Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 13, 2016

Oh, their wishes for the most wonderful wedding ain’t gonna happen. So sad.

WE WON! I would like to hope that everyone who complained to Team Evans that a wedding on 09/11 was the absolute worse idea has been rewarded. Oh, god, do I feel all giddy!!

Well, everyone that predicted no wedding at the firehouse and/or no time off can rightfully congratulate themselves.

To the Elvis Chapel in Vegas, stat!

-I’m kind of relieved that the obvious interruption of a major fire call requiring them to leave the wedding has been avoided. But I’m not sure why Brad is talking about changing the date, just because the wedding can’t be at the firehouse. Mind you, I’m very happy that the date may change (still feel uncomfortable with it, as though a wedding was breaking at during a funeral), but I’m not clear on why Brad is looking to change the date.

I believe they will end up getting married in “The Fuse” and we will have more TJ storyline

Brad….just shut up. Now it is is time for someone with more balls. Looks like Toni should do the talk with their boss to clear a few things.

Creative!

Sometimes, an obstacle can be discouraging, or make you think that maybe it just isn’t worth it to go through with things, altogether. Some would even say: “What’s the point?” and give up. – That’s the time to remember that things worth having are things worth holding on to … – Also, that when you can’t go through, you may have to just go around… or under… or over… or get a reaaaaly good helmet and battering ram- oh, and a pair of goggles, and perhaps a tank, or….

I can see the “No Weddings” policy but not being able to schedule a time off request 8 months in advance? Come on! You can’t really expect us to believe that.

Plus, so they won’t get lost and all, going from one to the other, Billy from Family Circus can help them by drawing up a map with a bunch of dashed lines, so they can track their movements with different paths for them to get around…

Good one! Very creative.

“A Station Break”“Plan B,C And D”“A Heavy Fork In The Road”“Umbrellas For The Parade”“No Bubbles For Lawrence Welk”“A Log Jam.Session”“Detour… Of Duty”“In Case Of Emergency”“Bad News Bares No Mercy”“Worth The Weight”“The Road Block And Tackle Kit” “An Obstacle, Of Course!”“Shock And Auxiilary”or“Spring Forward With A Fallback”

I wonder how many years went by before people would get married on December 7th? The day the towers came down does seem like a strange day to get married.

I like! !

You are brilliant. And I say that without even having had my first cup of coffee.

I’d like to see Brad’s stag party organized by Rat at PBS. Me wud go. Them serve zeba wings!

The Fuse is available.

Hahahaha! Best news ever! Thank you, captain.

“That time off won’t work” – 8 months in advance? Really? There’s no way in hell two people with over five years in almost any job: A. Don’t have sufficient vacation time for a honeymoon. B. Can’t get the dates approved TWO-THIRDS OF A YEAR away.

Strike one and two. How will they handle the crises?

What, no sexual innuendos today? What’s up with that?

Brad: Well, I guess this shrinks my plans.Toni: They weren’t that big anyway.

Ha, I like it!Just, for the love of God, don’t go to Crustwood for your wedding. (I miss you, Julie Larson!)

I had a court house wedding with both of my marriages. Great memories were made and I didn’t have to go in debt for one day of celebration. I’ve known couples who spent thousands on a lavish wedding just to get a divorce 3 years later! I’ve always wondered if they were still paying off that wedding debt when they signed their divorce papers.

Reminds me of the families who plop down a lot of money for their kid’s first bday party…the kid doesn’t even remember it! Save that money for their college fund!

I agree that this revelation turns the wedding location more towards “The Fuse,” perhaps where Greg/Karen want it held (and, hence more “drama” and “trauma”). As for the date, I’m not sure. Maybe they don’t want to wait until Sept. to make it happen. Perhaps April, when Brad proposed to Toni. Maybe they’ve decided to plan something different/better for Sept. (i.e. Lu transferring to Moony or something like that)…

Maybe to search for a new BF??? ;-)

Obviously the wedding will be at the Fuse. And I’m sure that the DeGroots would be willing to open the building on a non-holiday date as a special favor for their son’s wedding.

But at any rate, this may rule out a 9/11 wedding, which seems to be an improvement in good taste for Brad, Toni, and this comic strip.

