Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 25, 2018

imagine Knute and T.J. having this conversation with one another when it comes to asking who’s smiling (both boys’ grins creep me out once in a while; their facial muscles must be sore)

We’ll see whether you’re still grinning, Knute, when you’re 40 and still living in your parents’ basement while the rest of the world has passed you by!

Does Knute have job? Does Gunther have a job?

Jeeze. Poor Gunther. He’s letting Golden Opportunity after Golden Opportunity slip right thru his fingers.

Here’s a chance for him to enjoy a bit of freedom in College, and meet new people before becoming a “Wage Slave” for the next 40 Years after he graduates. But Noooooooo.

Gunth, you’ve got one fan here. But there are Times that I would dearly love to POP you right in the back of your head, Like Agent Gibbs used to do to Agent DiNozzo.

And THIS is one of them…..,

#FREEGUNTHERBERGER

I thought Knute would be in art school by now, learning how to be a cartoonist.

It’s great to see Knute, and Knute will do all right. Stop tch, tch, tch. Where is Crystal though, no offense Gunther, but she is far cuter, and much more interesting.

The instantly changing shirt gag is back!

Life is a smorgasbord. Lots of delicious food but some of it just doesn’t go together.

If Gunther were as high as Knute is, he’d be grinning too.

Ooh, ooh, I know the answer to this one…YOU are, Knute.

Knute is in perpetual “Dude” mode.

“The Ant And The Grasshopper”

Knute has a point! Gunther needs to learn to chill.

All the comments suggest that Knute isn’t serious or he’s going to get a job flipping burgers or something like that. Maybe Knute is in school and maybe Knute is studying, but at the same time, Knute isn’t going to let college consume him like it’s doing with Gunther. As for the whole job thing, burger flipping might be Gunther’s job in the future as well, with the way this economy is, even somebody with a masters will have to settle for a low-paying job until they can start moving on up. So stop saying that Knute’s too laid back to even go to college because we don’t see Knute often and that means nobody knows what he’s really up too.

Give Knute your purple jacket.

What is Gunther drug anyway. I would think economics so he can further his sewing career. But !maybe he has other things in mind.

What a bunch of old fuddies some of you are. Knute knows how to roll with the punches which will help him be successful. Gunther is a good guy but needs to learn how to enjoy the moment. This is why we are lucky to have friends who are built different than we are.

Just because Knute is grinning, why should we assume that he is happy? Why should we assume that Gunther isn’t happy because he isn’t grinning?

The Gunthers of the world make it possible for the Knutes to slough off. But later the smile changes faces.

He may be on a high in life, but he will come crashing down eventually.

You are Knute, you’re grinning, but who will be grinning later?

The Knute abides

We’ll see which one will be grinning in a decade. Though, the way life works, they could both be grinning, neither be grinning, or Gunther will be the one full of regrets. Who knows!

“By the way, Gunth, can I come live at your place? My folks are kicking me out because the cops busted me for selling weed.”

Why do so many people here think Knute is stupid and unmotivated? Isn’t he in college also? Do we know anything about what he is doing? My prediction? Gunther goes on to have some financial success and a lot of therapy.

“Don’t you see, Knute? We’re the leaders of tommorrow!”

“Yeah, but it’s today!” — With apologies to the Firesign Theater…

Where can I get a shirt like like Knutes where the pic on the front changes from Exclamation to Question to ??

tomorrow: Tiffany breaks out her secret weapon against Ann: Shannon !!

Knute!!!

I’m sure Knute will make a great Barista, and will pour plenty of cups for Gunther.

I’m sure Knute will make a great Barista, and will pour plenty of cups for Gunther.

I’m picking! And I’m grinning!

How about a happy medium between the two?

Gunther needs to stay in college and enjoy has freedom and girls girls girls.

“You And Me, Against The Wind” (♬♩)

“Serious….Rye In This Guy” (♬)

“Footloose, And Fantasy Free” (♩)

“Life Is A Highway….And I Wanna Stare At The Odometer, All Night Long” (♪)

“Stop And Smell And Take Compositional Samples And Run Various Data Tests On The Roses”

“If Your Going To Moony Uni, Be Sure To Wear Dour Expressions, Everywhere!” (♪)

“The Cat’s So Unable To Dig ‘Silver Spoons’…” (♪)

“No Time For That, I’ve Got A Plan To Catch!”

“Three Smile Island”

“With The Happy Joy Combination, You Get Eyreroll”

“Uptight!???  No! Everything’s Alright!!”  (♩)

or

“Everything On My Plate, But The Sweet Stuff”

People don’t realize that Knute actually developed the technology behind the programmable, image shifting t-shirt, and that he owns the intellectual property. The royalties will keep him supplied with Vans and Bones well beyond his 90’s

Man we are like the Great Generation was for most of us, calling some kids who did not necessarily hew to the usual grind of school, and work “slackers”, or was that us calling the young Gen X kids that term as in “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. I am a person with 4 degrees, 3 advanced, including a Juris Doctorate, and I am still working on an Academic Doctorate at my advanced age. All I have to do is research and write the damn dissertation. I met my retired judge wife in law school. I am fully invested in education, and working hard, and working up, but I also realize that there are other ways of doing that than the one I took, or my spouse. Jennifer Lawrence, the Oscar winning actress who is just now approaching 30 dropped out of middle school. Knute may have other talents that will well take c/o him, and I hope Crystal if she marries the knucklehead. By the way, she is not portrayed as dumb, so she must see something in him. I think the point of this set of panels is that Gunther is a constant Charlie Brown who strives, but stresses too much over it to his misery, while Knute probably follows his own version of the Serenity Prayer. We might have a lot to learn from him actually. Give the kid a break, jeez!!

