Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for April 25, 2013

Just the first of many problems… get used to it.

TJ a problem? Nah…

You’ll have PLENTY to argue about from here to death do you part, so just let this one slide.

Another butterfly on Puddles, I see.

If memory serves, my late mother said in her memoirs she wasn’t keen on diamond rings. She hopes the future wife of myself or of my brother will wear it (haven’t the blankest idea if Dad still has the jewel stashed somewhere, though).

It’s a hit in the ol’ self esteem that HE could not supply the ring. Even an antique would have felt better coming from Brad’s family.

This is definitely going to be an issue down the road if it isn’t replaced. Hmmm, SHE proposed, SHE provided the engagement ring, He……………. sat there and moped. Not quite a 50/50 situation happening.

Come on Brad, it doesn’t even have to be expensive or a diamond! Get a pretty ring from Kohl’s, a pawn shop, the Swarovski crystal website, or anywhere. You’d be happier because you got to be macho, she’d be happy because she got pretty jewelry. Maybe you can give her a matching set (matched sets are better guys).

This is the engagement ring… Brad has time — and motivation, maybe — to get an amazing wedding ring, doesn’t he?

The Goodwoman of the House doesn’t like diamonds. Her “engagement ring” was my college ring. Our first “wedding rings” were matching spinners from some tchotchkes shop in Orlando. Later she pointed me to this one on the netand I bought it for her, and she presented me with this one:I did buy her a fancier ring for “state occasions,” with a sapphire instead of a diamond, but we’re very happy with our choices… it’s all in what the couple feels is appropriate.

…..feels like some adjusting’s coming up…………..

…..not unless the “problem:” centers around his job, or "lack thereof….. or something concerning his or Toni’s job that is going to be a new “wrinkle”……

Toni is sitting in a defensive posture…humm,,she does seem a little ticked off. Is Brad regressing?

Well, Toni is very beautiful, and the girl of his dreams.Buy her a ring, show her how you feel about her. This isno time to be cheap, dude. Not the Hope diamond,.but something respectable.

Start it out right. You both work, have good jobs andwill be:

1. Combining money.2. Cutting costs-you will be losing one home expense.

You can do it.

She proposed shouldn’t she buy him a ring?

Hey she proposed she should buy Him a ring.

Haha, I never cared about a ring. Would have to take it off constantly anyway. It isn’t the jewelry or the wedding that matters- it’s the marriage!

We finally got a bit titanium hinged ring for my neck. Much less annoying for me than my finger… and I can take it off easily, too, which I must for martial arts, weight lifting, etc, etc…

Grandma’s ring will make do for now, but Brad, beware…there could be trouble later on.

Grandma’s ring will do for now, but Brad, beware, trouble could be on the way.

it’s very important that all couples follow the guidelines set by society, the diamond cartels and their local jeweler.

Their wedding vow will always have a familiar ring to it!

Yeah, you can’t get much for $130.

When my wife and I got engaged, we decided to skip the bling-ring thing. Instead we got two simple golden wedding bands as promise rings. (We did it how my mother told me: Worn on the left hand, closer to heart while engaged, switched to the right hand, the hand of reason when married). And we still wear them after 12 years of marriage.

Ohhhhh, NO.

Brad’s about to tell the Shyste….., er I MEAN TJ, His little Problem.

So, what’ll be TJ’s “SOLUTION”???

1) Cut Rate Conflict Diamonds at a SPECIAL Low price “Because You’re My Pal”?

2) Putting Brad in Touch with this Elwood Guy who can get him a REALLY Good Deal on Engagement Rings?

- OR -

3) Having Brad QUIT His job for a BETTER Paying Job as the Head Waiter at TJ’s “Cafe De La Grand Larceny”?

A Nation TREMBLES in Their Homes with Anticipation!

Save the money for a down payment. Weddings are fleeting, while the ring lasts, the view that the guy should blow several months salary on something that useless when beginning a life together is simply silly. Personally I think it is less a sign of commitment than a sign of poor fiscal planning.

But then I’m an engineer, not a romantic.

The idea here is to one up on Dirk. She couldnt have a tiny diamond you would need a magnifying glass to see it. This is all to show him up. It’s still Dirk.

well, I remember going to Service Merchandise to get ourrings and it was a bridal set, all we could afford back in 1985. these days we don’t have the orginal rings, they gotlost so we have simple gold bands.

