Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for September 03, 2021

How many binders does she (Nancy) need? Perhaps zero. Leave the papers alone, Bernice.

So the brainy, mature one is going to mess up Nancy’s carefully structured chaos in the interest of order! That woman, Bernice, has more than a few screws loose. Never. NEVER NEVER mess someone records keeping plan without their permission.

“Be Prepared~!!” ✨

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkrheaWuShU

Bernice has, by my count, eleven spare binders in her room? Where did she keep them? Why does she sound like a Hoarder?

Stop Bernice, Luann!

If she were speaking Greek, she’d say “Eínai pio apotelesmatikó na periorísete to cháos, na to organósete se diacheirísimes monádes estiasménis prospátheias.”

Well, She’s about to have to move back in with her parents…..

Nancy will appear on Saturday!

If at first you don’t succeed in Greek,…

Troy Troy again.

This may be the catalyst that gets Bernice back into the dorms. Maybe as the 4th in Tiffany’s room?

Tomorrow should be interesting.

Bernice you are not helping if you screw up Nancy system.

It’s gonna take Nancy a lot of focused effort to put things back in order if Bernice carries out her plan! If Bernice were truly mature, she’d leave it alone…

What Luann does not know in Greek, she more than knows in Nancy.

Here is a novel idea. Ask her if she wants assistance. Offer her help but accept her answer either way. I know. Its a new concept. Take your time and let it process.

Bernice needs to stop trying to force her WAYS on other peoples things and mind her own business. She may actually grow up sooner and have a life of her own!

The Dormenführer is taking over outside the dorm!

Maybe G&K have contrived a way for Bernice to be *un*invited from living with the DeGroots …

Yep. Luann knows her mother because that’s how she came to be such a disorganized person. She’s her mother’s daughter. Bernice ought to recognize that. She will find out the hard way that being super organized is not for everyone.

I see both points but Bernice should wait and ask Nancy first!

I like the way Greg drew Luann’s expression in panel 3. The positions of two little dots of pupils and the shape of one little curve of mouth say so much.

Hey, Bern! Since when does being a guest in someone’s home mean that you have permission even to go looking through the financial records of their business?

After retiring, I took a job at my church as office manager. I was lucky to work for two weeks with the previous office manager.After a few days, I was going to throw away a couple of dilapidated cardboard trays. My mentor said, “Never change anything until you’ve worked in an office for two months.”A month later, I discovered that those trays were used to take the bulk mailed newsletter to the post office.

Want to bet that the joke won’t just be Bernice messing up Nancy’s system, but Bernice and Luann finding something surprising in the books? Enter Mr. Gray…

Bernice, the persistent answer to the unasked question…

Does anyone believe, for a second, that Bernice had 10 spare binders laying around in her room? If Bernice messes with Nancy’s important financial papers without getting her permission, I say its time Nancy shows her the door.

Nancy Evans with an axe / Gave her daughter forty whacks / And when she saw what she had done / She gave Bernice-y forty one!

Bad idea Bernice.

Doing this without discussing it with Luann’s mom? What are you thinking Bernice?

Luann is showing some common sense. What was this about maturity, Bernice? It goes with common sense.

Unsolicited help is like unsolicited advice: Usually not welcome, it often backfires, and can lead to resentment.

Nancy should:

“Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes”

Bernice looks around Luanns house and just sees chaos and clutter. I guess if she fixes all this, she’ll score brownie points with Nancy. Unfortunately, while well intentioned, is only going to backfire as Nancy will see it as a failure on her part to organize her own life. She’ll feel like she’s unable to do it herself and has to have outside assistance.

On the other hand, Nancy think what Bernice is doing is sweet because she didn’t have to ask her to do it.

Max and 99 tried to control KAOS.

Luann knows that when Bernice starts doing something it’s impossible to stop her or make her think, even if she’s doing something that will likely ruin Nancy’s system. I kida hope Nancy will react so badly that Bernice will feels so ashamed of what she has do to leave the Degroot house forever.

