Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 02, 2012

Sometimes I really like rat.

Rat is my ideological doppelganger.

When I use my cell phone in a public place, I try to go to a somewhat private area so I don’t look like a [short for Richard].÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷All those who wish they’d bring back phone booths, say Aye!

AYE! Otherwise where will all of our superheroes go to change?

that’s what you get when you commit a phone pas

So many victims of crack….sad, really….

BTW, why is there no Mouse character? Equal time baby! Not all rodents are devils spawn…take squirrels…..please…

Some comedian on Last Comic Standing made this joke:

He sees a guy in a subway station on his Blackberry and hears the guy say “Man, I would die if I didn’t have my Blackberry!”So the narrator took his Blackberry away and pushed him in front of the train, thus proving the poor man’s words to be correct.

Varnes — since Rat and Zebra and Pig are all close in size… and even Pig’s insect friends are on the same scale…how could we tell if a new rodent character were a mouse or just another horrible rat?I’d hate to risk the possibility of a rat infestation.Even one Rat is an infestation.

And yes… I’d like a little booth where you could sit down and get good reception, and not disturb other diners. …but then, I just know somebody would bring in his food in there and hog it all evening instead of just excusing himself to make a quick call.Or maybe all the superheroes would discover it, and there’d always be a line around the block.Meanwhile…. I hate to admit it, but after saying for years that I didn’t understand why anyone would text instead of talking…I finally got a texting plan and discovered that sitting by yourself in a restaurant or other public place, you can text without disturbing anyone.I know.duh.

AYE!!!!!!!!!!!

Who gives a Rats a$$ about Rat.. I hate that little ‘sunny beach’

Rat has forced me to reconsider my position on “Stand your ground” laws.

I Also miss Whiskers. A brutal furball who had no issue with eating mice while still alive..

Its contagios.

Just because people back then didn’t have the excuse of talking on the cell phone doesn’t mean that they didn’t do those things.

They should call them wring tones!!! Every time in a private setting or at a public address the phones go off and the indididual starts interrupting the entire situation and it is desired to wring his neck!!!

saw that one coming!

Two coffees shaken, none spilled! While I sympathize with Rat’s direct action, I cannot actually condone it (just last Sunday in church, where there is always an announced request to turn off cellphones or other electronic devices before the service begins, I heard a phone tinkle behind me, and the lady had the brass to answer it and text a message! Yes, I tsked, but I did not go berserk like Rat).

aye! -emergencies……………good idea rat!wheres mikey the mole!?!

Rat is awesome

As someone who has never owned a cellphone you have no idea how much I would love to do this to some people. Bravo Rat. Bravo

Sometimes I really like Rat. (And yes, I read Marg’s comment.)

I have fond memories of phone booths. They were awesome little forts with lights and fans, and a phone that went ♬ding♬ when you put in your coins, and dialed, and operators you could talk to, and sometimes you found money in the coin return.

At least he didn’t use his shovel.

I’d like to take Rat to the movies with me to take care of all those annoying people who pay $8 to $10 a ticket just to talk and text during the movie simpy to upset the rest of us! Hmmm,,,, bring back the “Rat Patrol” in the era of remakes.

In this corner Rat and Pig from Pearls Before Swine and in the other corner Bucky and Satchel from Get Fuzzy. This is a two out of three falls tag-team match. (ding) Pig and Satchel circle one another… and circle… and circle… Bucky taunts Pig… Rat throws a chair into the rig hitting Satchel… oh! The carnage!

Had lunch at McD’s one day, and across the skinny little aisle from me, there was a young woman playing out her own little soap opera. About two feet from my ear (it seemed like), she said, “I want to kiss you! I want to hold your hand!! . . . But he wouldn’t understand.” I felt like saying, “LAdeeeeEE!”

It’s taken a REALLY long time for me, but I’m finally realizing that Rat is the ONLY intelligent character in the strip. He easily beats out pig and the crocs. And goat has demonstrated time and time again that no matter what Rat does to him, he’ll let him do it to him, again, because he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. Well, maybe guard duck has some sense, too, but still…

Rat is every single human’s deepest desire.

HUZZA! HUZZA! HUZZA!

Hey! rat made a wise crack!! . . . ☻

Rat has his finer moments.

Rat must have a serious criminal record by now — how many random people has he assaulted in public places?The only explanation for why he is not in prison must be that if the victim’s name happens to be “Bob,” it does not count.

I talk loud b/c I can’t hear/understand the person on the other end of the line (cell or land). I use my phone for business and if I don’t answer the phone, the customer may go to someone else (we humans are an impatient race). So, I have my self-imposed rules:A. I put my phone on a quiet vibrate when in restaurant, library, theater, etc.B. I will conduct my conversations somewhere privately – sit in my car, find an empty spot, go around the building.C. If I just HAVE to tell someone something immediately & am around other people, I will text.

Rat does what we all would like to do, but most of us are passive/aggressive. My husband has been a ‘Rat’, as he is not passive :-).

Rat is such a meanie! Let’s put him in a phone booth!

“Can you hear me now, @$$hole?”

Lets reword that: Cell Phones and Rat are harmful to your health.

BMonk — great solution!But as for me, my words that you quote do say “sitting by yourself in a restaurant or other public place…”I NEVER call or text anybody while sitting with someone else, unless asked, e.g.,“Hey, text Mary and see whether she wants to meet us here.”I only “answer” by putting it through to voicemail so it’ll stop ringing.If we ever go to dinner rest assured. LOL

I heard that in England,they’re removing all the phone booths due to lack of use because of cell phones. People are trying to buy them for old timesake. TARDIS,anyone?

Rat is merely trying to expain the quantum physics of holding the cell phone close to his head.

Way to go Rat!! Smack him once for me.

This happened to me a coupe hours ago. Where is Rat when you need him.

rat you devil

What did he just say??!

Aye! Either that, or Rat should create some device for public cell phone usage, even though whacking their fa\ce is a great idea.

I like Rat’s idea on this one

Somehow, that never gets old.

Yes Rat, only sometimes.

Numerous scientific studies have shown this is the only way a cell phone can be dangerous.

He wasn’t on speaker Pig.

Little did we know that 12 years later people would hold their phones out in front of them like sandwiches, filling the room with what should be their private conversations, and we would long for the days when they held the phones to their ears.