Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 07, 2022

MMMM.. KFC!

Bernice is on pencil 61…

Um… you’re never too old to start a business?

Mrs. Fogarty gives better advice than Bernice did. Will Luann take a new look on life come Saturday or will Bernice need to be given a second box of pencils to sharp?

C’mon, Luann! It is never too late!

“What does that tell her (Us),” Mrs Fogarty?

Maybe that a bunch of old geezers are smarter than a much of young smart-alecks?

[DUCKS] ;-)

Success is not measured by massive amounts of money Mrs. Fogerty. Success if finding a life you find fulfilling. When you get there is the journey.

That lets some of the immediate pressure off, I guess …? ✨

A friend of mine who was a talk show host here in Sacramento once said that some of the people he found to be most interesting were those that were in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, and still did not know what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Haha. Nice answer by Luann. Mrs. Fogarty does make a valid point though. That you’re never too old to find one’s path in life. Hopefully, after Lu scarfs down a Big Mac and fries, she will take those words to heart and start feeling a little better about herself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stith_Pemberton

John Stith Pemberton was an American pharmacist, and Confederate States Army veteran who is best known as the inventor of Coca-Cola. In May 1886, he developed an early version of a beverage that would later become Coca-Cola, but sold his rights to the drink shortly before his death.

He suffered from a sabre wound sustained in April 1865, during the Battle of Columbus; his ensuing morphine addiction led him to experiment with various painkillers and toxins. In the end, this led to the recipe that later was adapted to make Coca-Cola.

So, what Luann needs to do is get in a sword fight and get wounded, get addicted to pain medication, and then use that addiction to create something that will make someone a lot of money after she dies two years later. This is not really inspiring me.

Maybe try some non-food examples

Carl Barks was 42 when he started writing Donald Duck adventures.

That’s it, Luann, a mind like a whip. Gird your loins, Margo, the challenge has been made and the battle is about to begin. (Or, in the case of Luann’s mind, it’s more like a Search and Rescue mission).

Harland Sanders had been selling fried chicken since the Great Depression. What happened when he was 62 was that he franchised his secret recipe “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the first time.

Come on Fogarty! Quit beating around the bush. She’s going to come out of here just as confused as when she came in.

Mrs. Fogarty is saying that they are started business 30 and 40 years after graduating college her point is simple Lu you do not need to start a business at 22 years old after graduating College.

Mrs Fogarty. You listed three food-related business/company founders. Our Luann does not want to found something. She wants to know what career path she needs to explore. Aren’t you supposed to give her an aptitude quiz I took mine 30 years ago and it told me my highest aptitude – teaching. I ignored it and went into political science and worked in that field for a few years before I realized it was not for me and went back to college to get my teacher degree. Been teaching for almost 25 years now. Aptitude quiz is a helpful tool and there are many other tools to offer to Luann. However, I have the feeling she will stick with working with young children.

Luann, out to lunch, figuratively.

Good thing Luann didn’t decide to wait until middle age before starting on a career.

Luann wants a little guidance for the near term. Mrs Fogarty is not helping yet.

Luann is not quite old enough to choose her dream job, as she’s only in her late 30s.

Back to Luann…. I think Mrs Fogerty is onto something here, trying to let Luann know that she doesn’t have to have her whole life figured out right now! The references of the older guys starting successful ventures is a reminder that careers can start later.

Luann is not a Capitalist, Luann is a consumer. The perfect job for Luann is being a Professional Shopper or a Professional Toy Tester!

Mrs. Fogarty is giving a needed pep talk but if you look closer at each of the men mentioned you will see that each of these men were on the lookout for a better deal. Kroc was a salesman who found a better thing to sell — fast food that was fast. Pemberton was a pharmacist looking for a better tonic to sell in his drug store. (and it’s doubtful that the cocaine in the early formula was the key ingredient to its success. Caffeine and a mixture of flavors that created a refreshed sensation were the key ingredients. Sales were not affected when they removed the cocaine from the formula. And Sanders was trying to expand is gasoline business with meals on the side. Luann is not a driven personality so she should not expect to find commercial success late in life.

The question ahead is whether Mrs. Fogarty will help Luann explore her desire to become a teacher and more importantly will Mrs, Fogarty deal with Bernice’s delusion that she can become a psychologist.

All that tells me is that you shouldn’t let people over 50 start businesses.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, aka Grandma Moses, began folk art painting at the age of 78.