It seems that the consensus is Bernice should have asked Nancy first before she messed with her papers. Binders may help organize, but ask first. I also wonder why Nancy doesn’t have spreadsheets on the computer for her work.She can buy Microsoft Office and write it off as a business expense.

Luann, defend your mom and her method!

Most posters feel that Bernice is finally going to manage to get herself excommunicated from Casa Degroot if she makes a total mess of Nancy’s records and Nancy hits her breaking point. Yes, this seems like a likely possibility with Bern going home or finding out an RA position opened up in her old hall where she gets to room with Dez, Stef and Tiff. Bern has had a free ride since her RA ended last year and more than a few of us have said it is time for her to move on and Nancy rents the room, perhaps to someone like Tara, who could also work some hours for Nancy and TJ. This is the popular prediction being floated but we know that G&K always like to throw the reader a curveball so:

What if Bern actually does a decent job of organizing stuff into these binders of hers? Unlikely but what if she defies all odds? Of course Nancy first gets angry at seeing her stuff disturbed but then sees how organized it is and may find that Bern helped her find a huge accounting error. Then Nancy has a moment of clarity and a bargain is reached: Bernice becomes the bookkeeper in return for the free room and board. Nancy decides its time to simply stay behind the bar and off the floor but says that TJ will still need some help on busy nights and weekends; all eyes focus on Luann and voila, Bern and Luann are suddenly gainfully employed. Luann could adeptly pass the buck and say that Tara is looking for work as well or Luann simply mentions that she is still busy at the kiddy care after class (thus answering the question about her work status)…..

It’s time for Bernice to move out!

And thus, Bern retains her title of Least Likable Character for another week. The meddling know-it-all PITA strikes again.

Didn’t Nancy complain a while back that Bernice had gone in and reorganized the kitchen and now she can’t find anything?

Wait until she comes in and sees that Bernice has messed with her bookkeeping system. Bernice might find herself in need of a new place to live.

Woman full of binders.

“But” nuthin’. Leave Nancy’s system alone.

Oh yeah, destroy Nancy’s organization system for one based on font size (or some other system that exists only in your own mind) she doesn’t understand so that she can’t do the work that needs to be done. She’ll love you for it Bernice.

…buuuut, I’m gonna plow ahead anyway…

That’s all private stuff. She is contemplating looking at all of it. Also. another thing if she actually does organize it, to throw in Nancy’s face that will mistakenly convey to herself that she is again failing as she ages.

for once L is correct in this exchange- if nancy has a system bernice will screw it up

Computers are ideal for bookkeeping.

Organization is only more efficient when everyone involved knows how it’s organized. Without Nancy involved in the organization process, you might as well just dump purple house paint all over her desk and then say, “Look, I helped!”

For the love of god, ASK FIRST!

This does not bode well. It may be chaos, but it’s Nancy’s personal chaos.

Yes, she likely has a system, and you’re likely going to hear about it.

Back when I started to associate as a new attorney with an older, irascible grouch of a lawyer, I could not have associated with a better senior lawyer. Files all over his desk, thousands of dollars in cash on the desk before his long-suffering secretary deposited the money associated with which file. The most brilliant attorney I have ever known. So there is some truth to the old saying that a messy desk masks a brilliant mind.

So.

We’re left with the big question:

“Will Nancy or Won’t Nancy like Bernice’s idea of “help” tomorrow?”

Heck, will We even find out by tomorrow? It’s only a three to four panel Strip. Will the last panel in Saturday’s Strip feature a stunned Nancy, leaving Us to ponder until next week (month?) whether she likes binders or not?

A Couple of observations:

1) The real reason why Nancy is worn out is because of her HARD work at the Fuse. Note that these ladies are taking the path of least resistance with bookkeeping, and neither of them are volunteering to do the real work at the Fuse.

