Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for July 24, 2022

That’s cute!

A man has to buy a birthday gift for his daughter. He stops at the toy store and asks for advice. The clerk suggests a Barbie doll

The man asks “How much are they?”

The clerk replies

“There’s Vacation Barbie. It comes with a tent for $19.95”

“There’s swimming Barbie. It comes with a surf board for $19.95”

“There’s gardening Barbie. It comes with garden tools for $19.95”

“And then there’s divorced Barbie for $79.95”

The man asks “Why is divorced Barbie so much more expensive?”

The clerk replies " Divorced Barbie comes with Ken’s house, Ken’s car, Ken’s motor home and Ken’s bank account"

Even if the king surrendered the castle, it still would’ve been ruined by Nature.

Danae has a real problem with Ken.

Now THAT makes sense.

I feel kinda sorry for Ken. He apparently had a veterinary procedure done early in life, if you know what I mean.

Must have been the castle ARRRGGGH!

Reminds me of a biblical story: but instead of building a house on the sand (versus solid rock), she built a castle out of sand.

She would get along great with Mark Tatulli’s Lio!

If you want to have fun, go for it. But not in real life (we hope, Danae).

Meanwhile, Barbie is happily munching Bon-Bons in her Parent’s Castle! Far from the sea.

Or else! I will faht in your general direction!

Me & the kids tried this in the Bay of Fundy, and saw several castles destroyed.

Hey, don’t blame Danae! There are televised competitions among professional artists building artworks on tidal beaches. Their ephemeral nature is the whole point.

Ken dolls get no respect!

Misogynistic little darling, isn’t she?

Lessons learned. Never build you castle on sand and don’t be a Ken if you’re rolling with a Karen.

“Mother Nature is just chemistry, biology and physics. That’s all she is.”You cannot sweet-talk her. You cannot spin her. You cannot manipulate her. And you certainly cannot tell her, ‘Mother Nature, stop ruining my beautiful stock market.’“No, no, no. Mother Nature will always and only do whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate, and “Mother Nature always bats last and she always bats 1.000.”

— Rob Watson

Don’t worry about it Danae, the castle is doomed. It doesn’t matter where you build it. Global warming will eventually get it: either by flood or by fire.

I’ve lived in the Carolinas for the past 30 years in that time, Highway 12 that runs along the Outer Banks has had major sections of it replaced 4 times. Get the hint: the Outer Banks wants to become the Inner Banks – that’s the way nature works with sandbars that are 60 miles out at sea.

Also, the Army Corps of Engineers have restored the beach at Carolina Beach three times in these 30 years. The latest restoration effort was this spring. Every time they do that, they dredge sand from the ocean and pump it onto the beach burying whatever is on or under the sand. We noticed the lack of sandpipers and fishermen are complaining about the lack of fish.

Not to worry, it will all come back in the next 10 years, just in time for the next major restoration effort.

Oh, and who benefits from the restoration effort? Waterfront property owners. Who pays the bill? You and me and some farmer in Kansas since the Army Corps of Engineers is a Federal Agency funded by taxpayer dollars.

It is not all as one sided as the picture I painted. The restoration does protect the Cape Fear River and its ecology as well as the waterway which is vital to the economic well being of the Port of Wilmington. That’s probably the story told to Congress by the people who lobbied for it.

Wiley, thank you for standing up for the right reasons.

“UM…WHAT? SERIOUSLY? OR ELSE WHAT”

(imagines a different version of this part of the dialogue in this cartoon"

WHY? OR ELSE WHAT?

Sand castles are a good lesson in the transience of endeavor. Hopis & Tibetans destroy their sand paintings, or let the wind.

King Ken Knut

Danae is a seriously disturbed little girl!

All sand castles should be built near the water. They are one of the world’s earliest ephemeral art forms. I’m betting than 50,000 years ago, someone was building sand castles on beach shores – long before anyone knew what a castle was. :)

When she gets older she might like the ken dolls that come with batteries

And so castles made of sand

Fall in the sea eventually

Reminds me of the old Sunday school song: “The foolish man built his house upon the sand…”

And so castles made of sand fall in the sea

Eventually….

Ken is always going to build his stupid castle in the stupidest place. He doesn’t need any help.

Yeah it starts with drowning Ken dolls then one day when she’s 20……..

Ken has always been such a wimp!

Always did that with my kids at the beach, though we tried to make the castle walls withstand the tide – for a while anyway.

Considering that Ken doesn’t have any “Attributes”, that’s the best it could hope for.

Love it.

King Doofus … catchy.

I gotta say, there are times when I really like the way she thinks. :-D