Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 04, 2023

She’s going to do it! An it looks like this will be an essay for her class.

   To be brave is to behave

   bravely when your heart is faint.

   So you can be really brave

   only when you really ain’t.

         —Piet Hein, “Brave”

I like the way G&K have been showing Luann’s mixed emotions about this adventure. I wonder whether reading her narrative will bring back fond memories for “Mrs.” Horner.

A page of Luann’s novel?

Will Luann become a novelist?

It sure looks like Luann. I hope this isn’t going to turn into some kind of greative writing exercise for the class. That would be such a cheap copout.

So it is Luann! Don’t chicken out, Luann! We are cheering for you.

Thumbs don’t lie. They are pure and innocent.

No swerve in the story. Yet.

So all those folks who insisted it would be Frank were just plain wrong. Go, Luann! I hope it’s a ‘jump’ into a life with real friends…

Sure looks like a tandem harness!

Your paying for safety. If you have any doubts, back out and go to another school.

Do it, Luann. Pretty sure this is how Ernest Hemingway started.

Looks like they re-edited Saturday’s strip. G&K must have counted how many readers couldn’t tell Luann from her dad. (I don’t know which one to feel sorry for)

One helmet change and one missing helmet? And Luann’s harness changed color. So Luann isn’t feeling OK at the moment. But she now finally has a subject for her creative writing class.

Just not yet…this doesn’t indicate she did board and did the jump. This is just the first page. See the next page tomorrow.

A two man parachute! – fixes the where is she going to land bit but still leaves that actual landing

Frank jumps the jump, while Luann watches from the tarmac and formulates her creative writing essay.

Luann may soon have something in common with Puddles.

I believe you mean, “Ready to do this?” she asks.

Well, we can finally put to rest all those speculations about Frank. Of course, now we may wonder what became of the helmet Luann appeared to be wearing day before yesterday. Perhaps she took it off and now is carrying it in one hand for some reason — like, maybe she couldn’t hear her instructor and will put on the helmet again inside the plane when it may be plugged into the instructor’s helmet intercom or otherwise activated.

There must be something else to do for fun.

That’s my girl Luann go show them that you can do this. Put your fears to the test.

Where is her parachute?

Let me get this straight. I pay 200 dollars to go up in a small plane with a big door, and a girl that I don’t even know………and she’s the only one with a parachute. WHY? My momma didn’t raise any stupid kids. Darn Luann likes to spin her “Wheel of Misfortune”.

I still say that was Frank. Notice the instructor has a different color helmet too. LuAnne does not look as dumpy in the second drawing of her in the jump suit today.

Well I’ll be hornswaggled. It was a fake out after all. Though shouldn’t Luann be wearing a helmet?

♫ Up, up through the atmosphere, Up where the air is clear,

Luann’s thinkin she wants to get out of here.. ♪

Ah—so it IS Luann, and not Frank, making the jump. I hope Greg is able to accurately depict the physical beauty of the free-fall, especially as the chute deploys.

I’ve been a pilot for half a century and never had the urge to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Notice that Luann isn’t wearing a parachute.

Considering the colors of the jumpsuits.. The thumb lied, Luann backed out, Frank jumped.

Where is Luann’s parachute?

I so hope this will be a confidence builder for Luann and the arc doesn’t turn her into a coward who then lies about her experience

Seeing Luann smile like that is so good. In the text she says she wasn’t really ready. But while she does it, she seems to be so happy, full of energy, enthusiasm and strength. It’s really nice to see Luann like this, the fact that it’s her alone with the instructor and not with a group makes the scene even more powerful and important. Also, the text in the first panel shows that her jump will help her break out of writer’s block. I hope more and more that the “JJ” instructor can return in other stories and become one of Luann’s new friends.

So it is Luann after all. Good for her. It’s going to be fun.

Hey, nice little bit of writing there!

If a bit inaccurate. Should the backpack fail, Luann, don’t worry — gravity will bring you both down just fine!

I don’t think that “Greg 12-4” is a proper aircraft number designation.

I hope her dad shows up and joins her. that would be great for them both!

“Meanwhile my bitter resentment towards Tara and Piro burns in my gut like a smouldering volcano. I begin to plot my cruel revenge…”

Maybe, but hips don’t lie. :D

Cue adventure music theme.

The End. Okay, what’ll the new focus of attention be tomorrow? Back to Gunther and Bets?

