The Dinette Set by Julie Larson for February 07, 2012

Buenos días a todos

Espero que todo va bien esta manana.

Well, the boss is as big an idiot as Burl.

But if you’re missing for two hours, Burl…

Marlene has that shirt logo correct.

Maybe next Burl will get a bag phone. (remember those?)

Leaky, I’m too lazy to go and translate that.

Happy Tuesday(?) everyone.

Mornin’. Is Joy sure it’s only a beeper? Maybe corporate actually put an ankle monitor on him.

Burl, we decided that a pager wasn’t the right thing for you. Here, this is for you. It’s a new cell phone. It has all the newest features. (Including GPS) And since we are so concerned about your safety, your new company car will have OnStar. (So we can know where it is at all times and also listen in on conversations. Since it is our car, not yours.)

Good morning to all and to all a good night!

Mornin’, Crustwoodians!

Sheesh if Burl were missing for two hours would anyone notice?

If he blew town for two days things might even run more smoothly —

The kid from yesterday could take care of interoffice stuff,lease units and collect rents with fewer mistakes than Burl.

Meanwhile, the coffee and office supplies would last 3x longer……

and if they opened an abandoned unit to auction the contents, it would have 80% less chance of being empty.

Maybe they just gave him a toy pager to make him feel important.It doesn’t surprise me that Burl could be a storage facility manager, actually.I’ve known a few, and it’s pretty much a bottom-of-the-barrel job.One was an allegedly “recovering” drunk, another had the brains of a tuna, and at least two were crazy as loons.But it does surprise me that the Pennys can maintain a suburban home from it, especially with Joy not working, cos it usually pays barely more than minimum wage.Cartoon physics again.

Meanwhile, I’m home again!

No, no, it’s all right….I don’t need a parade… that’s sweet of the Crustwood High marching band, though.

Buenos noches Leaky…

Marg I think it was Friday you skipped. Maybe just eager for the weekend.But do take your ginko biloba. (If you can remember.) :)

Hope Gymshoe checks in and sees the GB w OF!!

Imagine all the food they can eat in 2 hours. No wonder their not slim.

I may be out of the loop………….but aren’t “beepers” a thing of the past?? I can’t think of one person I know who has one.

I wish I had a job like Burls

Beepers are still used in hospitals because the cell phone reception is weak or nonexistant. Also signals can interfere with electronic equipment. To appreciate something you should observe it from all angles.

Good morning and Buenos dias all! Va perfectamente, Leaky. Exepto el tamano de las escrituras; no puedo leer las notas al lado del telefono. If Burl’s boss is really keeping tabs on him, I guess that “beeper” is a GPS tracking device, but as he does nothing but waste time all day, even the 2 hour lunch doesn’t matter.

I’m surprised Burl even has a job!

I think Burl is Manager/ Franchise owner and that is why he gets away with things. Things would really have to get bad for them to take the franchise away from him. Otherwise he would be gone.

I agree, I don’t know how a beeper tells him where Burl is. He can just call and lie about where he is. He can even ignore it without shutting it off.

Now if he was given a cell with a GPS, not only could it tell him where Burl is, it could even do that with the cell turned off. The only way to defeat it is to take the battery out. And his boss could say, keep it on during work hours or you’re fired.

Morning Crustwoodians!

Noteboard appears that Joy has decided to dedicate her days to keeping tabs on “celebrities”; she even hopes to find their birthdays on the Mayan calendar. If the Mayan’s were anything like the rest of civilization, the celebrities of their day would be the philosophers.

A beeper?

Leaky: ¡Muy buenos días!

Corporate should just pin an RF ID tag to Burl’s ear.

Yukoneric Gracias

Aloha Crustwoodians…….Apparently….. I acccidently switched my iternet conection to “OFF”. So I could not go online yesteray…. !.OMG….. Joy is into her Green Blouse with Orange Flowers today…… ! ! .

Hey…. Burl just went to work yesterday…… That’s it for February……. ! ! !

OMGThanks for the head up Rasp

I’m outta here~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Leaky, no problem with neighbors and this is not my swimming season (even workouts are in long johns- not swimsuits as in summer). I avoid the view of neighbors when I swim and no thongs (I find total nudity very comfortable).

Mona —

My relatives, though not mean or selfish, almost all had touches of Pennyism…and they were all pretty solidly middle class, and proud of it.

One uncle was quite rich, and in some matters generous… he’d take all the relatives out to a wonderful dinner, but wouldn’t lend anybody a dollar….

And he drove across town to save 2 cents a gallon on gas.

The fact that Burl and Joy own a nice house when a real life storage manager would live in a tiny rented apartment or even a company-owned trailer at the facility is, as I said, a matter of cartoon physics.

Pearls before Swine’s Pig has no job, and Rat gets minimum wage for a day or two every few months…. but they live in a large house and have a big screen TV.

The fact that the Pennys are human (more or less) and Pig an animal doesn’t mean we should expect much more realism in Crustwood.

The premise of the Dinette Set is to poke fun at the selfish underside of suburban life, of which Burl and Joy are the chosen examples, and make us aware of any little bits we’ve absorbed.

The strip wouldn’t be as funny or on target if we didn’t sense the Pennys’ pride, however misplaced, in being middle class Americans.

Burl’s exact job, how the they can afford to go to fancy candy shops or stay in motels…. all that is just part of the comic machinery…..

“Pay no attention to that cartoonist behind the curtain.”

Susan (re your last comment) very true! And most of us have references similar to the Penny’s in our family or friends. This is why we love to visit here. Goodnight all!

Meanwhile, I actually came back in here to answer Soakaholic, whom I was happy to see, earlier….but I had to take off before I could answer…And now he’s run away again.

So anyway, Soak, yes, it was nice of the band….

but I took a rain check, cos I thought such a display was a little unwarranted, considering that no one else was there to meet me, and was just going to walk home alone anyway.

Besides, I guess I’m in trouble cos I crashed the Crustwood VFW picnic in the park.

Silly me, to think they’d be happy to see me.