Is It Sad To Be Getting Guidance From.....

the comics page? Particularly the strip Mary Worth? Which is so long-running and ancient it seems embalmed?

Well, I must confess. I started following it a few months ago, hooked on Anna's discovery of her pregnancy and her resulting joy (she'd been married before, but perhaps her husband was the one who was sterile!) and the conversation that developed between her and her husband Brian. They discussed the problems their relationship had hit--not talking about their fears, false intimacy, the "it's my fault" game--and vowed to change and move forward. It was exhilarating, because you so seldom see such discussions in any media.

It was a great example of teaching (okay, maybe it was a little preachy) through narrative, and a reminder to readers of the basics of relationships and the importance of communication. Compared to that sucky strip Funky Winkerbean, which wants to teach but takes the easy way out and turns everything into an Issue, it was wonderful and I was over the moon.

Now that Mary has somehow gotten herself latched onto by a wacko deadbeat with issues up the wazoo, I wonder what's next.

And I even liked this quote "It's never wrong to be lighthearted! Because you never know what challenges are around the corner!"

Just call me "Granny Kerry." And fetch me a beer and my cigarettes, because my stories are on!