Gil Thorp by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill for August 25, 2021

Going to where she can hang by the cabana and flirt with the pool boys seven days a week, eh?

Translation: Marjie is dumping Mr. Ducey and will be spending her golden years asking the coach what the starting lineup will be at Nassau high school. She will quickly learn that no one cares there, either.

P4 Are you moving to Denver too, Marjie?

Marjie leaving? Another character “disappeared” by the Gilfather?

A Milford “Star” is Born. I sure didn’t see this one coming. But at least we have another clue where Milford is located — In what or which state(s) has global warming not arrived? Finally, P3 reminds me of Groucho Marx’s comment, “Marriage is an institution. But who wants to live in an institution?”

Dang … PLOT TWIST

Just maybe she can bump Marty Moon out of his gig

What? No, this is ruining my prediction! Unless Marjie is going to write remotely and just have Heather send her rough drafts of articles.

Ok, today the editor has facial hair running down his jawline, which he didn’t have in the last two strips.

P 3: “…but…you belong in an institution…”

P 1.5: “….all that you need to do is write down the names of the starters at the high school three times a year…”

P 1: “…this coffee is amaaaaazing…”

P1: “And if you blow while you hold your coffee cup up to your lips…”

There’s nothing like a steaming cup of ma-LARK-ey to get the day started at The Milford Star. Disappointed, Margie takes her Dutch Boy do and heads South as Gil’s seasonal flirtations no longer captivate her.

P1, They have sports in Milford?

P2, Now Marjie is finally just blatantly asking for it. Bought time.

P3, Look Heather, I’ve got a chance to finally get out of this strip! Don’t F this up for me!

If she’s just about to quit, what’s she doing offering hiring advice to her soon-to-be-former boss?

I’m glad the Star is getting a new sports reporter. When the Star arrives, I always open the Sports section first to get the Milford High scores and news since I don’t get much of it here.

P2 dialogue today is “Gee Ward, weren’t you rough on the Beaver?” class double entendre

P-2: wins the award for the most unflattering picture of two characters at the same time. Well done, boys!

One CAN come home again.

Marj was so impressed by Heather’s google skills she realized she can’t tap keys like this younger generation.

I don’t think R&W can draw older people. She looks too young to retire

Plus I’m tired of getting up before the sun rises for these stupid ass meetings and horrible weak coffee…

If she’s an institution, what does that make Marty?

P2 & P3- Good to see Cartman didn’t bogart the bobble head and EES emotions we love to point out. Marjie can’t wait to get to The Villages were she will be one of the younger chicks.

Pretending for a second that this strip resembles actual life in any way, it’s time for Heather to say goodbye to coaching. There’s no way Heather can report on games for a team she’s coaching. If Gil makes a dumb call, is assistant coach Burns going to call him out in tomorrow’s Star?

P2.5: “I don’t know, Chief. I really don’t want to give up my lucrative, non-paying internship as 3rd assistant to the Assistant Head Football Coach. But what the hey, for amazing coffee I’ll take a shot at it!”

Never follow an institution. No one will like you. It will always be “What happened to Marjie?” I liked her.

This should get Heather in to the locker room for some interesting story lines. Loofah Expose’ ???

Well this was too dumb to predict, which means I should have predicted it. Will Marjie really leave Milford? At first I thought, no way, but maybe so. Then we get Heather forever.

So this is totally logical, right? Heather does not get a job offer for whatever reporter (we assume) position she applied for. Mainly because she has no experience. But they are impressed with her Googling skills, so they decide to offer her the HEAD SPORTS WRITER POSITION. Without her doing even one article about anything yet.

And speaking of not doing things, you’ll regret it if the one thing you don’t do is read today’s Mopped Up Thorp.

https://moppedupthorp.wordpress.com/

I’m headed to Texas, where they practically worship football, and it’s almost endless summer. (True, it gets like a furnace in the summer… but you can’t shovel heat.)

“Damn, is there any way I could get the library beat?”

Just curious, why the secret meeting in the Chief’s HQ? And if it was so secret, why didn’t the Chief use the Cone of Silence? Why couldn’t they ask her if she was interested during the day? Interrupting Marjie’s big sports story on the Pigskin Preview?

P 4: “…and lame-o sports stories with a so-called high school twist to them…”

Where does this take place? Back a long time ago I read Gil in the Chicago Tribune. Milford “played” against high schools with names of those around the Chicago area including mine “Forest View” in Des Plaines. So I just assumed Chicago :). I will go with that!

So, Heather will have to serve two masters, eh? “I can’t write about the scandal brewing at Milford High School, ’cuz I work there, too! Oh, heavens to Murgatroyd…!”