Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 24, 2009

sergeant? serenade? serpentine?

Cruel humor. Poor kid.

Gweedo, he did. Neither BD or his mom have ever heard the word before, I guess.

Relapse.

Hi cfortunato, it’s a perfect word, but B.D. and Mom don’t know it.

“Why isn’t it a word? What am I missing?”

It is a real word. And - Toggle used it correctly.

BD and Mom are the butt of the joke. They’re healthy, while Toggle has TBI issues.

Reminds me a little of the saying: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”

Weirdly enough, I can see Alex and Toggle getting together. He might just activate the matronly instinct in her, and that could lead down some interesting other paths.

I like this one, yes Toggle you got it exactly right, and it’s gonna happen

Serendipity: from the old name for Ceylon (now the country of Sri Lanka), Serendip. A good kind of irony, when things work together as if by chance.

Judging by the reactions here, the joke was particularly well suited.

Serendip was a magical island in the Sinbad adventures where the adventurer was shipwrecked and found a fortune. hence, when something good happens by chance, it is serendipity.

By the way, Serendip derives from the Sanscrit “serendripa”, which means “silk island”. I imagine that Sri Lanka must have been a major silk producer

I like it when Garry does these kinds of stories. He does get the truth out about Iraq and that perfidious war. I believe that not only should wounded veterans get full medical coverage, but that they should never, ever have to pay any kind of taxes ever again.