Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for July 02, 2017

Brad, you do not need to take birth control protection to that level.

I think Brad is a little too precautions when wearing the firefighter’s gear.

The daily story has spilled over into Sunday.

Fireworks, Heh. I remember the kids in my old neighborhood back in the day, would do some crazy stuff with them. Like blowing up mailboxes with M-80s. Heck, even benign fireworks like sparklers, were misused. Some would throw lighted sparklers at each and pretend like they were hurling fireballs and lightning bolts.

Not “Me,” of course…….,

unexpected but pleasant continuity with the weekday strips

Oh man. Canada day firework are going off outside my home and I can’t see them from my window. If I didn’t hate crowds I’d be down at the Milennial park watching them. So loud!

First Safety Lesson:

Get that box of flammable material AWAY from from where you’re lighting that “first one”!!!!

I’ve had bottle rockets blow up in my hand. This could only happen because I was holding them when I lit them.

(Note: the end of the paper near where the fuse enters is furthest from the center of the explosion, somewhat less likely to remove fingers. The rocket exhaust will scorch your fingers, but it’s a small price to pay.)

I really shouldn’t still be here, especially with all original appendages.

Is this the 4th or Halloween??

A really sweet transition from the bleary eyed breakfast scene. Toni has a good heart!

I am a little worried about those bottle rockets, and the closeness of Toni and Shannon to them, but I don’t think it’s as dangerous as Brad humorously believes it is. I love the interplay between Brad and Toni, and Brad is so becoming his dad, the curse of so many kids; they become their parents, especially when kids are involved. Kids they are close to that is, and Brad is so fatherly to Shannon. He is just like Frank would be. Of course it leaves the fundamental problem of what happens with Shannon wide open, but for now lets enjoy the fun of the holiday weekend. This time Luannverse time corresponds at least in holiday to real world (USA) time.

Well, as expected or predicted, Toni took control of the activities. Shannon could shoot off her wants all she could but Aunt Toni will decide. That’s okay because she always has a bunch of fun with Aunt Toni and Uncle Brad she doesn’t really mind not getting what she asked for – the fireworks were not on her wish list yesterday but today she is all excited about them. Okay…Aunt Toni, time for fireworks, NOW!

Keep the 4th of July safe and sane, not unsafe an insane.

I notice that Shannon isn’t drawn with her big ol’ frowny eyebrows nearly as much anymore. I hope this means her friendly and positive attitude is a more permanent part of her personality, rather than just a result of everyone giving in to her every demand all the time. Please Greg, let her face the word “no” without throwing a tantrum for once. I still consider her a brat (since as I’ve said, everyone is nice when they’re getting what they want, but they show their true character when faced with disappointment), but I’d like to stop doing so. So give me a reason. As it is, that little detail has given me a ray of hope. Fingers crossed….

Fireworks memories, including a near disaster…. My brother and I were careful never to let our parents see what we did with bottle rockets. We’d hold the end of the long thins stabilizing stick farthest from the tiny rocket “engine” and light the fuse. We’d learned to time this so that we could toss the rocked straight up into the air so that it was at its highest point before the propellant fired and would therefore go higher or farther. I guess that could have been dangerous if it had begun to fall back toward us before ignition. We’d have been sitting ducks. And Roman candles. Every kid in the neighborhood but us would hold the things in hand, light them, and point the tube here or there to direct the yellow sparks and intermittent green and red balls of fire as chosen. Luckily they were all smart enough not to fire one at another kid or toward some flammable target. But Dad was certain we’d blow our fingers off and for some years refused to let us have Roman candles. When he finally relented, it was on condition that he supervise and direct how we used them. That meant following the directions on the package, i.e., implanting the base of the candle an inch or two into soft soil, lighting the fuse, and stepping back. My brother and I thought this was pretty lame, but what could we do. Well. The very first candle we lit this way exploded violently, splitting into fragments and tossing no pretty balls of fire. If either of us had been holding it… well, keyboarding would be a bit problematic today. The kicker is that the second one we lit did exactly the same thing. After that, we never wanted to emulate the other kids style again and even tried to talk them into the plant-and-fire method, of course without success. Luckily enough, they never experienced an explosive mishap. And no other Roman candle my brother and I ever lit, carefully implanted in the ground ever exploded!

But the coolest bottle rocket trick… We’d go to the beach after dark, light the rockets and throw them out over the water timed so that they would be arcing downward when the rocket fired. They’d plunge under water and explode there. No sound, of course, but a beautiful subsurface flash of light. I sometimes wondered what the fish and crabs thought of that.