2) It appears that Bernice is not as totally consumed with Nil as she was with Jack, as she’s not dreaming/thinking about Nil 24/7. Could be that Nil is just a Summer fling. Lucky him, if that’s the case.

3) After brushing her off since she moved in, Bernice is actually talking to Luann. Sure, most of it condescending snark. But Still…….., ;-)

The trouble is, Luann’s mom may have her own system. After Bernice gets through organizing it all, mom may not be able to find anything.

Did Luann just say something smart and sensible?

Bernice the know it all strikes again. I know how I would feel if someone just took it upon themselves to go through the books for my business, but in this comic strip it will probably make her a hero.

Why isn’t she using a laptop? NOBODY does paperwork anymore (or uses the word “oldsters,” — WTF did THAT come from?)

Bern will snoop and find out something she has no right knowing. Count on it.

More like “speaking GEEK”.

Bernice ain’t wrong. Get your shite together, folks. In binders. I use a unicorn Trapper Keeper.

BRING BACK DELTA TO CLEAN THIS RIDICULOUSNESS UP

Don’t do it, Bernice! Consult Nancy first…

You can say it in any language and the idiot still wouldn’t get it

At least she won’t find the letters of transit hidden inside the piano.

If Luann ever remembered her history lessons, she would recall Virgil’s dire warning “Be wary of Greeks bearing gifts!

Will she really rearrange all the piles of papers, where Nancy knew exactly what was what? My girlfriend did that to me a few years back, and a lot of bills when unpaid because I could not find them. What a terrible invasive thing to do to a person!

I might be misinterpreting today’s strip. It sounds like, in the last panel, Bernice says she’s speaking Greek because Luann can’t understand what Bernice meant in panel 2. Since that would be insulting, it would certainly fit Bernice’s character as a miserable excuse for a friend.

On the other hand, maybe I’m being uncharitable. Maybe Bernice is the one who thinks she’s not communicating her point well in panel 2, making this a self-burn(ice). That would be a nice change.

Either way, is anyone else hoping for Luann and Bernice to have a binder fight?

It’s okay Bern we all do it sometimes. I hope this becomes a happy surprise for Nancy and Bern does a great job of organizing the records. Book keeping may be Bernice true calling.

Butt out, Bernice. Nancy’s business is none of your business.

It certainly went over my head.

Ever hear of organized chaos?

I always trust in Greg to deliver, but I sure hope the last two weeks invested in this story pan out.

A few?

If ANYone came in to “organize” my bookkeeping (or any other perceived chaos) without consulting me first, I would have their heads. Bernice, butt OUT!

Luann’s eye roll says it all!

Bernice is so smart, she’s stupid. And Luann…SPEAK UP! You’re right about your Mom having a system. Catastrophe can be avoided by taking 2 seconds to do the right and courteous thing which is to ASK Nancy if you can help. Somehow I don’t see that happening with Bernice leading the charge. No common sense at all.

Nancy’s about had it with younger people telling her what to do.

Bernice is speaking “Geek” not “Greek.”

This will not end well I fear.

You don’t ever mess with another person’s system!It may look to ‘you’ as chaos but the person using it knew what was what and where it was.

I can’t imagine Nancy getting angry at Bernice. But she may this time and kick her out for interfering in her work.

DON’T TOUCH SOMEONE ELSE’S MESS! Luann is right; her mom may well have a system here. This isn’t organizing, this is interfering with work in progress.

I hate to say it because I’ll get an argument but – Bernice is right. I used to have chaos in my home office and it was stressful. Then I redecorated and had to empty the room. I organized everything as I moved back into the room. Now I have files, binders, and bins of chaos but all separate. Much less stressful. (I do the bookkeeping and Financials for two small non-profits plus my own finances in that space.)

Kids today don’t know the meaning of certain words. They don’t know that a couple is two, that a dozen is twelve, and in Bernice’s case, that an armful of binders is more like “several” than “a few.”

