Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for January 02, 2014

Oh, oh…doesn’t look good.

I think the day Walt dies is the day that this strip will be ended.

Father Time must be related to the Grim Reaper.

@DaJellyBelly: I think you’re right: What is this strip without Uncle Walt?

Everyone thought it couldn’t go on without Pert… There is still someone buying the strip so it will continue until there is No market for it.

Well … the strip’s supposedly in real time these days, and Walt’d already be the oldest man in the world by about three years, as well as the second oldest person in the world. Heck, Skeezix turns 93 next month.

The moment we’ve all been dreading has finally arrived.

I think that Walt will have to die eventually. Now may or may not be the time, but I don’t think it would mean the end of the strip. The strip has a very large cast and it’s not called “Walt” or anything like that — it’s called “Gasoline Alley.”

It’s been a long time since Walt was the main focus of the strip. If anything, the main focus should be the garage. Well, maybe not quite, but cars and the small town and family are really what the strip is about. Real-time aging is the strip’s defining feature, so it follows that Walt’s death is getting closer and closer. It could be now.

Oh…please ….Kill off Slim instead….

Maybe another trip to comics land.

No, it can’t happen. Regardless of his age, this is STILL a comic strip, not real life. Don’t do it, Jim.

Oh come on, it’s January! Time to go to the Old Comics Home!

Uh, oh!

Although, except for the Slim/Santa story, the weekday story has never been a dream, this story looks like it might be.

It’s been almost ten years since Phillis died, after all. Walt /cannot/ have been born after 1900. That means he’s at least 113 years old, now.

This MAY be the end for Walt (I hope not), but remember his departure was only inferred…“Ready to go, big guy?” What if Walt decides he’s not ready?

I had an assessment nurse tell me on 11/1/12 that my own Mom had one or two weeks left to live. Mom just turned 87 last week. Never count out the will to survive. You can’t cancel death, but it’s possible to postpone it for a while.

I think Walt will be 113 this spring if he lives that long. As for Slim, I know that a lot of people on this board are sick and tired of him, but there are plenty of other characters, too.

Yes, but he’s so center stage so much of the time.

This may be a foreshadowing of what’s going to happen.

The Greek god Kronos and the Greek word “chronos” are unrelated.

(By the way, the Roman god Saturn isn’t related to either. The Romans accepted in a vague sort of way the Kronos and Saturn must be the same god, because they were the same planet, but they’re not at all alike.)