Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for January 19, 2025

Nice poem. It reminds me of one of my all time favorites.. Block City.

What are you able to build with your blocks?Castles and palaces, temples and docks.Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,There I’ll establish a city for me:A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,A sort of a tower on top of it all,And steps coming down in an orderly wayTo where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored:Hark to the song of the sailors on board!And see, on the steps of my palace, the kingsComing and going with presents and things!

Now I have done with it, down let it go!All in a moment the town is laid low.Block upon block lying scattered and free,What is there left of my town by the sea?

Yet as I saw it, I see it again,The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men,And as long as I live and where’er I may be,I’ll always remember my town by the sea.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a genius.

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

I don’t remember how long ago it was I played with Legos either, but man they were amazing as a kid. When you have a vast imagine that knows no bounds like I do, the possibilities with Legos were endless. The sets I see them come out with now are so detailed and intricate though, they kind of put just the simply standard Legos we had when I was a kid to shame.

Just pick up your room Luann!

Nice poem, too! Good rhyme sçheme.

After ten years, there could still be random Legos on that floor.

Luann must have heard the news earlier this week: “A Canterbury mum attempted a world-first record … – running 100 metres while barefoot across tens of thousands of pieces of Lego. Gabrielle Wall managed to traverse her way across the jagged blocks in 24.75 seconds – setting an impressive time in the world record attempt, alongside a few cuts on the soles of her feet.”

It’s been a long time since Luann wrote a poem. She should collect her many, many poems, and try to market them as “Odes from my Teen Age Self.” It could make her a published writer, just like that.

Of course Greg had to spoil the mood by drawing an extra-messy bedroom. An unnecessary cheap-shot.

Anybody remember over a week ago when Luann cleaned her room when she found out Piro was coming over? Well apparently it didn’t take long to get it back to normal.

Sounds like Luann’s been walkin around in her room

If Bernice was “parental”, Luann’s room wouldn’t be such a pigsty! BTW, “eek” and “feet” don’t rhyme.

Way too much text.

‘To Memories’? Bernice’ll outdo Luann by writin one called ‘Three Memories’

Nice poem that makes for happy smiles, not like the sad saga of Pero’s mom who contributes to the depression of kids.

Next week: Tiffany gets invited to the Folies Bergere in Paris. She will be visiting the theater’s backstage dressing rooms and dance rehearsals. Don’t I wish.

Hey girls have you forgotten about your “guests” in the house?

Poem lulled Puddles to sleep.

That’s deep, Luann.

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

“Luann’s room is STILL a Blight.”

“Lu doesn’t care, because life’s unfair!”

“But there’s a bathroom on the right!” – CCR

She doesn’t play with Legos anymore because she can’t find them in that room.

Considering what’s on her floor, Legos are the least of worries for Luann’s afflicted feet.

Nice poem

It must be the “Year of the Rat”.

My son is 44, and just completed the Millennium Falcon, the really big one.

Mean while , back in LuAnn’s messy room ….

It’s always nice to read one of Luann’s poem. She’s always had a talent for writing them and we’ll probably read them more often, now that she’s taking a poetry class. Maybe poetry will be the class Luann takes that we’ll see in the strip. Luann’s messy room is wonderful.

She lives in a dump.

I miss the little green plastic frogs my kids played with at bath time. Such a sweet time. They grow way to fast.

Wasn’t 10 years ago the whole point

What a remarkably inspired poem! Obviously written by a person who has never picked anything up off the floor. Greg needs to drop his template for Luann’s messy room, that schtick has gotten old old old.

A great example of why so many prefer to socialize in restaurants rather than in their own homes. The dirty little secret of our times is that many folks’ living rooms as about as organized as Luann’s bedroom is.

My thanks to all the posters here who reminded me of numerous constructive childhood toys that were not the Legos which I never had, including: Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, an Erector set, Including a motor, wheels, belts and pulleys, etc., a Kenner Girder and Panel set – which I recall to be of an appropriate scale to house Matchbox models, a Chemistry set – which in my day included real chemicals which required care in handling, a miniature microscope, and a vacuum mold which heated plastic sheets to form numerous objects. I recall forming boat hulls and decks which snapped together. I even recall borrowing my sister’s Easy Bake Oven, because it was likely the only way I could help myself to some cake. It probably corresponded with the cooking skills I learned in Scouting such as baking Bisquick rolls over a campfire and pancakes on a fire-heated iron griddle.

I wonder if these are still available? Of course, at some stage one may be expected to graduate from these childhood versions of the real thing, learning to use their corresponding adult tools and machinery. Of course, an Erector set can make an interesting platform to develop robotic models even for an adult. Robotic and computer circuitry modeling weren’t options when I was enjoying these toys, nor were any childhood precursors for software and website development. Stimulating a child’s imagination to open doors toward later development may still need to include the basics I experienced, but perhaps more can be made available in addition.

Note to Luann: re versification: don’t quit your day job. Which you only seem to have sometimes.

Bernice wouldn’t have had to asked that question if she was paying attention. Luann said the poem is called Memories.

Kudos to the poet. Never had legos myself but have had a life with similar artifacts. It also included poetic components to it. However, I neither have the time nor the desire to memorialize them in poetry but I do appreciate the efforts by those poets who do……

I really want to be able to read the caption under the picture of the – lion? – over Luanne’s bed.

I’m “never stepped on a Lego old”. They weren’t around when my daughter was little.

Well, that’s 45 seconds of my life I’ll never get back.

My 18 yo grandson asked for Legos for his birthday. That makes me happy. It made him happy too.

Now Luann – clean up your room. Your life is a whirling tornado of hodgepodge. Start with what surrounds you and soon you will see your life clear up and your life will calm. It is unbecoming for a college student. Geeze you are 20? or so… not 3.

Oh EXLAX, why must you shout everything?

There used to be mostly music/celebrity posters on her wall. Now it looks to be mostly nature and environmental. Just an observation.

Their conversation has driven the dog to fall asleep………boring!

I don’t see an age limit on Legos, other than for ages 3+ (3 and up). Just tell people you’re the + (up).

You always have something snarky to say don’t you Bernice?

Yep Stevenson was great alright.

Luann get philosophical. Bernice goes reality.

Huh, that’s actually a pretty poem, kind of an optimistic view at life. I like it!

And btw I got a little adult lego tree (well, different brand) for Christmas – it’s over a thousand tiny – REALLY tiny – pieces and has an entire book of instructions. Excites me and scares me at the same time. And I’m more than twice Luann’s age.

In singular, or plural,

Something we forgot

An ‘S’ in Lego is not.

“They copied all they could copy,

But they couldn’t copy my mind;

And I left them sweatin’ and stealin’,

A year and a half behind."

Kipling’s “The Mary Gloster”

Ode to procrastinating?

Every December I set up my lego city and trains. Takes up almost the entire living room and dining room. Grandkids love it.

Of course it’s getting philosophical – isn’t that a spilled bong behind the backpack?

This is a poem about the parents, not the kids.

Last week (says the 66 year old)…

The kitchen sink is under the bed

Let’s see, it’s been about two weeks since I played with my LEGO sets I bought myself for Christmas. And I am 68. I also have several more I can work once I clean up my room enough to create a bigger space for building.