Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 10, 2013

Personally, I enjoy this, because there are some who would envision whatever they’re doing, as doing it apart from their S.O… but here, it’s nice, because though they are having slightly different visions of the whole thing, at least they both envision married life toghether ….they are really thinking as “partners in life”….

Brad, the incurable romantic.

DO ALL THE THINGS!!!

“His And Hers”“Same Difference”“You Say Lovely, And I Say Lively…”“Let’s Call The Whole Thing Aww”or “As Long As We’re Doing It Together”

One could reverse the thought bubbles and have it make sense.

Will Twain be there?….

People, it’s only a comic. ^But…. I’m so… “drawn” to it!….

Nice strip, a cut above the usual Sunday fare! :)

but…. where’s Shannon? :P

Nice strip, a cut above the usual Sunday fare! :)

but…. where’s Shannon? :P

“Sponsored” by…S. H. Maltz Greeting Cards… – and by…Steppenwolf Auto care (and Travel Agency)… “We getcha motor really runnin’!…”

Only in the pigment of their imaginations.^Good one! Or, you could have alternately have said, depends if Twain gets to the station in time… (ba-dum-bum-ching!)….

“Call It Love”, Poco“Just You And Me”, Chicago“Being With You”, Smokey Robinson“When I’m 64”, the Beatles“When I Grow Too Old To Dream”, by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, made famous by Gracie Fields. Linda Ronstadt, and others..

Nice!

As long as they don’t go “apple picking” or “antiquing” instead of watching football…..

Holy cats- Brad is the romantic in this couple! Levi: They both have matching tattoos, remember?

The dreams are not mutually exclusive. There’s room in life for romantic dinners and mountain climbing, for movies and jetskiis. There’s a time and a place for everything, and their wishes will ultimately come true.

Also, I doubt Brad cares if he finishes 2nd. His romantic thoughts will just sing ‘wind beneath her wings’ and call it good.

Brad is the romantic I see. Lol

Hmm. Brad dreams of marital romance, Toni dreams of marital adventure. I think they need to discuss their respective ambitions (or lack thereof) in some depth before they actually get married.

Well, considering Tom, Becky and Huck are stuck in the book, you could also say: "Never the Twain shall (they) meet… Lol!

These two visions are absolutely not mutually exclusive. There is no reason they can’t have moments of Brad’s mushy idea of romance and moments of Toni’s adventurous idea, interspersed with many moments of normal domesticity.

The Notebook? Clue me in on that one.

It’s only a comic, but imagining BOTH scenarios – a both/and rather than an either/or – is rather nice.

Wake UP, You Two.

You’re DREAMING.

You FORGOT One Little Itty-Bitty DETAIL. Your Near Certain ADOPTION of the She-Beast, Shannon.

With “Little Ms Center-of-Attention” around After You’re Married, You Won’t Be Able to Do ANY of THAT Stuff.

And DON’T Even THINK about Having Sex….,

uh, oh

Yeah, neither of these visions include babies, but then marriage initially would appear to be romance, passion & adventure. Starting a family, though desirable, is pushed off into the future.

So I finally see (with magnification) what Toni’s tat is! A tiny bit butch, isn’t she? (But such a sweet girl!)

The lesson of today’s strip is, “Don’t assume you know what’s in your partner’s mind. There’s no substitute for communication.” I don’t think this is meant to be seen as Brad and Toni being incompatible on some fundamental level; as others have pointed out, the two dreams are hardly mutually exclusive.

On the subject of whether Brad and Toni have become intimate, it would seem likely. Just because it’s never been shown (family strip) or implied doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. We haven’t been treated to either one using the toilet, either, but Evans doesn’t have to report on everything. Some things are private, even for comic strip characters. True, we’ve seen Luann and Quill kissing and lying down on her bed (and being interrupted before things got too steamy), but the strip’s ostensibly about Luann and everything teen girls go through growing up, which would include making out with boys, so it’s appropriate. It’s not necessary to delve into this with the older, adult couple.

Well, it’s not Chicago Fire..\\//_

She always have that FD tat?

3 things to note: (1) Shannon is not in either person’s vision, but then neither are any children at all. No adoption, no conception. (2) In Toni’s vision, not only do they never touch, they don’t even get close to each other. This marriage will have no need for birth control! (3) Trouble in paradise? The interview with Greg Evans strongly implied that there would be a lot of ups and downs in this relationship, so don’t count on a wedding any time soon, folks.

A firefighter’s sigil… it’s been seen before that she has this.

She’s not imagining them in situations where handholding is recommended… or likely possible most of the time.

Why not do both?

And then come the kids….lol

And most firefighters get the Fireman’s Tatto, be they male or female. Brad probably has one too. Kinda like the Semper Fi for marines.

Toni and Brad have the same tattoo Its a firefighter emblem

Lol. Reality: Changing diapers, worrying about the job, paying bills, filing tax returns, mowing the lawn, fixing the plumbing. All the stuff you see their parents doing.

these are dreams of what might be …Shannon is a harsh reality that will insert itself into their future lives, changing those dreams forever. ^That reminds me of that adage: "there’s three sides to every story… yours, mine, and the truth !….

