Excuse Me, Sir, Could You Step Out of Line?

OK, this did not really happen to me, but I did think of this cartoon when I flew to Neen's funeral. I was thinking about the whole 3 oz. of gel thing and I wondered about ways to carry it. Here you go.

I still have not seen Dad's head yet. That also means he hasn't seen mine, but not much has changed on my side. Maybe I'll get over there this weekend?

So, how many of you are watching the NBA Playoffs? Yeah, me neither.

I cannot believe that Jay has posted twice in one week. Dude, if you've got that much energy, you need to run more. Run, Jay, Run. I'll read about you while I eat this bag of Cheetos.

Channeling Marie Antoinette

It cannot be a good sign when you've got a preacher's blood boiling. Nor is it good when a future preacher starts quoting a comic strip that ended twenty years before he was born. Nor when a famous cubicle cartoonist has to take time out of his business day to respond to spurious accusations. All of that from yesterday's Clarity of Vision. Today's is less controversial and very punny, right?

I haven't seen Dad's shaved head yet, but it might look similar to how he wore it back in the 60s. I'll see if I can catch a photo so you non-PHX readers can perhaps guffaw or at least snicker.

Alison had an interview down in Casa Grande yesterday. She thought the interview portion went well, but she had a class that was not as attentive as they could have been. Still, I think it was good practice for her, and it's really in God's hands anyway.

We reached 102F yesterday. It's too early for that. I did see a statistic that the Valley averages 296 sunny days per year, and 106 days at or above 100F. Luckily, we only have about 17 days above 110F (althought the last two years have had 32 and 22 days above 110F, respectively). You can see why I say it is too early for us to be facing that. Yeah, I know what you are saying. "But it's a dry heat." It's still hot. Maybe not HECK hot, but hot nonetheless.

Erin Go Bragh

That is Gaelic for Ireland forever. One of my teammates leaves next week for Ireland, so I decided to say goodbye with a cartoon.

I did not talk to Dad yesterday, so I do not know the status of his hair. Aren't I a loving son? How many of you check in with your parents to see how their hair is doing? However, since I did NOT check in, I suppose I am back in the same bucket as the rest of you.

We may have to rethink the Obama thing. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 7pm ( forgot when. I think May 13 or 14). Anyway, it is outside at Sun Devil stadium, so we will probably be sitting in the sun. The kicker is that we have to be in our seats by 5pm. And Ali and the graduates have to be there also, wearing their caps and gowns. It would be really cool to see the current president and all, but that sounds really uncomfortable. At 5pm, it will almost certainly be above 100F. I'll let you know what I/we decide.

Caleb, once Charlie Dickens joined our team, I knew I would be using his name in the cartoon. So, while I toyed with doing something about A Tale of Two Projects, this one was easily the better choice in my own opinion, which is of course what matters since it is my strip. To me, it is not dumbed down. Maybe you are actually learning something at college? Be sure and check back on the comments of a prior blog post to see the repartee (a conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts) between Craig (my last college roommate) and myself. You might understand them, too.

What's Next? Peter Pan?

A new team member started at work yesterday named Charles Dickens. I actually knew himi over at US Airways. He goes by Charlie, but that wouldn't work for today's cartoon. And in case you are not familiar with corporate seating, the blue squares are cubicles.


One time, back at Motorola in the early 90s, I looked through the corporate phone listings to see who all worked for the company. Among the names I found was Gerald Ford, Betty Ford, and the name mentioned in today's title. That's right. There was a Peter Pan (in China).

My Own Flesh and Blood

Kyle, Lyndsay and the girls came over on Sat and again on Sun this weekend. I found out that Kyle had only looked at ONE of my comic strips. Lyndsay, loving daughter-in-law that she is, had read them all, but not my own son. How would that make you feel? He did read them (he says) while he was over, and said he liked a couple of them. Yeah, that's Kyle for you.

Here's another one for Kyle not to read.



By the way, it is supposed to reach 100F tomorrow. It is too early to have to deal with that already. We get plenty in the next few months. Someone at work said they may turn on their A/C for the first time this week. What?! We keep ours on all year. I like it cool in the house at night. Must be those hot flashes, huh?

You Want to Make Something Of It?

I was premature in saying Dad would not have hair by today. Stay tuned. For me, I have reached that bushy stage when my hair looks like a toupee. Maybe Dad will want to get a wig that looks like my hair, or maybe I should save my hair, glue it to a bald wig, and give it to him for free.

It is Alison's last day of student teaching. That also means we are nearing the end of her Master's classes. Yeah! No more proof-reading and editing. Well, soon.

Yeah, so, this did happen to me. It's fixed now, but my boss' boss set up a delivery of information to me, and the Purchasing system showed it would go to Ms. That got me to thinking about reasons to not get it fixed. I could get government grants if I set up a female owned business. I might get caught with a glass ceiling. Then, I found the one I thought was the funniest and created today's CoV.

Where's My Refund?

Hey. I e-filed my federal taxes. Why isn't my refund here yet? OK, so it is only enough to buy myself a meal at Taco Bell, but it is MY money. Let's go, Obama. Pull it out of that $212B and get it in the mail.

Prayer Request: Lyndsay's maternal grandfather has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, so keep him and his family in your prayers. We went to see him last night at Banner Desert Hospital, and he is to be released sometime today, so that is good news. Gayle, cut back on the salt, and eat those fruits and veggies, OK?

Happy Tax Day

It's time again for the annual rite of truing up on our taxes with the government. That means tonight's newscast will include reporters at the post office and interviewing drivers as to why they waited. Some are probably like me. I had ours finished over a month ago, but was deciding about snail mail or e-filing. I also wanted to double-check with Kathie to see if I omitted anything. I finally got around to it this past weekend. I have never waited long enough that I had to drive to the post office at midnight.

No, it really was just happenstance that a comic about something being free showed up on April 15. I looked through my head for a tax-return-related strip, but nothing jumped out at me. Anyway, here you go.

Tomorrow is Tax Day

I have already sent in my taxes, both federal and state. I sent both in online this year. Alison has been doing that for a couple of years. Federal was free with my purchase of TurboTax. It cost $20 for them to handle the state. For those of you with no state tax, it would cost nothing extra, and you save $0.82 because there is no postage. Plus, if you get a refund, it should be in two weeks or so instead of six. OK, enough sales talk.

I burned the roof of my mouth on pizza last night. Don't you hate that? Now, I have this dull pain all the time. Still, isn't it amazing that God created us with a way for our body to heal itself after something like that? Or like a scab forming after a cut? Or new skin forming after a sunburn? What will our perfect, heavenly bodies be like?

At prior employers, we have had the conference rooms available for reserving online. Here, it is a mix of an electronic request and a manual reservation by an admin. That is what prompted today's CoV. It's not quite this extreme, but I had to jazz it up a bit to accentuate the punchline.

Post-Easter Blues

I read that many of us will feel a little tired today if we ate too much Easter candy yesterday. Luckily, that will not be a problem for me. No, I am not talking about me having eaten healthily yesterday. I am saying there is no such thing as too much candy.

I took my computer home for the weekend, but did not do very much actual work. Instead, I found five new Clarity of Vision ideas floating around where real thoughts should have been. That extends the publication season for another week. No comment from the peanut gallery on whether or not that is a good thing. BTW, did you know that peanut gallery reference started on Howdy Doody?