Wow! Rosa tried, before, to get him to stop….planning….out…. every…. single…thing! He seems to have forgotten those lessons, and reverted back to his ‘nearly neurotic’ tendencies…

The point of today’s strip is that life is serious and stressful enough, one should at least learn to take some time to enjoy the ride on life’s highway…

-

People seem to confuse crazy, bone-headded, goofy, fun loving Knute with a “slacker”. Some people, like him, already seem to know their plans, and are probably taking theirselves through, in ways that are not obvious to someone not sharing his disposition. This is the same guy who came up with his own cleaning concocction and cleaning methods (as unusual as some of them are). He is also the same one who helped clean up the Fuse and get it ready for someone else’s parents. He is always there for people…and has an attractive, no-nonsense girlfriend who’s a creative artist and welder. And she’s still with him. Gunther may be in a position to become a prominent ‘whatever-he’s-going-to-be’, and could even make what some would call a “comfortable” living… he even had an atttractive, feisty, adventurous girlfriend… but, as usual, knute’s point was “silly, yet subtle”….and insightful. The ‘coffe-serving-jockey’ who serves the coffee isn’t any better or worse off than the ‘paper-pushing Human Resources Executive’ putting their order in, and the ‘lowly IT rep’ isn’t any better or worse than the ‘suit-wearing-executive’ pulling out their hair over a frazzling tech issue… the ‘powerful attorney’ isn’t any better or worse than the person who dutifully keeps and organizes their files, or contacts the court system and routes the processes on their behalf… and the busy doctor isn’t any better or worse than the person they could be asking, about “how to undo this particular copier jam”. What does matter, though, is the way one treats people, and the smiles you find, along the way. What matters, is the kind of character one develops, before God and men.

Does Knute even have a job or go to school? Must be nice to just be “chillin’” instead of trying to support oneself.

Serious/Rye, And A Guy

-

Don’t think puppies are easily bred

Don’t try bussing tables, instead

I’ve taken a lot of one chance before…

But I gonna take any more-

Cos I’ve got 2.5 kids in the future, to worry about!

And part of me calculates what they could end up thinking…

◆

Don’t say cats are easy to pet

They raise my dander, when they’re all soaking wet!

And so does anyone who can’t say what a multi-vector is for…

And won’t go along with my plans, anymore!

Believe me, the remote potentials

could make you glad for the over-thinking!

◆

[Chorus:]

I am the Rye in disguise, looking down on you,

in the bed of my made-up mind

I am the stickler of rules,

Dealing with decks of kings and fools, and I find

That I don’t need to feel, anymore!

That’s what calculations are for!

In the quantum processors of my mind…

An Incredible Sulk to unwind…

◆

Don’t do that thing that birds do with a sweet voice…

And don’t dance- it won’t alter my choice!

I find, when the sky’s looking Grey,

I shudder to face the day!

Believe me, the wave’s on the rise!

Capaize, the statistical prize, likely so high, the feeling’s sinking!

◆

[Chorus:]

The rye in this guy, has him watching you,

He’ll put his graphs on the line-

Parameters rule, suffer no fools! Spontaneous will burn him up, all the time….

And if he don’t have to do it, no more-

Then it’s better, like it was, before….

When it was all a simpler time…

When complications did bind…

The calculations worked out fine…

Chalk it up to the cooperative slate of your mind….

Knute is such a total GOOF that I wonder if anything would bother him.

He’s lucky. Many years ago his “girlfriend” Crystal told Gunther that Zane, Bernice old B/F, was going to be “Her” future B/F. Then Greg dropped the idea. But it would seem to indicate that Knute may be just a guy she’s marking time with until something better comes along. Of course Knute may not care. But it would be REAL interesting to see his reaction if, in the near future Crystal suddenly set her sights on say, Piro.

Not to sound mean, but as much as I’d like to see something put a smile on Gunther’s face, I’d dearly love to see something wipe the smile off Knute’s face.

It’s good not to see Crystal with Knute the Grinning Loser! To be sure, Gunther Berger is more solemn than a Loved One’s funeral, but at least there is some hope for him in his future life!

Back in their Middle School days, these two were like a bowl of “Raisin Bran”- a flake and a raisin. But they appreciated each other’s ways, helping each other through all the trials and tribulations of teenage school years. Now, seeing them together here, I’d call it a bowl of “Shredded Wheat”. One side is sugar…the other is all fiber.

As they used to say, “only in the movies”. Or “only in the comics”. Only in the comics could a character just hang around, with no sign of a job or means of support. In Luanniverse, anyone/anything can just sort of float around.

“No brain, no pain”, if I read this correctly.

Believe it or not, life does NOT have to be a zero sum game. Knute’s happiness with his life (whether real or put on) has nothing to do with any of what is going on in Gunther’s life. Whether Gunther is happy or unhappy has nothing to do with whether Knute is happy, unless Gunther decides to do something to cause trouble for Knute. And why would he?

Gunther: And your point is?

chillin’ cruisin’ and hangin’ won’t put food on the table, Knute!