“System Failure”

“Binders, Keepers”

“Mess Congeniality”

“Confine And Dandy”

“Up The Greek”

I don’t think this will end well, unless Bernice is good at bookkeeping.

“A few spare binders”????That’s a STAPLES store!!

When it’s all over,Nancy’s books will be re-arranged so only Bernice can understand them.

oh, this is going to be predictably bad news for Bern and her “system”

We all know where this if going to lead.

Pretty sure mature people know to ask someone if they want your help organizing all their stuff rather than assuming you know what’s best for them.

Nancy is already feeling old and unsettled. She may blow up if Bernice messes with whatever system she’s using.

Don’t EVER touch another person’s workspace without expressed permission. Not funny…..

Leave the binders with a note for Nancy: “Bernice would like to help you organize the bookkeeping IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.”

I hope Bern just offers the binders to Nancy. Please do not take it upon yourself to “organize” someone else’s paperwork.

Unless Luann is going to turn into some booking savant and discovering what she is going to do out of college … leave the record keeping alone.

Bernice is a bona-fide, card carrying obsessive compulsive busy body with an overactive ego and sense of superiority. Those traits all together equal a really messed up individual in my book, but let’s see if she downloads an accounting program into her laptop and enters all the records. Then, not needing the paperwork anymore, she could just burn all that old stuff. Nancy wouldn’t mind.

Bernice to Nancy:

Just keep the binders in the proper spectrum oder.

I knew a little Greek once, but she moved away.

Oh, Bern…your heart is in the right place, but your brain is on vacation. Nancy has a system, of sorts, and you are just about to blow it all to h-e-double-toothpicks. Methinks hilarity is NOT going to be the word we’ll be looking for.

Bernice must have a dossier on Luann, blackmailing her into friendship. At this point, its the only logical explanation as to why anyone would tolerate her.

At least yesterday’s plot line continues. I have a hard time thinking that Nancy would get mad. She might even think to hire Bernice; we’ll see.

I sense an impending disaster here. Mind your own business for a change, Bernice!

Bernice knows what to do. She’s a psychology major.

I have an additional observation to make.

As I have said in the past, I have been a public transportation advocate most of my life, even spending 11 years as an appointed governance official at Los Angeles Metro.

For many years, Metro had as its head of scheduling a guy whose desk was literally covered in stacks of paper. His credenza top was similarly covered. Yet if you asked him anything he could unerringly find the precise document with the answer in those stacks, with little digging and never looking in the wrong one, within a minute or less.

It was his system, and I remember the head transit guy at the City of Los Angeles (Metro runs regular service, LADOT runs the community shuttles and freeway express commuter buses) had a desk that appeared similarly cluttered. He, too, never had trouble finding a specific document when needed.

No one ever convinced either (they are both long retired) to abandon that mode of “filing” and Bernice would be well advised not to try it with Nancy’s system.

Don’t come closer to my desk with those monstrous binders, you daughter of Perfect Filing Demon!

This started out as a story about Nancy feeling old but has somehow devolved into another episode of Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory, Sad.

Bernice, it is not up to you. Leave it alone you nit!

I think Bernice’s need to look “good” to Frank and Nancy – which not so coincidentally might make Luann look “bad” by comparison – has overtaken her common sense.

Oooh. Do not mess with my mess! Piling cabinets are a thing! This will not end well.

Even worse than speaking Greek, Bernie. You’re spouting egocentric Bernie-isms, and no one cares….

Nancy will be livid! I know I would. Don’t impose your filing system on me! Don’t give me your used folders with colors I don’t like!

Sorry Greg, but this is dumb

Sidenote on paper, not binders:

Today I walked into Walmart and there at the front was a big stack of spiral notebooks for ten cents each. Manufactured in Mexico, they are probably being dumped in Arizona as there was currently no way to truck them to the east coast at a profit.

(Don’t let Bernice see this post.)

Greek accountants!!

“Upsilon, delta, gamma…”