I vote for Toni’s idea. The sooner, the better.

elope….much cheaper than a wedding. courthouse, but be prepared that some couples will bring their whole clan down to the courthouse to get married. $30k for a wedding!!!??? then, be prepared to assign a monetary value to people…are they worth it? don’t expect to recoup any of the money you spent. another decision is to invite or not invite people with kids. and, destination wedding, don’t expect to get money from people as a gift(they showing up is the couple’s gift). some places and cultures spend a lot more, and a lot less. that fancy ball room that the bride was dreaming since she was 6, $7k. the gown-4k(wore only once). bridal party gifts-3k. then, decision of open bar, or consumption(that includes that $6 glass of water that long lost uncle will drink half). and, dj is not included in the venue. so, expect someone with a laptop, speakers, and a pandora account. and, another decision, is the $%#$#%$ catering. a vegan meal, gluten-free meal, a vegetarian meal, chicken, fish, beef, pork, allergy free meals, pasta meal(what type of pasta and sauce), how many ^&# courses? you want filet mignon…that is 150 a head. the decor decisions(the tables, the chairs, the $^& table cloths, and the napkins(how will it be shaped), the flowers, table settings, who sits next to who, and, after all of that, ……people will still complain(the food was bad, the drinks were bad, etc…) ……

BRAD – listen to Toni, elope – NOW! Get your time off scheduled & enjoy what you will recieve! Togetherness.

Mr. Gray wants to use The Fuse for his wedding to (the soon to be former former) Mrs. Berger this spring. Brad and Toni need to get married but haven’t the coordination or imagination or whatever to put a wedding together themselves. Somehow they’ll end up piggy-backing on the Gray Berger nuptials. And – although Valentine’s Day technically is in the Winter rather than Spring, I’m thinking that might be a nice day for a wedding or two…

But apparently I was wrong about them wanting 90 days as parental leave after adopting Shannon, so take all that with the usual scooper-full of salt.

for those that have mentioned not being able to take off 8 months in advance it is possible. there may be a lot of other staff with more seniority that want that timeframe off. the length of time being requested might have something to do with it as well especially as they work for the same house.

I predict a wedding at The Fuse interrupted by an explosion in the kitchen.

Sounds like something bad gonna happen..somebody gonna get hurt. I mean an injury at a fire…leave it to drama here.

cliffhanger anyone?

The ceremony can be just off of firehouse grounds and with 8 months to go there is plenty of time to arrange subs from their or other firehouses — it’s been done before in real life. Sorry, today’s strip is not realistic.

I GUESS having Your “Wedding” at an ACTUAL “Church” is just OUT of the QUESTION, eh “Love Monkeys”?

Some other firefighter probably asked for that week off, 8 months in advance. Maybe they had a wedding to go to or a trip planned with family.

Well, that’s OK Brad. The 9/11 date was Toni’s idea anyway, not yours.

Or maybe Toni wants to stick to the 9/11 date and elope then.

One more case where the DeGroots get led around by the nose by other people. They rarely decide or do things on their own. Frank & Nancy decided they wanted to open The Fuse, but after they failed at getting it started, lots of other people came in and bailed them out, with ideas and plain old work. Luann went to the easiest college choice – Junior College – and is floundering without any direction. Sure, she’s a brilliant artist and stage designer, but she does those things only when assigned to – no creative urge. And didn’t Bernice find her that job working with children? Toni decides everything for Brad, from whether/when to get married, to spending all their time together babysitting her niece. Yes, Brad decided to become a firefighter, but that was back in the old days, before the storylines deteriorated.The word I’m looking for is “feckless”.

Funny how the Captain told them he can’t give them the time off before they even told him how much time they needed. Seems a lot like he’s pulling the old “No matter what your question is, the answer is NO”. Especially when it’s still 8 months away. Expecting an outbreak of fires in September or something?