Kinda glad I was wrong about Frank. Good for you, Luann!

By My calculations, Luann has been mostly front and center of her OWN Strip since the middle of September, with no end in sight.

This makes for a nice Christmas present for those who have bern saying that she doesn’t star in her own Strip enough.

And honestly, not many of Us are going to soon forget Lu in that “Dolly” get up.

And whether she jumps or not, it doesn’t matter. The lass has made it this far and on her OWN.

Far stronger “folks” have chickened out long before THIS point. ;-)

Way to go Luann! And on my birthday, too :-)

The parachute does not bring you down. The planet does. The nice big planet you left via that plane.

Is Luann really gonna do it?

Excellent comic showing what every newbie does when asked if they’re ready.

“It was a dark and stormy night” ~ Snoopy. Told to our Be❤️ed Count by a Friend… Exotic Ann❤️Eiffel, to be exact. So WWA❤️ED? Dearest Ann❤️Eiffel Would Jump Out of the Plane, Have the Time of Ann❤️Eiffel’s Life, Feel All Tingly (If you know what The❤️Count Means and The❤️Count Thinks You Do… Well, At Least a Few of You Lowly Unworthies ;9). THEN… Our Be❤️ed Heroin(e), Ann❤️Eiffel would entice a $$$ Shoog Daddy to SkyDive with ❤️ly Ann❤️Eiffel after signing all of his worthies to her in his updated will. Only Our Dear Ann❤️Eiffel would give said $$$ Shoog Daddy an empty parachute pack and… A Good Time Would Be Had By All. Well, almost all. THEN Sexy❤️Luann and Cute Salmon Colored Hair❤️Tara could invite Pedro and do the samey same thing to him. Why? Because Pedro is a Swine. THEN A Patented Ann❤️Eiffel Happy❤️Ending™ when $$$ Shoog Daddy and Pedro the Swine hit the turf! No Wonder We All ❤️ Ann❤️Eiffel!! Boom! So There We Have It, Boy Howdy! And with that… time to say adios and move on down the line for today. Some last minute impulse Christmas shopping today and an evening of Football❤️ by Firelight. ❤️ IT! TTFN… Hope All Goes Tickety Boo and as for Your Be❤️ed Count…OUT! P.S. No Wonder We All ❤️ Ann❤️Eiffel, Boy Howdy. :)

I remember thinking as we went out the door, “well we’re committed now, no going back”

It’s something to write about anyway. Richard Hooker parlayed the narration of a series of unrelated events into a best-selling novel/movie/tv series.

Happy to see it IS Luann going off on this adventure and not her dad taking her place as some folks thought. We’re all counting on you Luann!

I have a feeling the instructor is about to become Luan’s new best friend for life.

What a great strip today! Love the way the plane is drawn and that Luann is going to do this! I think a lot of people thought that G&K would have her chicken out last minute, but I am glad they have changed the direction of her character. More positive, less ditzy.

Unfortunately, while this looks like it’s going to be a really positive experience for Luann, and a contribution to her writing talent, I’m afraid the devious Tara is going to try to take credit for “forcing Luann out of her comfort zone”. I’m really hoping Luann has learned her lesson about Tara. She is not a friend, and Piro just isn’t worth it.

It’s your day Luann! Butts afloat!

We have the answer to Friday’s big topic of discussion.

my guess is this whole week will be L being nervous etc and then at the end JUMP and feel wonderful

FINALLY she has something to write about.

“and realize … thumbs can lie.” Nice!

Does anyone else sometimes have a narration or movie reel of your life going on in your head, or is it just Luann and me? And I called that she was actually going to do a tandem jump.

Poetry!

So.. Is this really happening??

We saw on Saturday that the instructor was wearing a white helmet and “Degroot” was wearing a huge black helmet. Now Luann is just wearing goggles and the instructors helmet has changed to black. This makes me think that maybe Luann is imagining how it would have been (for a short story) if it was her, while she’s watching her dad do the jump.

.

If it really is Luann about to do the jump.. how are we to explain the discrepancies?

I guess today’s strip answers all those who thought it was Frank jumping.

Sadly, no one is going to believe she actually did it. IRL, a friend celebrated her 70th birthday by skydiving for first and only time. She paid extra to be filmed doing it so now she has the video to show off, proof she really did it.

She’s learning to fly, but she ain’t got wings.

We don’t fear the experience. we fear the result of what we will learn from the experience.

