[Hi and Lois, May 26, 2019. Click for a larger, more disturbing view.]
Here are the final panels of today’s Hi and Lois. How long has Thirsty been crouched against his side of the hedge, secretly hoping for an invite to the Flagstons’ cookout? At least I hope that’s what he’s been doing. Mysteries abound in the interstices.
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Sunday, May 26, 2019
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comments: 7
Remember when alcoholism was funny? I don't either.
No, nothing funny. Hi-Lo Amalgamated has softened the Thirsty image — no cigarette, no red nose — but he’s still drinking. (And now showing up in kids’ treehouses.)
I may have been too generous. From The Best of “Hi and Lois” (1986), Brian Walker writing: “Thirsty has cut back on his alcohol intake a little in recent years. Now he just drinks himself into semi-oblivion. Even with his stubborn, outmoded ways, it’s still impossible to dislike the guy. When he’s around you feel good about yourself.”
YMMV. MMMV too. And I’d put a comma in the final sentence.
I was going to ask (re:the comma) yes, but before the 'you,' or after, then realized it didn't matter, except in emphasis and degree.
I grew up in/survived living with an abusive, alcoholic father. My mileage does, indeed, vary. I always felt mild anxiety when reading the old Hi-and-Lois strips when Thirsty appeared, waiting for him to mistreat his wife or become an embarrassment to everyone. By the time I was a teenager, I stopped reading them. Such a beginning in one's life, even if you finally get away from it before you reach adulthood, stays with you. The leftover pain and anger come to the surface at the most unexpected times.
I couldn't watch "The Honeymooners," either.
Just in case it wasn’t clear, I meant that my mileage varies in the same way as Slywy’s would — I don’t find Thirsty funny. The beer-soaked neighbor as a source of comedy is evidence of a strip stuck in a time warp. As was yesterday’s “joke.”
I love The Honeymooners, which I grew up watching it as one might watch a show from another planet. But I also know people whose life experience is far removed from The Honeymooners who can’t/won’t watch the show, precisely because of Ralph’s anger and threats.
I thought that (your first sentence above) was what you meant, Michael. I intended to convey that mine varied, too. I meant no offense nor took any, but rereading what I wrote here does sound defensive, doesn't it?
No offense taken, Martha! But when I looked back at my “YMMV. MMMV,” I realized it could be read as if I were saying “You do you,” &c.
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