Well there goes the 9/11 issue, maybe…you never know what this strip might have in mind. Toni wants to get married asap, so the elope or City Hall route? No, there are too many family and friends. I agree with the opinion that the wedding will happen in the Fuse. As to the honeymoon, as so many of you said yesterday, honeymoon time on a public job can be dicey. When my wife and I got married 41 years ago I think we were both working at different parts of the same public agency, and we had vacation time. Plus we were law clerks so we didn’t have a trial courtroom or some other level of responsibility that made taking time off a bit dicey. We got a week, which I still remember fondly to this day. The captain does his job well, which is to be close to the crew, but to follow the organization rules, but I figure he would figure some way to relent on time off. One thing I might point out: Brad is willing to work out on the dates. Toni wants to get married asap. Little blond flamethrower I think.

Hahah! Brdshtt!!!!!! Your comment about Brad and Toni needing to get p*ssy and involved with other strips was hilarious! Thank you! My biggest laugh of the morning!

See previous strip. Did they really think they were going to ask for 90 days off? Anyway, pretty obvious that we’re headed toward a wedding at The Fuse. I hear they have an in with the owners. Mr. Grey will want to use the photos to show it off the potential clients as a professional event event space….

They might as well drive to Las Vegas and do their eloping there at the rate things are going.

Ah, the devils in the details; getting married on 9/11 seemed a little weird anyway; oh by the way, don’t these firefighters have mandatory vacation time coming? Bet they do. Maybe they should call their union.

I can see where this is going – they will get married at the Fuse, TJ will cater it, Col Zebo will do the decorations and Pru will do some artistic dance thing as part of the ceremony. I say, No. No! NO! Just give Brad and Toni a nice normal wedding and just say “NO” to the usual Luann foolishness!

“I don’t think she wants to get married asap, but rather she wants any excuse she can to have the small wedding”Agreed – no sign that Toni is anxious to get married any time soon.

“Elope” works, but I suspect that instead Brad and Toni will re-schedule a more traditional but small wedding sometime, somewhere….Gosh, where could “somewhere” be? Hint: read Comments above.

Dave, I agree with you totally. The foolishness Luann displays has got to stop. A normal wedding would be nice. Pru is an annoying character and tiresome. Lets have some humor and common sense again – enough with Luann drama with Quinn and whats-her-name.

" Move your wedding over to the Judge Parker strip."*BS – thanks for the chuckle! Despite the weather I had to walk a client to a government apptmt this morning now walk to a mtg. I’ll try to stay warm by thinking of Brad & Toni’s wedding in the Amazon while they are being hunted down by unhappy arms dealers (whose ring Toni is wearing).

BS – Who is that standing to Dick Tracy’s right? Can you introduce us?

Some supervisor!

If the fire department is having a special ceremony on 9/11, then it makes sense that they couldn’t take off on that one day, but I wonder why they can’t schedule honeymoon vacation to start in mid-September. Does downtown Pitt have a big fire planned for that week? (Maybe TJ will be in charge of setting it!) At any rate, thank you Team Evans, for putting an end to this horrible plan to “honor” the victims of the terrorist attack in a festive way.

Had a thought to coattail your comment: Not likely, but possibly have the ceremony outside the new Trade Center One. Or the NYC City Hall which is only a few short streets away. Luann & Quill’s NYC trip is still hanging out there, and Prudence can return to her place of familiarity.

Im ne to the comments – but why don’t they have it at the Fuse – seems like that’s where this is headed – don’t ya think?

And now it’s time for Brad’s parents to save the date with using The Fuse for the ceremony and reception!

Which means he’s probably really Buck Rogers. :)

T.J. is almost as good as Crankshaft, but I don’t think anyone can beat Crankshaft.

Hmmm…Both Brad and Toni have been employees of the Fire Department for several years. In the real world, a government agency like a fire department (and this one is big enough to have more than one station) would inform its employees of policies like this. And after several years, employees would have gotten some idea how these policies work. So in the real world, they would have already known that a wedding in the fire station would be a non-starter.But Luanniverse isn’t the real world.

They asked for 90 days off. They probably could give them a week at the most, considering that firehouse employees are city employees and their vacation pay package is limited to around 2 to 4 weeks, tops. They both are asking for too much. Perfect wedding venue AND lengthy honeymoon. Grow up, Brad & Toni.

According to Time Magazine, it is not uncommon to get a $50/head discount at wedding venues for 9/11 dates. Very few couples want to be married on that date, and Brad/Toni did not mention the money angle.

