Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for March 10, 2014

She was at least once in the past.

Meg looks older than her mom!

Where did this come from? Mom and alligators? Did I miss this before?

I don’t even understand the first panel. Gene will be home before dark? What, are you afraid of vampires?

Meg is obviously a latchkey kid who’s home from school before Mom and Dad (Gene) get there. She has grown up quite a bit since we saw her last in the little pink tutu at Halloween. They do grow up fast…I blinked and my daugher grew up and gave me a granddaugher…talk about deja vu!

Also… more evidence of Mary Lou still being just a little bit too tightly wound.

We now know that “The Dock” is located in a state with alligators.

Is this like a TV soap opera where suddenly a character is played by a different actress who looks nothing like the previous one, and who is 5 years older?

Forget the alligators, you need to be afraid of the….land muskies…

Meg has always been drawn next to one of her parents. It is hard to perceive her height when she by herself. And this whole strip today is a little weird.

Perfect answer. Baby alligators are cute and fun to watch.

Though I would have gone with:

Sure mom, I’m going to work on my science fair project. Where do we keep the U235 or Pu240? Oh, yeah, pick up a dozen KLYSTRON switches on the way home. Thanks!

My guess is that Meg is meant to be about 9 or 10, maybe 11 in this strip. Fashion-wise, she’s going through an awkward stage, which is why she looks older. As for where Meg and her parents might live, does this narrow it down?http://www2.southeastern.edu/orgs/pbrp/lessons/definitions/american_alligator.html

ScullyUFO: Well, that excludes all but the east coast from Virginia to Texas.

belcherman, thanks….I give it two burps up!

Not all

Not all

Alligators are only dangerous when they are hungry, and since they’re cold-blooded critters, they’re not hungry that often. That’s one reason why they’re known for lazing around.

Bit of a problem if JJ is fast-forwarding the strip Funky Winkerbean-style.. the Gene/Mary Lou storyline is right in the middle of Gus selling the restaurant.

Well whoever said Meg looks older than her mom is right — yuck!

belcherman: Right. Entering the teenybopper stage, Meg wants to look older. MaryLou is at the stage where she doesn’t want to look older. It will all resolve in a decade or so with both of them accepting their real age.

How she aged!

Nothin’ like stealth puberty…