Agnes by Tony Cochran for October 26, 2011

If life were fair, Agnes, trophies would be awarded…..

But….. then you wouldn’t have anything to complain about, so you wouldn’t win one.

I know, I know — that isn’t fair.

@Hunter from yesterday— glad if it helped, and sorry if it was too elementary.

I sometimes tutor computer basics.

If I’ve never met someone, it’s hard to know what one little piece of the puzzle might be missing, so I can leave out the rest.

Especially if I’m not there in person to see whether I’m getting smiles or impatient nods.

LOL

Agnes MAY be recognizing her strengths…she could become a leader of the oppressed and downtrodden…or a cartoonist who expresses some deep insights…into our culture.

@Susan Newman – She has a dog

THAN THAN THAN THAN…

Sorry, it’s a pet peeve & I’m really sad that it showed up in one of my favorite comics.

the word is “than”

do they not teach the difference between then and than, there, their and they’re in school anymore?

“I used to think it was a terrible thing that life was so unfair. Then I thought, ‘what if life were fair, and all of the terrible things that happen to us came because we really deserved them?’ Now I take great comfort in the general unfairness and hostility of the universe.” — Marcus Cole, Babylon 5

timrinaldo, the dog that occasionally appears in this strip does not belong to Agnes. It’s also the poorest excuse for a dog in the history of comics.

You’d think that if ANYBODY would have complaints about life’s injustices, it would be that dog, but he/she/it always seems pretty cheerful. Or maybe it’s just stupid. It’s so tough to tell the difference, sometimes.

One of my own philosophical precepts is always to strive to be as happy as a three-legged dog. Three-legged dogs are just as happy as the four-legged kind, and EVERYBODY, in some way, is missing a “leg” from what we would ideally like to be.

Plods — thanks, and sure — as long as you’re not getting paid for my work.

So much has been given me free on the internet that it’s only fair to pay some back.

Thanks so much for asking!Most people just take it anyway.

And yeah, I’ve been teaching computer skills, off and on, since I got MY first computer, a 386, in the early 90’s.

I already tutored remedial reading, and arithmetic for the math-phobic, so I’m used to the concept of baby steps with detail.

Right now the jobs have dried up, especially for (ahem…) mature people like me with no degrees, so I just do some volunteer tutoring…..

but I’m still looking for a way to make a buck with the writing skill …. just in case you ever have any ideas or tips. :)

Wow, comic strip networking…. who woulda thunk?

If artists were professors , thEn

They’d know their English better thAn

The readers who take virtual pEn

In hand to scold them if they cAn.

But I’m no saint, and truly, they’re

Entitled to a gaffe or two.

Think of all the art they share,

Do they have to use perfect grammar too?

I can’t draw Agnes; I can’t draw Trout,

But I can spell — so which worse?

If an error does slip out,

Forgive them like you do this verse.

……(I…um.. hope.)

So many wonderful posts and a comic to boot! SusanSunshine – so right on the nose about Agnes. We will give her a virtual trophy. Then (right word!) it won’t be taken away..For a few years, I taught adults how to complete income tax returns. The year teaching went high tech – computers, I still taught, but stayed just with how to manoeuvre through the tax program..My computer hint is – don’t touch any keys until you read the instructions. Or the screen. .Comic networking……. The Federal govt likes the more ‘mature’ new hire. They bring more and different life skills to the job and most are really happy to be there. And retirement, depending on age, might be in 10-20 years instead of 35 years. Less cost to the employer.

Hunter — thanks!

Not that I’ve given up, but I have a feeling I’m a bit too mature to be hired by the government…

Too close to retirement age. Sigh….

But yes, a shiny brass-plated (hey, times are tough) trophy for Agnes: “World Champion Complainer.”

Smile, Agnes, dear.