LOL on Mrs Fogarty choosing fast food as a way to make an analogy to reach Luann. This is not a knock against Luann. There simply has to be better analogies than fast food! Way back in the ’80s I was in a Introduction to Psychology class at FSU. The professor showed the lecture hall (large class, probably 75 to 100 students) one of those anti-drug PSAs which were popular back then. Apparently the people behind its production (law enforcement, anti-drug advocacy groups etc..) were presenting the video at FSU to gauge its response from a target audience of the 18-25 demographic in courses like psychology and sociology.

The video was one of the “This is your brain (you see an egg), this is your brain on drugs (you see an egg frying in the skillet), any questions?” PSAs. Well in my class I heard the guy behind me (wearing Wayfarers and using a lot of Visene) loudly say “Dude, can I get a side of bacon with that?” A girl to my right said, “Hey want to go to BK after class?”. I suspect these were pretty much representative of the consensus responses that were heard. We were asked to fill out a questionnaire expressing our thoughts about the ad and the Prof and someone with the Tallahassee government had a Q&A about how we students felt a message could be effectively sent.

At the time I said that the PSA did illustrate that one could fry your brain but to anyone who had the “munchies” would probably just get an urge to go to the Shoney’s Breakfast Bar out on I-10. Food was not the greatest way to make the analogy, especially to students who may be very hungry for one reason or the other. (I thought a more graphic approach such as showing a dead junkie on skid row with a needle in their arm might give one more of a reason to think). Nonetheless, a couple of PSAs very similar to the one we had seen did get on TV a lot back in the day. Anyhow Mrs F, you can’t fault Luann for missing your point, she probably skipped breakfast and now she is thinking of KFC.

Today’s strip looks very nostalgic. But there is something different about Margo than when Luann was a high school student. She seem wiser and way happier ♡. I’m sure Luann will understand her advice, this could really become a turning point in her life.

OK, but… For every one Ray Kroc, John Pemberton, and Harland Sanders who were successful down through the years, there were tens of millions who tried but completely failed…

Luann is zeroing on one decision, at least.

Ray Kroc stole McDonald’s from the McDonald brothers at 52.

“So… let me know when you actually, you know, want HELP, Luann.”

Reading these comments, now I have an old Randy Stonehill song in my head, “American Fast Food”

Will Luann end up as another Dustin?? Or another Andy Capp??

It tells me that I want to make my fortune before I’m middle aged or 30.

Poor Lu. Mrs. Fogarty’s analogies went right over her head. Perhaps she should pursue an MRS degree and have lots of kids.

great idea, lets go! :D

So Luann’s destiny is to spend the rest of her life behind the counter at Weenie World. Who’d have guessed?

Reading over the comments, I get the impression that a lot of readers are thinking that Mrs. Fogarty is feeding Luann a lot of rhetorical nonsense. Personally, I think it’s just a starting point, to get Luann’s attention. This may work out well. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

And Sanders ran a very successful restaurant before franchising. After selling the chain and becoming disgusted with the “improvements”, he opened a new restaurant featuring Original Recipe chicken. He had that option written into the sale.

Now less bring Knute and his girl friend back

Hey guys, new here and got a question…Is Luann en Espanol on a different timeline? I’m not sure what’s going on over there(don’t speak the language), but it seems to be a whole lot more interesting.

It is totally non-productive to discuss industry moguls with someone who is struggling and needs direction. Although interesting and maybe inspiring for others, I don’t see how Mrs. Forgery’s speech is going to be very helpful for Luann. She has no ambition or focus, so her little brain will just take it to mean she can stay home forever waiting for an idea to happen. I think her parents would like to see a little bit more “get up and go” out of their adult daughter. She did the same thing to Jack when he was trying to get her interested in exercising. Her brain went right to food, which she immediately left to go find. Tomorrows’ strip will show her at the mall munching on a burger and fries

I know how Luann Feels. When I was fresh out of high school i had no idea what I wanted to do. I turned wrenches. I fixed computers. I even worked pizza and refueled aircraft for a while. eventually my life pushed me toward IT, and I have been happy in this profession since. that happened when I was 26. almost 10 years after high school.

It tells her you can make a pile selling salt, sugar, and fat.

Yet once more Ms. Fogarty is using analogies and yet once more they’re passing by. Oh well. I do give Ms. Fogarty credit for telling Luann not to worry about hitting a home run right away. What she needs to do is tell Luann to follow her passion and learn and develop it, success will follow at some point.

