Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 22, 2018

Motto of today’s strip:

The hopeless are never disappointed.

He’s Buddha!

It’s almost like he’s saying hope is a four-lettered word…Oh, wait…

In other words, ignorance is bliss.

I just wish I could ignore that shading. Come on, colorists! The shading is done for black and white comics pages. remove the shading when you color the balloons! Makes them look gloomy.

He’s a morenius!

The Key to Happiness: Aim low!

Also, he’s got balloons. Ballons make you happy

The last evil in the box which Pandora opened, and unleashed upon the world, was Hope.

The pessimist always gets what he expects or is pleasantly surprised.

I’ve expected little in life and I’ve met my expectations.

Well, now you know why hope was in Pandora’s box.

wait – there’s stuff going on in the world?

Good choice, Rat. That way, when you find out Pig’s a genius, you won’t be disappointed.

Maybe it’s opposite day? He’s Hope Along Cassidy.

Hope lifts you up… so that you’ll make a bigger SPLAT! when you come crashing down.

Seen on a bumper sticker:

Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel Much Better

Steph, I have long learned to put the coffee down before reading your strip. Thank you.

I wake up in the morning. I figure that’s a reasonable start to the day and that I’ve done my part for the world. The morning I don’t wake up you will all have to figure out how to get along without me somehow.

An Optimist declares that this is the best of all possible worlds. A Pessimist is afraid he’s right.

I love Pig!

This is almost a synopsis of the movie “Being There”.

“What a Maroon”

Our motto, “Hope for the best, plan for the worst…. see which one wins”

Hope is God’s way of luring you out into the open.

Hope floats — so does poop.

Could Pig be an idiot savant?

He’s a genius… because he’s a moron…

Rat goes with moron primarily because he is inherently pessimistic, but also because as Pig’s housemate he knows him so well. Happy Pig seems attractive at first, until you begin to suspect he is more creepy, that guy in the horror movie, just down the road and always holding balloons. Very creepy….

It’s the power of negative thinking. Expect the worst so when it happens you’ll be prepared. If it doesn’t happen, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.