ultimate reality in the comics page…wow!

Is that the calendar for August 2024?

Tell ‘em Rat’s got a Do Not Resuscitate card…(to quote the Aerosmith title) permanent vacation.

He’s like a convict imprisoned in life…

In your case, Rat, it’s going to be a hell of a vacation.

Some weeks are really that bad.

That’s a first!

After all, life is fatal.

Nice sneaky promotion for Elon’s app eh Pastis.

I snuck in and put a few more Xs on for him.

I almost ran over a rat a few hours ago. I braked before I realized it wasn’t a squirrel. How is Rat so sure he’ll get a proper burial?

The Final Countdown!

Better sow you. seeds well here Rat and not use so much fertilizer!

No one gets out of here alive!

Rat will be the death of Goat, someday.

Samuel Beckett couldn’t have said it better.

This reminds me of the strip from March 9, 2003. Rat writes a poem with the line: “Be happy, you’re one day closer to death. Ohh, sweet, sweet death!”.

I haven’t had a vacation in over 14 years. I’m with you, Rat. This is as good as it gets.

I turned 70 this year. When I told my doctor both of my parents lived into their 90s, he told me I could expect to do the same. I told him, “Don’t curse me like that!”

If I see Rat when I take my dirt nap, I’ll know I went to the wrong place.

Maybe we should all do that

Wouldn’t that be everyday, Rat?

I thought it was September.

Well, rats do only have four to five years.

Oh, yeah, but don’t pack a bag because you can’t take it with you, or so I’ve been told.

This strip should have run in June, the only month this year where the first falls on a Thursday. (Yes, I bothered to look that up. I have no life.)

One day at a time.

It’s death.

And I don’t mean that metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically or in any other fancy way.

It’s death straight up.

Just like an injured athlete, we’re all day-to-day…..

’Working on my calendar 80.6666

No one has complained yet,

It certainly leaves a vacancy, but not much else.

Why has he X’d off to the 23rd when it’s the 20th? Of course, the last calendar that looked like this was in December. Rat is confused.

Isn’t that Nov. 5, 2024?

Cheeriness isn’t Rat’s forte.

Reminds me of the short timers calendar I once had, couldn’t wait to mark off the last square.

No one here gets out alive.

At least it isn’t a goal.

’ Death Takes A Holiday ’ !! … :)

To quote Dan Bongino, “DON’T GET DEAD!”

Like sands through an hour glass or in Rat’s case Xs on a calendar, just keeping score.

If death is all you have to look forward to, you need help.

That doesn’t sound so bad!

My headstone: Yeah, I’m dead. But at least I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.

Rat is being realistic, Goat.

And, when that calendar runs out, so does he….

I used to work for a cemetery/mortuary. I’m sure this strip is being posted all over the U.S.

the dates are effed up

If you’re with Dc or Marvel, the big dirt nap never lasts long

Your soul does not die when it separates from your body. The Christian worldview is the best explanation of reality. It explains why we’re in this mess.

Nice to see death being talked about as a non taboo topic.