Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for July 02, 2021

Hunter Thompson told Bill Murray to sting a combo of vodka and NyQuil when Murray had trouble sleeping.

Sugar? What’s sugar? I forgot it.

I’m having trouble with waking in the middle of the night these days, so this comic strikes home.

Sometimes I mentally count backward from 1000. I usually drift off somewhere in the 900s or 800s.

Who eats sugar at night?

The trick is to pass so rapidly through the worry zone that the wonk can’t catch you before you are fast asleep. This is easy to say…

The Worry Wonk looks like a Loyal Order of Water Buffalo’s hat from The Flintstones, only it’s purple.

Reminds me of Binkley’s anxiety closet from Bloom County.

Who cares about a Worry Wonk?

Try being awakened every two hours by a prostate the size of a Safeway® bagel.

I usually just set my mind to work on some hobby project I plan on doing. Sleep usually comes before the second piece of wood is sawn.

“What – me worry?”

What is this “difficulty sleeping” of which you speak? It intrigues me.

I am up at 3 AM reading this!

Time to play Wack a Wonk!

*sigh…no, not the caffeine…

I’m having trouble sleeping in this heat wave.

Okay, that explains it. Thanks, Pig, and welcome back into my world, life-giving coffee!

Pig get one of Rat’s beers and join him in front of the TV. With a little luck you will fall asleep watching TV ! Don’t spill the beer ;-)

How true to life.

LOL! Love Pigs nightcap….that’s exactly what he may need to fall asleep….LOL

i find that vigorous exercise takes my mind off the worry wonk – if i’m watching a bunch of young women doing aerobics my mind (what little is left of it) is completely worry-free…

Yesterday, at the Orthopedic Clinic, as I waited for my sis, I noticed ALL KINDS of people helping other people: family members bringing other family members in; young caregivers with their very elderly charges; financial wonks there to explain policy to patients; nursing assistants making quite sure that patients were comfortable and understood procedures. THE NEWS NEVER gives us stories like these. There ARE millions of us going about our daily routines with compassion and empathy. Not all of us are dysfunctinal dimwits filled with rage. . .

Take some sleeping pills.

There’s a popular meme on social media, only it’s the person’s brain telling the person things to keep them awake.

One of our dogs is afraid of loud noises, so she woke me up around 11:30 pm. My wife was still awake, but Sheela had to lay next to me shaking. Diphenhydramine helps, but it takes a while to kick in.

Love the Worry Wonk. Hate his visits though.

Worry is a waste of time. Usually what you worry about doesn’t ever happen. Thank goodness.

And Worry Wonk’s business is booming ever since 2020.

For me, it’s the bladder!

So, that’s what that thing looks like. Oh, well. No cure for that.

So how does the worry wonk stay up until 2 AM?

Never heard of a worry wonk we always called it a worry wort!

I’ve got a herd of wonks milling about in my attic that will come to the fore on occasion in the dead of night. Sometimes daylight is the only thing that disperses them.

The Worry Wonk no longer visits me as he used to at 4 am when I was young. Now it’s the Prostate Pest who interrupts my slumber.

I know how to deal with the Worry Wonk! / Take a Louisville Slugger and give his noggin a clonk. / He’ll go out like a light. / And for the rest of the night, / You’ll sleep as sound as a off duty cop from the Bronx. 8>)

“I’ve seen the enemy and he is us” Pogo ….

Try going to bed at 6:00 P.M.

Just ignore him, Pig, though I’m not sure if that’ll work or not.

You don’t need worries if your brain just won’t shut off. I can think happy thoughts for hours.

I hate that guy, the worry wonk.

And don’t ever try to fall asleep after only watching half of a Hallmark movie. You’ll stay up all night wondering about the outcome of the relationship – so unpredictible!

Will the Crocs be back?

All the characters are drawn the same…

We have a 16 year old cat who’s a bit demented. He howls at random intervals often in the middle of the night.

Netflix has a new show on called “Unwind Your Mind”. It’s supposed to help you sleep. I haven’t watched it yet. The TV is too far from my bed.

And thus, why the depression medicine companies are making huge profits…besides their patents seemingly lasting forever.

My worry wonk has made many fewer appearances since January

Punch out his lights.

I feel ya, Pig!

Today at the pharmacy I noticed some over-the-counter test kits. One of them said Sleep and Stress. I told the pharmacist I sure as heck don’t need to take a test for that.

Gimme a late-night cuppa joe. No kidding, it helps put me to a sound sleep….

The canonical hour is 4 a.m….

Reminds me of Rat’s encounter with the “Anxietiers.” I think the archives put it at 2003.

an escapee from binkley’s closet of anxieties!

I have found that the mix pharmaceuticals my sleep specialist and I have come up with plus meditation usually works. :-)