Maybe they should use this change in plans as an opportunity to reconsider the whole thing. After this long engagement, do they still think it would be a good idea for them to be married to each other? They have been discussing their plans for the future and what their lives together would be like, right?

“Perhaps even”*BA – Nice! Though he’d have to prefer inner rather than outer beauty.

How can fire-prevention/control time be scheduled so far in advance? . What Fire Department needs could be blocked out more than six months into the future?.………………………….PUZZLING…………………………..

Sounds to me like the Captain is just making up things.

Could this be a bigger disaster?

“do they still think it would be a good idea for them to be married to each other?”Way back 60 years ago, everybody got married because everybody else did. Good or bad, marriage was the overwhelming norm. Today, young people don’t just fall into marriage. These two show no signs of having what it takes to make a marriage work. A marriage involves a lot more than playing footsie and babysitting someone else’s kid.

Oh no…guess they’ll have a short honeymoon…

I am and agree with Sally just my opinion of course.

Got my Vote

-It is odd they can’t get off during a ho-hum September month

I have cousins who live in northern California. Apparently there are wildfire ‘seasons’, partly due to drought conditions, and the fall months are one of the wildfire seasons. If that is the case, all leave (other than sick leave) would probably not be able to be approved.

During the last wildfire season, firefighters from around the US volunteered to go to California to help fight the fires.

Again, I refer you to this table of the worst California wildfires, the counties where they happened,and in what months. Remember hat Pitt is presumably in San Diego County. September is definitely not a good month for 2 firefighters there to take off at the same time, if it can be avoided.

Elope.

I will never complain about the inconveniences of wintery weather up here compared to what some folks face with wildfire concerns. That has to be one of the worst things a homeowner has to fear in some parts of the country.

I used to be in California. Things are very hot and the brush is straw dry in September; not a good month for a firefighter to take off work. Actually, in plenty of states, September would be a bad month to be low on firefighters.

The 9/11 memorial is probably a public event. They can attend the memorial and then do vows at the FUSE. The FUSE could also have a commemorative event.

So there won’t be a honeymoon? They get married at The Fuse on 9/11 and go back to work at their fire stations on 9/12?

Why didn’t they talk to the captain months ago about using the firehouse?

I remember the big “to do” leading up to it, with lots of characters talking of travelling on their way to the Bumsteads. Pretty nice affair it seemed, and all…

“We’ll just call him “Brick Gordon”^Long as his cover isn’t as an IT specialist….

This wedding story line lacks zing, its been dragging on for years. Just do something. Everything moves like the Goodyear blimp and we’re in the jet age. Have Rosa return and upset Gunther’s apple cart. Let Gunther and Tiffany discover that they are going to have a baby. Let Knute and Crystal get married at a Buddhist temple in Tibet, looking for Shangri la. Let the Evans team get off de-caff.

aaww…what sad news!

- I don’t see the 9/11 wedding date going away.

SPOILER ALERT 50%

Well, maybe halfway…

Imitation is the sincerest form of…imitation….

Don’t the firefighters have a union hall so have it there.

Spoiler alert…some random sequential indicator:

Rock, paper, scissors….aw, sticks!

Now I’ll have to start all over, again!

I mean Brad and Toni will have to start all over again….

I’m a former governing official at Metro, the transportation agency in L.A., which among other things operates the majority of transit service. Over my years of service, I became acquainted with many of the policies which applied to the employees of our transit bus and rail yards.

One such policy limited the number of bus or train operators that could be on vacation at the same time, and it would take something akin to a death in the family to get time off if all the slots were filled. For the most part, operators scheduled their vacations up to a year at a time, especially as your “turn” to schedule was based on your seniority.

This was necessary just to ensure there are enough people to drive all the buses and operate all the trains scheduled every day. Do you honestly think a fire department is going to have more relaxed standards?

No more Wedding in the Fire House.After that debacle where the House burned down because the trucks were blocked in by that Monster Wedding Cake …

Given what I know now about how civil servants have to schedule their vacations, your experience resonates perfectly with me. The self-employment just adds another complication to the process, I would think.

About time the Sept. 11th date was scrapped, as it was a truly horrible idea in the first place. Even now, I don’t think any US citizen would get married on that day.