Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for May 21, 2012

Sounded like good news to me.

“I can’t please anybody anymore.”

Believe me, some parents will never, ever accept that.

Gene is bailing out – and Janis doesn’t like it!

Girl wants him to finish before marriage?

He may be making lemonade out of lemons. could be he won’t try to be something he’s not just to please Mary Lou and is moving on rather than wallowing. i say good for him.

I’d love to hear those words from MY son!

John Baranick said, 12 days ago

“I was thinking that maybe I should finish up that last semester of school and get my degree……..”

But it’s all right now. I’ve learned my lesson well.You see you can’t please everybody, so you got to please yourself…

…it’s not a bad idea – at least a completed degree on a resume looks better than “several years of university.” This could be Gene looking at a fallback position in case the farm DOESN’T work out, or even to supplement it – I know of several farmers in this area who have other jobs, along with their spouses – farming is a crap shoot at the best of times…

Wasn’t that part of the original plan between those 2 kids? Didn’t she tell him to finish school before they started to build a life together? First to be able to make a decent living and 2nd, so he would never resent her for not letting him finish.

My take: The girl has discovered she does not want to work in the restaurant the rest of her life while trying to build a home, although I know some readers have done just that. She’s thinking (demanding) that if Gene graduates, their future will be brighter. I see no evidence or hope that it will be. But then hey, this is a comic strip, not reality.

My daughter dropped out of college after three semesters, and then got a job at McDonald’s while taking one class per semester. After about two years of that, she decided it would take an awfully long time to get a degree, and went back to school, although in another program. Longest two years of my life. And no, I never once freaked at her.

I hope he is doing this to please himself, not his mother or Mary Lou.

marvee, yup that’s very important…….

Hopefully, the big argument that Gene had with Mary Lou was her wanting him to finish his degree, and him not wanting to just yet, but now seeing that she’s right.

To me, at least, it seems that reality has begun to intrude on Gene’s fantasies of the future. Mary Lou has been living an adult’s life ever since she found out she was pregnant. Gene on the other hand is having second thoughts about giving up his carefree youth.

Gene is wise in deciding to go the extra mile. So what’s Janis’s problem?

Gene is not going the extra mile because he is suggesting going back to college, he is trying to avoid the main problem; his relationship with Mary Lou. Janis is upset that he is running out on the situation, rather than deal with it like an adult.

Ah, at last! Truth dawns over Marblehead for young Gene…

Remembering the texting from a few strips earlier, I’m going to guess Mary Lou is on board with this.Could be wrong though.