No matter what we fantasize or plan or anticipate heading into a commitment with someone else, it doesn’t always turn out the way we “dream”, especially with life’s little “surprises” (all kinds of surprises).. but, still, it’s nice when people at least endeavor to actually want to spend time with their mate….that’s why I was saying that the important thing is: that at least Brad and Toni are trying to imagine life together ….. I’ve seen some couples go into it with the mentality of almost leading separate lives, and hardly spending any time with their mate… – Of course, there are times that each will have or want something separate to do… but I’ve seen how some will get married, and still act like they’re single, going out and not communicating, not spending any time with the other, except maybe for 5 minutes, and no bonding at all… and not really learning how to deal with one another…

It’s like the George Jones song about his turbulent marriage to Tammy Wynette: “We live in a two-story house. She’s got her story, and I’ve got mine.”

I don’t believe they’re very far apart in their thinking and can “equilibrize.” After all, in the 1st & 3rd panels, they’re awfully intimate, anyway! I don’t think Toni objects to intimacy. I just think her natural preference is “action.” Brad’s is “couch potato.” They’ll find a happy medium.

I’m also thinking that the Evans’ may not want to reveal their intentions for Shannon just yet, which is why she may not appear in either Brad or Toni’s vision. But, perhaps, eventually. I do want to see Shannon find parents / guardians that will give her all the TLC she needs. I think she’d be quite viable in the right environment. At present, it seems Brad/Toni are the only alternative. And she’s taken such an instant bonding to Brad.

Eventually.

Oh, to be young again.

Actually they both do.

married life….bill pays, house maintenance, insurance, kids and their activities, and maybe 1 hour of couple time that week.

What is Toni’s tattoo a picture of? Can you tell?

JUST THINKING…………

Old style jet skis. Come on, Greg, get with the times.

It seems to me Brad’s vision of marriage is that it’s just like dating. What is left out are discussions of money issues, who does the dishes, who takes out the trash. I was not aware of the problem mundane matters can be when I got married, either.

Toni has more testosterone than Brad, not good for a relationship. He will be taking a bubble bath while she is trimming trees.

You know that’s not true.

We’ve seen the tattoo before….

I think they’ve been doing the horizontal bop for a long time now.

Neither Brad nor Toni want kids???

These two will have a great marriage. They’ll need to appreciate each other’s interests.

So does he.

Communicate, Brad, communicate! Decide BEFORE marriage exactly how things are going to be. This will give you issues to “discuss” as soon as reality hits.

And I love the fact Toni sees marriage as an action adventure!

Toni’s vision of marriage with Brad is putting out one fire after another…

After Quill finishes teaching Gunther how to “man up”, maybe he can give Brad a few lessons, too. An Aussie’s macho-man-to-go duties in Pitt are never done, it seems.

“….,whan CURRENTLY she is portrayed differently. But of course sinc I hav enot been reading this for my whole freaking life i am not an expert. read the damn thing ans think wht you will but spoare us the 3-4-5 daily posts pbsessing on same._____________________________________

Okay, Joel. I THINK You’ve had ENOUGH “Adult Beverages” for one day. Put the bottle DOWN, and Someone will Drive You Home…,

I’m sorry, but if you make me watch a lame chick flick, you gonna pay for my next tattoo, buddy.

Okay did some research on those tatoos and see they are firefighter tatoos, matching no less. First time I noticed.

Antique Motor Vehicle – A motor vehicle … manufactured more than 25 years prior to the current year, which has been maintained in or restored to a condition, which is substantially in conformance with manufacturer specifications..If our children were motor vehicles, they would be antiques.

The antiquing that my wife and I do is watching the “Roadshow”… I also like the reactions of some people after they find out the worth…. or non-worth…. of an item…. – Sometimes we even turn down the sound and do “voice overs” when it comes to people’s reactions…. but we’ve learned a bit from that show with the sound up, too… when Iron Chef was strictly the Japanese version, we “dubbed” the sound of that, too… my wife and I like to have fun, that way. I hoped for someone fun like that, and she is actually even _*better* than advertised….

Tony & Brad got matching tattoos when they graduated the academy.

No children in sight. Always a good sign…

Brad isn’t the man for Toni and Toni isn’t the woman for Brad. Sorry

Marriage is the art of compromise. It is also loving one enough to help their dreams come true. I enjoyed today’s comic as it made me smile. My wonderful husband of 27 years took a deep breath when he said yes to my wanting to go to Epcot/Disney on our honeymoon (a year after we were married as we had to save for it). Years later, we went on “his” honeymoon to Spain. Now, three children, two dogs and various other pets later, we love sitting on the back porch, talking and holding hands.

I think both Brad and Toni have it right!

Brad’s romanticToni’s adventurist.

Is this the first we have seen of Tony’s tattoo? Seems like some mention of it was made back when Brad was smitten but Tony wasn’t buying it yet. Anyone know for sure?

The notebook? Ew!