Wolf, your ring is especially awesome! I got off easy — my beloved was a doctor, and she said the jagged bulge of a rock on her finger would make certain…medical procedures…more awkward, or potentially damaging to the patient! And she’s not a precious-gems freak anyway. So we bought each other plain gold bands. Am I a lucky guy or what!

come on Brad, just buy two simple gold bands, you can trade up later, explain to Toni that the future is important.you can always trade up.you can’t see this now but laterit will be good.

I just love Puddles!!!

@jpirardOh yes it does, Toni has a real attitude and Brad hasn’t herd the last of it. Can’t have a Luann Comic without DRAMA!!!!

Wonder if Vegas has odds on if they even make it to the wedding or not. This is more like it Greg, the other day I said we need more drama!!!!!! We can’t have a Luann comic without DRAMA. It needs to get better like a fight between Toni & Brad and wimp Brad gets his butt kicked by Toni. Gotta love it.

BTW, is Brad wearing a ring? I don’t recall him getting one.

I think you may have nailed it, Mordock (even if in jest): Brad probably can’t afford a “nice” engagement ring and is fretting how he’s going to pay for stuff in the future, so TJ’s going to rope him into being a partner in his restaurant. Ordinarily I’d say “Don’t do it” because restaurants have a high rate of failure, but since TJ IS a master salesman and a good chef, his might do pretty well.

When my wife and I got engaged 22 years ago, we barely had two nickels to rub together so we bought two fairly cheap diamond rings. Think mine cost less than $100 and it served as both engagement and wedding band. I bought her a much nicer one two years ago for our 20th anniversary, but I wouldn’t think of replacing mine…it’s the one she put on my finger in 1991, and that’s what matters.

A thought:This will twist into “The Gift of The Magi” by O. Henry.

He needs to come up with something. It will make them both feel better. Didn’t he buy her a ring when he proposed last year? I don’t remember. It doesn’t have to be expensive or new but it has to be from him, from his heart to her hand.

Tradition …The groom provides the ring. It doesn’t matter if it is an expensive diamond or something out of a cereal box. Also, the groom traditionally is the one to propose like what happened to the old “getting down on one knee and presenting her with the engagement ring?” I can see where, down the road, Toni will wind up being the dominant wife and Brad will end up being the “henpecked” husband. This all remains to be seen.

What is on Puddles’s nose that attracts that many butterflies?

This whole story line begs the question. If Brad can grow and advance in life, why is Luann forever stuck in high school?

For our parents’ 50th anniversary, one of my sisters gave Mom a ring that she made (sis is a hobbiest goldsmith) so Mom could finally have an engagement ring.

Welcome to Part One of a lifelong miniseries brought to you by Building A Relationship. Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride wherever it may take you.

Haw! LOL

She asked him so let her buy him a ring.

Toni’s decision and Brad’s hesitation is a great sign. Shallow people count the resale value of the ring (I’ve heard a number of young women compare their rings on this basis).*The real value, of course, is in the long-term relationship. The ring value is in what the giver sacrificed for the other person. In this case, Brad sacrificed nothing and he feels it.*Which is also why Toni sacrificed nothing when she gave Brad NO ring. No sacrifice, no value. So since the ring issue is resolved, how about sacrificing for something else for the other person? Formerly, Brad sacrificed his health for Toni and Toni was willing to sacrifice her job for Brad. Now will they sacrifice something for a home together?

Toni proposed. She should have given something to Brad as a token. Wearing her own ring just indicates that she’s is committed and unavailable. Not that any of that would make Brad feel better. Toni asked him to back off and he did and then she changed her mind. If I were living in Luann-land, I’d be over it by now. But that wouldn’t make for a good story.

I had been dreading this conversation with my fiance, and it turns out that, once we ended up talking about it, we pretty much had the same views, and were able to come to agreements on all of it. I laughed at myself for a few minutes straight after all was said and done, for being so terrified of the conversation.

Why should Brad provide the ring if he wasn’t the one who popped the question? Did he not have a ring for Toni when he did ask her?

Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Gotta spend money. Ugh…

FYI – my favorite comic, Candorville, is now also on GoComics.com. If you want to check it out, just enter the name in the lower right Search field. (This week’s strip is about Lemont’s son asking what happened in Boston and what terrorism is.)

You are right. Toni’s body language is definitely saying “I don’t want to talk about it.” Crossed arms and her top leg away from Luann. A subdued anger and turning her back on Luann to exclude her.

The trailer-park princess has her little ringy!

My recommendation is that she give Brad the ring, after having the band sized and reenforced, and that Brad make her a ring made out of something that is emotionally significant like something stainless steel from the fire where he caught her.