Nice! She’s learning that experiences like this are GOLD for writing material! :-) She could become a journalist. ;-)

wait… where’s Luann’s backpack parachute. :\

too many nattering nabobs of negativism here. :-/

… I think to myself, in 30 minutes am I ready to die, Or just throw up, which is literally the direction it will go.

Now the next story she writes will have conflict, tension, excitement, revelation & resolution.

I had a student back in the late 70s in Senior English. Think she ended up Valedictorian. Depressed that none of the local guys were interested despite being a nice looking girl. I told her that would all change when she got to college. Got a letter from her during her freshman year at Texas A&M. Multiple guys pursuing her, but the real thrill in her life was that she had taken up sky diving. She called it the ultimate thrill. My father also took the plunge in his 80s because Bush the elder had done it. I never thought jumping out of a functioning airplane sounded like much fun.

Bravo Luann ! This is one of those experiences that changes a person to the core. And I have to say…Tara Who?. Not needed. I think Tara was behind leaving Luann out. (⁠☞⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)⁠☞

No helmet? Better manage a perfect landing on your first ever try.

Now the chute won’t open, she’ll leave a small crater in the ground, and this strip will become Luann Minus Luann.

For those asking about Luann’s parachute she will be connected to the front of the other girl. With only two people the jump isn’t profitable.

…either that or a pancake!

Her thumb is shaking!

Good luck LuAnn, I hope you do it and then hurry home to change your underwear.

Her parachute looks rather flat. Is she doing a tandem jump with the instructor?

Tandem harness, for sure. But that makes sense, since she didn’t get any training. Or orientation. It’s still extremely brave!

Whoa, looks like we might actually get to see this! I’m not counting it as 100% certain yet (after all, how sure were we a couple weeks ago that Stef would finally get some comeuppance? And look how that turned out) but it’s still looking pretty likely that I’ll get proven wrong about not seeing Luann follow through.

Where’s Luann’s parachute? (Or is this an introductory tandem jump?)

You Go, Luann. You can do it!

Wow, that’s pretty deep. Quote-worthy material.

Wait for it……………..Geronimo!

Sounds as though this may be all in her imagination.

That passage from Luann’s essay was descriptive and relatable. Kudos on the writing in today’s strip. It actually made me want to see how it plays out.

so we are reading luann’s book now?

Outdid yourself on this one.

It’s hips that don’t lie.

I think that was Frank we saw on Saturday. He is already on the plane and the instructor is now walking with Luann. It is definitely a different person today than was shown on Saturday. Different color harness and wearing a helmet on Saturday.

Looks like it will be a tandem (?) jump — so at least Luann isn’t jumping all alone.

Isn’t the first jump in tandem with the instructor?

My grandson did this about a month ago! He loved it, said it was exciting and awesome, and will definitely do it again!

By what I read, is Luann saying this or the jump instructor? Pronouns get crossed up.

They are going to do a tandem jump and Luann will be hooked to the instructor

On December 2, the figure walking with the instructor was wearing a helmet.

This particular strip feels so on the nose I wonder if any of the authors tried skydiving? I personally would not do it voluntarily!

I hope so. It’s a good beginning to a story. Let’s hope it has an ending….that doesn’t involve a hospital!

…and a Writer is born…

The truth is that the parachute will not bring her down — gravity will do that, but if she’s lucky it will bring her down more slowly than gravity would. This is a thing to be hoped for. I would miss Luann.

So…it IS her! You go, girl!

Reading this story arc reminds me of the time Jesse Katsopolis went skydiving and got stuck in a tree and landing in a tomato truck. Good think Lu isn’t doing this on her wedding day. :)

You know what comes to mind is the pre-credits scene from Moonraker (James Bond, 1979), where 007 gets thrown out of the plane by Jaws, and 007 has to catch the pilot and take his parachute…Well, I don’t think that Luann can do it better…

Way to go, Luann. First of many. Enjoy and look forward to your first solo jump. And all of us were scared stiff before our first jump.

Um . . . Luann . . . where’s your helmet?

I’m a aircraft mechanic/technician. All aircraft must have a “N” registration number on the side of the aircraft. If Gregg had thought about this he could have very slickly put “NGREG124” on the airplane.

Finally, a strip totally focused on Luann, the namesake of the comic

Easier to write about it than to do it.