I would think that 4th of July would be Firefighter least favourite of days

He’s no longer Bwad….I must have missed the change-over…

At least she’s calling him ‘Brad’ instead of ‘Bwad’ now.

Every party needs a pooper.

And I was under the impression that all firefighters hated backyard fireworks.

He’s not Uncle BWAD anymore??

Fireworks are illegal in New York. But my brother’s neighbor turns the street into a DMZ every 4th. It’s actually scary to be anywhere near it. And he’s a cop. They’re confiscated fireworks.

Shannon must be growing up! She is polite and even pronounced Brad’s name correctly!

Everyone have a safe celebration …leave the fireworks to the professionals.

Relax Brad. Its just fireworks, Toni is not trying to cook.

AnyFace, SallyMargaret and others: Actually, I’m glad Luann dailies don’t spill over into Sundays. That said, this one is cute, BUT!

Brad is RIGHT! With all the fires – many caused by amateur backyard pyromaniacs, Toni is setting a bad example and endangering the little girl!

Wait until after dark, Toni. They show up a whole lot better.

Who shoots off fireworks in the middle of the day – and on grass, no less?

Remember that they live in an area prone to brush fires. They nearly missed their wedding on account of one.

As the other folks in this comic have aged, so has Shannon – introduced at age 4-ish, she is probably closer to 6 now – therefore she can now pronounce “Brad” correctly and might be less prone to temper tantrums than she was as a toddler.

I don’t think this is related to the weekday strips. Brad and Toni may still be tired in Monday’s strip and wondering what to do with Shannon.

Uh, Brad?

You’re married to Toni Daytona, not Ed Crankshaft! ;o)

In JayBluE’s absence, I submit the following:

“What A Hoser!”

“Where’s The Firecracker?”

“Sparklers Plenty”

“May The Fourth Be With You”

Happy National Hear Fireworks 24/7 Set Off By Drunks You Wouldn’t Trust With A Glowstick Day!

This – and the Fourth of July in general – DOES remind me of the old SCTV sketches with Billy Sol Hurok (John Candy) and Big Jim McBob (Joe Flaherty)!! So LOL!!! :)

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“And may the good Lord like you and blow ya up, REAL SOON!!

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Happy 4th!!

I’m a little surprised that Toni, a fully-qualified firefighter, would approve of firecrackers and such, especially for a small child.

In a neighborhood I used to live in, New Year’s was the most dangerous holiday because that’s when you found out who received what firearm for Xmas.

Then you waited for the first rain to find out if your home got hit.

It should be noted that all consumer fireworks are illegal in San Diego County. Either this is a “dream sequence”, or they are breaking the law (both the law of the County and the law of common sense, by setting off fireworks on grass in a brush-fire area and by lighting a spark-shooting fountain only inches away from a box full of other fireworks).

tomorrow’s ’toon: Brad rushes Shannon to the hospital with fingers blown off from the celebration. Toni blames herself, Jonah blames them both.

Why would anyone light up that stuff in the daytime? Seriously with a brat like Shannon around, this can only be a bad thing. I wouldn’t wanna be their neighbors.Fireworks should be illegal in EVERY state like they are in NY. The hillbillies do it anyway, and I always love it when there’s a news item about someone losing an eye or a hand to the explosives. Can’t we “celebrate” without blowing stuff up???

I think we should not place ourselves among the faint-of-heart here. Shannon is six, about the age, I think, when I was first allowed to join with family in enjoying the less dangerous kinds of fireworks— snakes, sparklers, the smallest ‘crackers, etc. And Aunt Toni makes clear in panel 2 that she and Shannon have had a serious discussion of safety issues involved here. Brad’s over-the-top protectiveness in panel 3 is mostly for the amusement of us, the folks behind the Fourth Wall, but he does also provide stand-by immediate assistance should there be any mishap….

I notice that Shannon refers to Brad as “Uncle Brad”. She used to call him “Bwad”. yesterday one person suggested she was regressing agewise but this demonstrates some growth.

The Elephant in the Room is waiting: Will Jonah get a traveling gig? Will he get paid enough to offer some money for part time child care? Brad & Toni should not be left on the hook for everything. Hopefully they would push Jonah hard on this issue. Otherwise Jonah would just think everybody should be happy for him and take care of stuff without a peep.

For everyone who’s sensibly mature & can legally purchase for next year.. bit.ly/2ufpX2K

It’s clear that they don’t live in California, where even ‘sparklers’ are now too dangerous for the sheeple.

really people?? it’s a comic strip, who cares if fire employees can or can not take home there equipment !

Hilarious.

Aunty Sherma, Save reservations for my family and I to go South to party in allyuh house this Christmas!