She giving him part of her memories, and he giving her part of his.

“If the talk about an engagement ring is awkward, the marraige is in trouble before it starts”

Headed for trouble, yes. In trouble, no.

Every married couple has their disagreements. You cannot have two adults living together making decisions every day of their lives and not have a disagreement. The key is how they handle the disagreement and come to an understanding.

That being said, Toni’s background with her bad experience with control freak Dirk is going to make her reluctant to release some of the control of her life to Brad and their marriage. THIS is the true “tip of the iceberg” that Dave referred to.

OH??!! WHAT’S OH?! 0.o

I think it’s insane the importance that is placed on the value of engagement and wedding rings. I forgot how much they said you should spend on an engagement ring; IT WAS TWO MONTHS SALARY. If hubby had spent $4000 on an engagement ring I would have bonked him one. My engagement ring came from hubby’s dad’s lodge brother. It’s a beautiful little opal that cost less than $100. Our wedding rings came from Service Merchandise and cost less than $200. I can think of better places for a married couple to put money—like a down payment on a house! The whole engagement ring/wedding ring racket is a big con put on by jewelers to get them business, not to represent the depth of your love. Plain old BS.

Two adults working as firemen can’t afford a ring? This isn’t exactly a minimum wage job.. What kinda hick town are they in?

I bought my ring in England. I couldn’t afford much, It was a simple .06 kt solitaire in a simple but elegant 18K setting. It was more of a friendship ring than anything else. At the time, I had no one particular in mind, but my time in England was precious to me, and I wanted something to cherish from it.

When I got engaged, I gave my fiancée the ring, and purchased a matching simple 18K ring for her to use as a wedding band. She, in turn, bought me a beautiful two-toned band to place on my hand.

On our 33rd wedding anniversary, I got her a .33 kt stone to replace the little .06 stone. Anything larger would have overwhelmed the setting.

My wife and I have received many complements on her ring over the years. Even multiple jewelers have been impressed with it. 18K gold shines brighter and richer than the standard 16K stuff you get here in the states, and the setting is marvelous.

I used to work in jewelry stores, and I ASSURE you NO one spends 2 months’ pay unless they’re in college and making next to nothing..That said, I had quite a few people wanting something different, like necklaces, bracelets, even watches. And pleanty of non-diamond wearers, though I wouldn’t use opal due to it’s fragility, same for pearls. Sapphire, ruby, any of the corundum really and diamonds all wear well. The others will all scrach in daily wear. .One of the big issues though is to not wear your jewelry 24/7. Bed and cleaning were the worst but swimming pools were bad too. We had a diamond lost in bed at LEAST once a month, (the sheets wear down the prongs faster and can catch on them too) and bleach eats the alloys out of <24K gold, making it brittle and crack. Plus the number of rings we had to cut off was scary. At least one had to go to the hospital…..

Personally, I think the best of all worlds is to go to a customization event and have an heriloom solitaire or central gem re-set into a newer ring picked by the bride. .One of the customers I saw was mom who had her main diamond taken out for her soon to be daughter-in-law (who wanted just a single plain solitaire) and a bigger one put in for her 30th anniversary. Husband was happy he was able to get her a bigger ring for less, she was happy to have the same ring, son paid much less but provided, and bride to be got sentiment + her personal style.

my wife did not want engament ring only wedding ring and the 55 years of love that fallowed

My engagement ring is a raised ruby with deep-set white sapphires running under it. It was on sale at the time and not too expensive. Besides being a love symbol, ruby is my birthstone. I’ve never seen another ring like it. Our wedding rings are also unique, as I designed them myself and we had them custom made. Two hearts with our birthstones in them connected with a very small diamond in the center. These were not too expensive either, as you might think custom made would be.

I think Toni’s ring would be a problem, as there is no real connection with Brad. If it had been his aunt, or if he had known her aunt and she (the aunt) had given it to Brad for this purpose, then there would have been meaning for both of them. If there is a symbol of engagement, it needs to hold some kind of meaning to both of them, even if it’s just a cigar band that he bought for her out of love. The cost is not the issue.

I don’t quite understand why this would be a problem.

Donny Wallace, your hostility is ruining the fun of this page.

She’s got some wonky hand stuff going on in panel 2.

I Feel for Brad. He feels insufficient by now giving her a ring. He could buy one on credit and pay some each month like I did.

And again, I ask—can DW shut the hell up for one day? And you say you don’t spend all your time on a comics web page— riiiiight….