You know, suddenly I’m thinking… while we are all cheering for Luann to do this, after she does, I expect her to hear a dismissive “Why?” from Bernice (who would probably mock/reprimand her for spending her money on something inane and potentially dangerous) and an equally dismissive “Oh, you went ahead with it? We decided it wasn’t worth it” from Tara (who will probably treat this as nothing, and SO beneath her and HER cousin who do this kind of thing aaaall the time, but "good on YOU “little” Luann"). But at least confidence can be earned later too, when a situation comes where you go “Wait a minute, I jumped off a plane, this is nothing”.

Speaking of Tara, I realised on second read, so didn’t comment in time back then, but she didn’t forget to notify Luann. She “forgot” Luann was in the picture “Oops, I forgot YOU were doing this with US. WE bailed…” Please give me a storyline when this poor kid wisens up and kicks her lousy “friends” out of her life…

As 1212 oft mentions, the Evansii can be very good at twists.

I’m sticking with my thought from Saturday that Saturday’s strip showed Frank (late) walking up to the (full on Saturday) plane to jump along with Luann (who was early, and the plane appears empty today…in other words, she’s the first one on and Frank will be the last).

As with, say, Pulp Fiction, the Saturday and Monday strips are out of chronological order for dramatic effect.

I have an old friend who invited a girl he liked to try skydiving with him. They ended up in love and happily married; their instructor later died on a dive.

“Mister Toumanoff said I should get the parachute!”

“Don’t be so selfish! I’ll use it first, then you can have it!”

“You’ll be there ahead of me!”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you!”

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KEYSTONE KOPS—1955

At last she has something to write about

“Jumping Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane” by Luann DeGroot. Now on Amazon.

Exactly where is “the tarmac?” (Reporters just love saying “the tarmac.”) That’s hard to say, when reporters call just about anything “the tarmac.” Maybe AP has a different definition of tarmac than NBC. Then we are faced with differentiating between an AP type tarmac and an NBC tarmac. Maybe an airplane could be stuck between the two of them.

Reporter: You can see the plane right there behind me, just to the left of the NBC tarmac and to the right of the AP tarmac.

It would be nice if you media people got together and decided what the tarmac is, because at least then you would have to use the other terms correctly. If tarmac meant runway, you would have to use the terms taxiway, ramp, apron and gate correctly. If it meant taxiway, you would have to use the terms runway, ramp, apron and gate correctly, etc. etc. If you don’t know where the airplane is, just say pavement.

Tarmac is a trade name for asphalt; which means if an airport is paved with concrete, it doesn’t have a tarmac at all. If the runways, taxiways and aprons are all made of concrete and the parking lot is made of asphalt, then the tarmac is in the parking lot.

If you go to a dictionary and look up tarmac you might see a definition involving an airport. This is because modern dictionaries are so obsessed with being egalitarian that they have abandoned all vestiges of authority; if someone says it, they’ll write it down. But, since there is no actual airport tarmac, the dictionaries are faced with the daunting task of figuring out what the “tarmac” is by listening to and reading reporters; as a result, each dictionary, listening to or reading different reporters, defines the “tarmac” as being a different part of the airport. I read in one dictionary that the “tarmac” was the paved area in front of a hangar. Of course, that would be a tragic thing because then reporters would almost never be able to say “tarmac.”

How long until we get to see Luann go “*Splat!*”?

Bravery is not the absence of fear. For more info, google fear vs. bravery.

You have the choice, Lu. Right up until the pair of you stand in the door and you have to be the first to leave a perfectly good airplane ;)

Now looking at my magical fuzzy dice that dangle from my car mirror. It’s telling me today that she’s gonna bail on that jump and say the heck with the money spent. Second thoughts aren’t all that bad….

Luann’s harness would make a fine looking, exotic dance costume if she didn’t have that green jumpsuit covering up all the good stuff.

You got this, Luann!

Is LuAnn wearing a chute?

I like Luann. She will survive, be successful and surprise everyone. It may take some time for that to happen, but doesn’t that d happen to most of us????

I thought the instructor was a long, curly haired dude!

look jumping out of a plane is easy … just one step and bam falling to earth.

Is this just Lulu’s fantasy-fiction? Is anyone actually going up for the jump? Did we see Frank take Luann’s place the other day?

What the heck is really going on at Jumping Jack’s?

Interestingly, if there were thoughts of ending the strip, this would be quite the way to do it.

If Former President George H.W.Bush can do it so can Luann

So what happen to the black helmet Luann was wearing in the earlier panel?