Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for April 01, 2024

Just don’t get on the bus going to Stockton.

Wow, for the first time EVER, RAT and PIG agree on something: A GREAT IDEA!!!! Dan aka…

I’m thinking those bags are full of marbles, so they can be used for self-defense.

gotta love the hobo bindle…write when you get there please Pig!

Magic Bus

But – “no matter where you go, there you are”.

♪ He took the mid-town bus going Any-where… ♬

Don’t bother fleeing to Canada.

Anywhere but California, Chicago, Colorado, or New York!!!

And how many people with a knapsack are getting OFF that bus?

Already done. Google Tori Miki.

Vacations are good, but there is no place like home!….Actually, I can definitely think of some places in the world that are worse than where Pig and Rat live.

“What profit is there in traveling for a ‘change of scenery,’ when you carry all your selfsame vices and follies with you in your knapsack? Better to change yourself than change the background.” — Seneca (paraphrased)

Which side of the street is that bus driving on? Is pig running into the front of an on-coming bus??!

To Mexico and back! Or Grandmother’s House….

Plenty of places I would not like to go thank you very much.

the grass is always greener on the other side

The front of the bus gives the destination as “Furthur”.

The weather we are having right now, I’m with you Pig!

Reminds me of my military service, the worst base was the one you were on, the best base was the last one you were at, excluding Vietnam, of course.

“Just can’t get there from here”

…“the grass ain’t greener, the wine ain’t sweeter, either side of the hill”…

You’ll find the same thing there.

“Someday, I’ll be somewhere other than here, but not today.”

(Warning: Earworm may result) This strip reminded me of a couple of good oldies: “Bus Stop”, by The Hollies, and “Waitin’ for the Bus”, by ZZ Top.

Which movie was that from? I don’t think there were “teleporters” in the Star Wars universe. Even the Emperor traveled via shuttle. Either this was a script inconsistency or Luke was also a sci-fi fan.

He was also the first person who came to my mind.

Not all who wander are lost

The Patriotic Count prefers to work to make Here a better place.

I’m guessing that bus goes to the funny farm.

I’m still waiting for the high speed rail

been a while since I have seen a bindle.

They must be from California.

I think he’s on something.

But Stephan will miss you guys …

If you keep going, you’ll get there soon.

Somebody else.

Funny, that’s exactly what I told people a dozen years ago when I left Florida for South America!

I think we all have days we’d like to run away!

Is anywhere better than somewhere?

A lot of that happening in California lately.

Running away doesn’t help if the person you’re running away from happens to be yourself.

I like my current anywhere a lot more than my former here. So glad that here is no longer here. Don’t need to go anywhere anymore.

You’ll be amazed how similarly rotten places can be.

How is Gaza this time of year?

There’s an old “story” about a person driving to a new town. S-He stops for gas before getting there and asks what the town is like. “What was it like where you were?” “The people were friendly, nice to be with, shopkeepers were good, and there were lots of places to visit and enjoy.” “You’ll find it the same here”. A bit later, another person comes along and asks the same question with the same response. “The people there were nasty, unfriendly, mean, and there was nothing to do and no places to go.” “You’ll find it the same was here.”

My sister keeps doing this. Moves (but darn,same problems)

Perhaps but I do see a few problems with his plan:

1. American bus lines are an utterly miserable way to travel.

2. Those hobo bindles look too small to hold much, though I suppose the fact that the animal characters don’t wear clothes allows them to travel lighter.

3. It’s much harder to disappear than it used to be, thanks to a wide variety of technological and social changes.

4. The neighborhood where this story takes place usually seems to be pretty lightly touched by our most intractable problems, he’s unlikely to find a place that’s much better.

5. This is just me but I get very anxious if I have no plan to see me through at least the next few weeks.

6. You can’t get away from yourself no matter how far you travel, and you are usually your own worst enemy.

“…I’d be happy anyplace but here…” “One Way Ticket” sung by Cass Elliot

I met a young man who had recently moved to Oregon from New York. He wanted to leave so much that he simply took a bus to get away as far as possible.

You can run, but you can’t hide.

“Hop on the bus, Gus. Don’t need to discuss much…”

Go north, young man. Alone in a Northern Territory is nice.

When Rat goes somewhere else, everybody there will pack up and go.

If you lived here you’d be home.

Everywhere else goes from barely any improvement to lots worse.

Bus stop, wet day, she’s there, I say, Please share my umbrella. / Bus stop, bus goes, she stays, love grows, under my umbrella….

No matter where you could have gone, there you might have been.