Frazz by Jef Mallett for March 20, 2021

THAT is certainly the truth.

Didnt get the last sentenceDid he mean to say “misery is never a good way to live life in the present”?And he said that because in previous panel he advocates for a rosier future?

Caulfield didn’t exactly answer the question. He said it was easy and then explained how they differed. He seemed to imply one, but …

On the other hand, Caulfield could quote W.Churchill : “When you’re going through hell… keep walking.”

Could be he’s saying that looking forward offers more interest than moaning in the present. And the shorter the time to that future, the easier to take the present.

OTOH, it’s easier to stay dry when it’s subzero than at 33 degrees.

It depends on the wind, really.

If it’s sub-zero, but dead calm, I’ll take that over 33 degrees with a 40 mph wind.

It listens …

No contest! With a pair of skates or skis, a cold sunny January is an easy winner. There should be enough snow left on the snowmobile trail for one last ski this morning.

Ever wonder where these strips are supposed to take place? Its hard to identify with sleet and snow when winter stopped being winter back in mid-February.

Michigan is no place to live in the moment.

it was Johnny Walker, keep walking

After many, many brutal winners, I will take any warmer day over any colder day. I don’t care about the snow or rain coming down. Gloomy and warmer for me beats cold and crisp and sunny. I need heat.

There is a common theme in Taoist art called “The Vinegar Tasters”; it depicts 3 old men around a vat of (you guessed it) vinegar. One is puckered, one is grimacing, one is smiling.

Being Taoist, however, it is not just 3 old men; it is an allegory of the 3 great schools of Asian philosophy, the three old men representing the Buddha, Kung Fu-Tse (sp?), who we gringos call Confucius, and Lao-Tzu, author of Tao De Ching. The vinegar itself is life.

Confucianism sees life as sour, so Kung Fu-Tse is puckered.

The Buddha is grimacing because the vinegar (like the Buddhist view of life) is bitter.

Lao-Tzu is smiling, because it’s good vinegar!

Enjoy each season, and each day, for what it is.

Do we think Mallett stays up nights thinking of philosophical problems to stimulate all these profound responses?

Those things are called “A fine and pleasant misery.”

Apparently, Jeff Mallett read my reply to Old Girl on March 16th.

I’ll take sunny over gray any day.

Or… you could leave Michigan and not have the problem at all :D

Must have sun. Seasonal depression is…depressing.

I get what he’s saying – but “in the moment” I’ll usually take the sunny option.