The way I learned to perform (and to teach people to perform) CPR was as follows:1. Check patient for responsiveness—ask them, “Are you OK?” If no response, then…2. Call for help—direct someone to call EMS (in America, 9-1-1). Then, follow the ABCs…3. Establish an open Airway—and there is a specific way to do this, but I won’t detail that here. With airway open, check for Breathing by getting your face down by the nose and mouth while looking at the chest, and look, listen and feel (on your cheek) for breathing. At the same time, check for Circulation by feeling for a carotid pulse (in the neck). If they are breathing on their own and there is a pulse, just monitor them until EMS arrives. If either or both are missing, that will dictate whether just rescue breathing or full CPR is required.
Of course, it’s been a long time since I went through certification, so the details of the process may have changed…but those were the basics.
Farley’s official date of passing was April 20, 1995, which we see here again on April 18, 2024. (April…hmmm…) And yes, it was just as heartbreaking this time as last.
Also, the surname of our illustrious cartoonist is Johnston, not Johnson.
Forgive me if I seem like Captain Obvious by pointing out these things.
When Luann was talking with her parents about skydiving, there was no indication that any of that was “imaginative”—especially the part about having put down a non-refundable deposit. If that was real, then I say the event actually happened and Luann is using the experience to formulate the ideas presented in the essay.
If this is indeed the end to the relationship between Bets and Gunther, then the next person on whom Gunther needs to set his relationship sights is….GUNTHER. There is way too much angst about “Gunther and (enter name of significant other here)”. Gunther needs to work on developing Gunther so that he does not need a “significant other” to help him feel complete. Only then will he be ready to pursue a true and lasting relationship with someone else…and not necessarily someone that we have already met in the strip. And it should also happen without the advice/involvement of his mother; I think that that is part of the problem.
I also think that completely ignoring Stef and her antics is the absolute best way to handle her. Nothing will upset her more than to be treated as persona non grata. The entire cast of the strip should “cancel” her with extreme prejudice. (Hey, Stef…will Kip be there when you get back?) And, again…why is she even there in the first place, unless it is only to be the antagonist?
As for Bets…I agree that she is an interesting and likable character, but her emotional instability is off the charts, and social media addiction is driving her personality as well as her interaction with other people face-to-face. She needs help. She and Gunther are better off without each other…at least for a while. Maybe in the future, after they have each worked through their existing character flaws, they could come together again and try “Bets ’n Gun v.2: A Real Relationship, Not An Internet Un-Reality Show.”
Now…let’s bring this arc in for a landing and move on to more interesting pursuits.
I wonder whether there might be a thinly-veiled allegory in play here, running parallel to the story line, where Bets is representative of GnK and her social media followers are US. A little commentary on the commentary, perhaps?
Or am I just reading too much into this? If so, please forgive…
The way I learned to perform (and to teach people to perform) CPR was as follows:1. Check patient for responsiveness—ask them, “Are you OK?” If no response, then…2. Call for help—direct someone to call EMS (in America, 9-1-1). Then, follow the ABCs…3. Establish an open Airway—and there is a specific way to do this, but I won’t detail that here. With airway open, check for Breathing by getting your face down by the nose and mouth while looking at the chest, and look, listen and feel (on your cheek) for breathing. At the same time, check for Circulation by feeling for a carotid pulse (in the neck). If they are breathing on their own and there is a pulse, just monitor them until EMS arrives. If either or both are missing, that will dictate whether just rescue breathing or full CPR is required.
Of course, it’s been a long time since I went through certification, so the details of the process may have changed…but those were the basics.