Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 08, 2022

Be even better if the graduation program would have the time in the program when each student will get their diploma.

There was a scene in the movie Pretty Smart where dozens of blonde Swedish schoolgirls were all named Ingrid Swenson, and they all came from the same town; it made calling the roll rather tricky.

sad.

cheer for everyone

The only reason I even attended my own graduation was because my mother would have killed me if I didn’t.

We’ve attended all the grandkid graduations that were within reach. One to go. So far, we’ve not been invited and it’s this year. We’ll see…

And this was just the graduation from Kindergarten.

A bit of obscure trivia: John Jay Smith was a pseudonym used by Michael Jackson when was did a guest voice over on the Simpsons in the early ’90s.

Well The name John Smith is usually bestowed only upon the best and brightest.

My class never had a reunion. The class Prez took off with all the money. Maybe that explains why “Pearls before Swine” is my favorite comic.

“Spectators” you (can only) love (when they finally go away).

[It’s too bad there was any room for them when they came in late.]

my grandson graduates thursday from kent state….very proud of the young man.

Graduation …. A Long , Long Time ago … In A Galaxy far Away ;-)

Happy Mother’s Day!

I taught at a small college where we were required to attend student graduation every May, in academic regalia. At first we protested by getting baked afterwards, then eventually, beforehand. :-)

I’m sorry, but these type of Sunday strips are just plain dull

My high school graduation was horrendous. First you have to know that I went to private school from 7th grade on up to 12 and all the pomp and preen that goes with it. Mom was a teacher there. Joy of joys. Jackie Onassis was our speaker. We all (all nine of us in my grad class) wore prom / debutants dresses, carried live flowers and stood on bleachers, according to height for the entire address. I was at the top tier, on a couple books. The bleachers are in front of a moderately sized pond. I am allergic to pollen and sneezed myself right off the back of the bleachers and into the pond. Mom was not impressed. The rest of us, including Mrs. Onassis, had a great laugh : ) I admit freely that I have never been to any reunions.

My uncle attended all my graduations.

I attended all my graduation ceremonies because i wanted them to publicly give me my diploma because otherwise no one would believe that I actually graduated. I seldom attended more than about 5 minutes of any class per day unless i had to write a test, so there was a betting pool about whether i was counted as being present often enough to meet the attendance criteria for graduation.

Yay yay yay

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt

My graduations were a long time ago and I never heard cheering & yelling for individual graduates. Pretty standard by the time of my kids’ graduations. Seems like an impolite waste of everyone else’s time to me.

I actually like commencements because there are so few meaningful rituals and ceremonies these days. yes, they can be dry and monotonous, but they are important cultural markers of accomplishment and transition. And you cannot undo them as you can with a wedding or many religious rites.

Rat’s got a point… or just do online graduation like in 2020.

I wonder if that’s one of those schools where, at the ceremony, they give you an empty folder at the ceremony – “We’ll give you the diploma later, if you don’t do anything we don’t like at the ceremony like tossing beach balls around or putting a message on your cap, or if you owe the school money.”

Ya know… I can’t even remember if I went to my graduation, since it would have been 51 years ago….according to the date on my High School Class Ring.

Crazy….I guess I’m really old.in 1964, a high school diploma meant something.

Rat’s plan to repurpose all of the “fan” cutouts professional ball teams made during the pandemic.

Usually graduations are packed. Where did they find the empty seats?

I have no idea what this is about, so it may be the funnest Pearls in years.

Graduation Day? Oh, by the way – Happy Mother’s Day, too.

Yea, I don’t understand the appeal of graduation. Just another step along life’s path. Neither my high school or college graduations were memorable except for stress with my fiancee because I didn’t have enough tickets. Thankful neither of my kids wanted to attend college graduation. But I respect those who enjoy them!

Nothing better than those folks who cheer, whistle and bring noisemakers who are so self absorbed that they must be heard long and loud – so no one can hear the name of the next graduate in line.

It happened to our family twice, robbing us of that same proud moment the inconsiderates celebrated.

My first college graduation ceremony was supposed to last 1.5 hours, and ended up almost 4 because of two people who gave speeches running way way WAY too long

The only reason graduation takes so godawful long is because there are so many names and you’re never quite sure when yours will be called. And not every college does alphabetical order.

It’s kind of obnoxious that nowadays parents dress their kids up in caps and gowns to celebrate graduating KINDERGARTEN. Or sometimes pre-school or eighth grade. Even the most minimal of accomplishments is now a cause for a big production.

that’s mean. There are other kids that worked hard, and it’s good to honor their hard work as well.

I attended two graduations, 8th grade and my JD. While both graduation ceremonies were a waste of time, I did appreciate and actually used both degrees…….

Wasn’t there another “J” in the middle?

Middle name of Jacob Jingleheimer?

I attended my daughter’s college graduation in an outdoor stadium during a blinding snow storm. Yes, it was May, but spring storms do not change graduation plans when you graduate from a college in the Rockies.

I remember a high school graduation in a small school and a gentleman’s name was called, as he got up to walk across the stage, a woman in the audience stood and applauded the whole walk, we all assumed it was his mother.

Pastis isn’t very good at drawing people. Guess that’s why he draws animals.

I took our daughter to a ballet recital when we were shopping for a new ballet studio around 1989. I’d never heard cheering at an event like that before. After about 3 numbers I stood up and shouted, “Shut up!” It didn’t have any effect but it filled the theater nicely. I project very well.

Wouldn’t that just be the smart thing to do? Seriously… why sit through 300 other names?

Shut Up, Pig!

Would that it were so easy.

My college graduation included a photo booth for beer funnel shoots in the parking lot next door to the graduation presentation. I bought two.

My HS graduation was the same day/time as my brother’s U of DE graduation. My dad and most of the relatives went to brother’s graduation as my dad said “I’ve seen 2 HS graduations already (2 brothers), and this is probably the only college graduation I’ll see.” Sadly, he was right- neither my other brother nor I finished college.

Callous, selfish guests. Poor John J. Smith, stuck with relatives/friends/family like that!

You know we all want to do it that way, right?

My name is “Zygote”—-someday,they shall call my name….