For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 30, 2023

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few youShould hold on

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were youngThe Sunscreen Song

Beautiful thought, beautiful strip. Thank you.

“Know each other”? Do you mean in the Biblical sense, Gordo?? :-D

The lyrics make less sense than Michael’s version. : “Should auld acquaintance be forgotAnd never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgotAnd days of auld lang syne?“

Wait a sec! Don’t those lyrics imply that old friendships SHOULD end??

Medieval English is all Greek to me!!

They better keep their heads down with all those micro-tornadoes spinning in the place..

Guy Lombardo got the job done every New Years Eve back then.

Buying a cheap car will keep you in touch with Gordon.

We moved to a different city when I was 2. Then again when I was 7, then 10, then 12, 14, and 16 until we finally settled into a place for the next 25 years. I never had any old friends from elementary school because of this. I always had to start over making new friends, over and over.

I had a friend when I was 6 named Julie. We were really close. In 2nd grade my family moved across town. I was able to have Julie over once, but it was hard to keep in touch. I never forgot her. When I got to high school I hoped to be able to run into her (our city only had 1 high school) but never did. Fast forward to last year. I was on Facebook when a series of connections had me find a familiar name. I clicked on the profile & I recognized Julie right off! I sent her a PM & we ended up talking for 3 hours. It had literally been 50 years – exactly – since we had last seen each other.

This is why I’m so happy for my mother-in-law that she and one of her dear high school friends have been able to keep in touch – by pure coincidence, they both moved to the area, MANY states over from the small town where they grew up.

“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem, thought to be composed by Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns in 1788. It is sung to the traditional folk tune Roud 6294. “Auld Lang Syne” literally translates to “Old Long Since,” and more roughly it means “long, long ago” or “days gone by.”

Standard American/English translation:

Verse 1: Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne ?

CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

Verse 2: And surely you’ll buy your pint cup ! and surely I’ll buy mine !And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Verse 3: We two have run about the slopes, and picked the daisies fine ;But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Verse 3: We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine† ;But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Verse 4: And there’s a hand my trusty friend ! And give us a hand o’ thine !And we’ll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

The Great Guy Lombardo said it beautifully on a “Laugh-in” episode. With his party hat on he quipped “When I go, I’m taking New Year’s Eve with me!” And he did. New Year’s Eve isn’t the same without him or his band.

Final panel: So that’s what Gordon looks like without his trucker hat!

Maybe, we should prize friendship just little more, rather than taking it for granted.

The best version I’ve ever heard was by John McDermott. The same CD also had “Christmas in the Trenches” (about the impromptu Christmas truce of 1914) and a very good non-nuclear version of “We’ll Meet Again.”

Friendships can last forever, even if you don’t lose touch. So nurture what you have for as long as you can…..

Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot and brought to mind no more? O well, celebrate and see the old year out, I’ve got a brand new bathroom door!!

I wonder if Mike will remember this when he meets Deanna again.

Gordon always gave me an impression of a middle-age man, not a teenager.

Nice to see the emotions that a couple beers can elicit…

It’s melancholy, but the fact is, friendships do eventually run their course. Once that happens, your choices are to go forward cherishing the memories, or to try harder and harder to cling to ever diminishing shadows of what you’d once shared. The latter breeds bitter resentment.

Yeah,..ole gord needs Mikes father’s money.

Mike needs a shave and haircut. Seriously.

Rhetta, after being ignored for the whole party, listened to see if Michael actually has a heart. Michael has clearly forgotten what happened when he ignored Martha during a party.