I’m glad she used the term/place “Kentucky Fried Chicken” since that what it really is.

Typical teen, always thinking about food.

Is Luann making a stab at humor or just clueless?

What was funny for an adolescent is just embarrassing for a young adult.

what a dip.

Ask Luann what she enjoys about working with kids. What does she dislike about working with kids. What about the situation at kids first got her into trouble. Luann can do everything right and be in the wrong situation.

Well, given how often history taught in school has been false in service to white supremacy and pro-capitalist propaganda, I wouldn’t be surprised if none of those people actually started any of those businesses but rather ripped them off from other people. Oh, but Elan Musk is DEFINITELY a genius who invented the electric car with his own hands and big smart brain.

Take your time Luann. I was 21 when I found my perfect career. At 19, I didn’t even know it existed.

Here’s what that tells me, Ms. Phelps: Luann DeGroot is an airhead who heard your words but missed your intent altogether. She’s good with kids? Fine. Homemaker and mother, then—that may be the right path for her. Though judging by the look of her room, the “homemaker” part may not compute.

I still want to be a professional wrestler.

And how old was Karen Evans when she started co-writing the comic about herself

the kinda answer that makes counselors reconsider their career choice

But Luann does have an idea of what she wants to do. She wants to work with kids. That is a lot of information to share with Ms. Fogarty.

Luan’s mind isn’t co-operating!

Mrs. Phelps (always will be with me) is making, to more experienced people. an obvious point, in answer to Luann’s interrogative about her uncertainty “at my age” about her prospects: that many successful founders of companies, which just happen to be something Luann would be familiar with, were founded by people much older. I think that is a good point overall, but Luann needs to find a way to make choices, not just meander around. She is meandering in her Luannverse life in general, in romance, work, school (she is attending, but what should she focus on) and she needs to figure out direction. Luannverse will deliver in the end, I think. On the hilarious way.

Once again G&K have gone for the cheap joke at Luann’s expense. Pity.

The question should be, “What does Luann like to do?”

She likes poetry and working with children. So… perhaps she can write children’s books. Imagine parents reading them as bedtime stories.

Harrison Ford was a thirty-five year old carpenter when he was cast as Han Solo. People live a long time these days. It’s silly to think you have to have everything figured out by the time you’re 20, and then just plug along that path for the following 60 years.

There’s a different message for everyone in exactly the same sentence — including this one.

I really don’t like Ms. Fogerty. It is never to late to start a business, BUT it can be to late to have a biological child, start a compound interest savings account for retirement, and enjoy the (usual) health & energy that comes with youth. Ms. Fogerty isn’t asking Luann about her wants for ANY of those areas. She’s just giving Luann a blow off answer. Much like she didn’t help Tiff.

I remember McDonald’s sued some guy in Scotland for using the name for his restaurant. His name actually was McDonald

Incompetent Phelps strikes again!

Is Mrs Fogarty related to Luann’s dad Frank? They’ve both got the same head shape, the same hair color, the same glasses, the same weird sideways mouth….

Luann: “Ms Phelps – I’m really, REALLY stupid. It’s how I’m written. Ever since Karen started helping out her Dad in the story department, my comic has gone downhill. Heck, I’m not even featured much in my own strip anymore. Are you telling me I should get a job in fast food? I don’t know if I have the brain cells to even do that! Thanks Karen!”

when Bern returns with 100 sharpened pencils they can send her for take-out.

Another lesson Luann can glean from Ms. Fogartys examples is that a person can have more than one career. They can either be sequential, say a pharmacist until shes 60 followed by a restaurant start up or simultaneous, say a fun side gig while working a beloved construction job.

Fogarty asks Luann what she “wants” which I interpret to mean “what are your interests?” Luann interprets the question as “what do you want for a career path?”. But there’s a difference. You can have interests, which Luann does have, without knowing what you want for a job or a career. I say lets let Fogarty probe a little more before judgement is rendered. Hopefully this back and forth will continue into next week.

Tells me that people are dependent on Fast Food and soda.

Oy! Luann just digs herself in deeper. Shallow. Indecisive. Goalless….

[Homer Simpson voice] Mmmmmm, fried chicken… [drools]

Can Luann get anymore obtuse?

That counselor is great, Luann went to the right place for help, I wish I had a counselor like that in my school, it would have been a blessing!

That is excellent. I think since the rise of Silicon Valley and Social Media there has been a lot of emphasis on getting rich before your thirty when the truth is most rich people didn’t become so until middle age.