Broom Hilda by Russell Myers for February 20, 2010

Ah, a zap at last…

Her finger is a dangerous weapon.

The Queen of Zap is in fine form today, and fully charged, too!

I wonder if I could do that to my doctor.

Or the USMC, since she wears its boxers…which reminds me, Broomie: with a ZAP! like that, why aren’t you in Afghanistan or someplace like that?

At least she didn’t sit on him!

Did you hear what happened to the last person who offered Broomie advice?

Hmmm…. neither has anyone else.

They haven´t found him yet?

That’s no way treat someone who’s telling you the truth, Broomie.

Atta girl, Broomie!

I’d guess weight isn’t hurting her too much. After all, she is 1500 yrs old.

BC13: “That’s no way treat someone who’s telling you the truth, Broomie.”

Many people try to cover their unconscienable rudeness with the phrase “Hey, I’m just being honest!” There’s such a thing as tact.

Gaylord’s next line is probably “I’m sorry that you’re offended by what I said”, which would deserve another ZAP!

There’s truth and then there’s truth. People who obnoxiously tell you you’re overweight could just as truthfully say, “I want to say something that will hurt you, and your weight is a good excuse.” But they never will admit to themselves that this is true.

So pick a proper truth and say it in a proper way. That’s where tact comes in.

A friend of mine once told me that she was constantly yelling at her daughter to clean up her room. I asked if this had any effect and she said no. So I asked why she did it. (I wasn’t asking in a hurtful way, but in a tone of neutral inquiry - I really did just want to know - and she understood that. She wasn’t offended.) She had no answer. I think she thought it over and tried to figure out for herself what to do. I had helped her see the situation another way - shown her a different truth.

Howard Gardner at Harvard (who studies “multiple intelligences”) has this pithy phrase, relevant to several comments above:

”Ask not whether you are motivated; ask what motivates you.”

(Or others.)

Nagging, I take it, counts as the former. The latter is in a different ballpark.

A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress. A loving word may heal and bless.

Nagging someone about their weight may actually cause them to eat more… and thus gain weight… but the people who nag never think about that.

It’s the same with anorexics… but in reverse.

fritzoid I’m glad some of my friends were honest with me. I began exercising and eating healthier too. Before long I lost a lot of excess pounds. I feel much better for it now and much more energetic. So I thank my friends for being honest, as much as it may have hurt me at the time.

Broomie doesn’t need to go on a diet. Zapping burns calories.

Broomie may be fat and obnoxious, but in the third panel Gaylord is smoking!