375

Out about
Posted on March 2, 2016 by David M Willis
So that was a pretty good first day for a Kickstarter, I'd say!  We funded about about 7:30am and as of this writing (11pm) it's at $35k.  We unlocked continuing both Saturday and Sunday updates, we unlocked character magnets for Sarah, Mike, Malaya, and Marcie, and we're not far from getting to $40k which gets us Book 2 reprinted.  You guys are pretty awesome!  I'm pretty sure I don't deserve you.

375 thoughts on “Out about”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “ethnic” as in “everyone who eats at Taco Bell gets enormous buttsplosions”?

    (craving Taco Bell this very moment)

    1. Tabitha Desanto

      Never had that problem.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Never had the problem of craving Taco Bell after midnight? I envy you, there’s one right down the street from me, but I’m on a diet so I can’t.

        1. Undrave

          Who cares about Taco Bell, we got POUTINE around here.

        2. DarkoNeko

          vladimir is close, too

        3. inqntrol

          It suddenly got cold here.

        4. Undrave

          Poutine, not Putin.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

        5. Deanatay

          Vladimir Poutine: Canada’s first democratically-elected dictator. Tries to invade Canada, to free the horribly repressed Canadian minority there.

        6. doomprix

          in doing so Vladimir Poutine sets up a nice vassalage for himself, declares himself King of Canada and proceeds to have lots of heirs.

        7. Robbzilla

          Poutine > Taco Bell. I have to make my own down here in Texas. But the Mexican food and BBQ here almost makes up for the lack.

      2. Jay Eff

        Well, of course, you don’t experience the Buttsplosions, Tabitha Desanto!

        .

        Considering who your mother is, you probably have a stomach lined with steel..

      3. Kamino Neko

        Me either.

      4. AgentKeen

        Only time it happens to me is if I eat too much (which is likely the cause itself), or during the few years where I ate very little restaurant food, and then it happened pretty much anywhere cause of how fatty the food was (which was basically just a result of my body getting used to not eating so much fat all at once).

      5. The E-man

        Really? I always feel the need to go to bathroom like one hour after Taco Bell. No other central american eatery, chain or not. Just Taco Bell. *shrugs*

        Then again I’ve eaten taco bell like…five times (if that) in my life so it might just be that I need to build up my tolerance.

    2. Jay Eff

      It’s strange, but I rarely, if ever, get “enormous buttsplosions” after eating Taco Bell.

      Maybe it’s because I’m “Ethnic.”
      Yay!

      1. inqntrol

        Or you have intestines of steel.

        1. Tacos

          Or have a black hole instead of a stomach.

      2. Schpoonman

        I’m about as white as can be (German, Dutch, and English, I think in order of dominance of my ethnicity) and I’ve never had trouble with T-Bizzle. Probably because I’ve always ate fast food shit.

      3. Rutee

        Yeah, same on both counts.

    3. Viktoria

      My first solid food was Taco Bell. Apparently, if you start people on it young enough, our bodies never object to it in any way.

    4. Schpoonman

      For years the closest Taco Bell was a 20-minute drive. When everything else was 5 at best, I really felt it. Then I moved, and they finally opened the Taco Bell a mile away from my old house.

      Luckily, it’s still on the way home from work.

    5. thejeff

      I gave up on Taco Bell after I saw them pour the meat out of a bag.

    6. ozzi

      Le Porte has 2 Taco Bells actually. I do like that the courthouse is shown in this strip, as thats the main picture on its wiki page.

    7. Fred

      Taco Bell no es comida.

      However they apparently do have something called a “Mucho Mas!” which preports to be Californian-Mexican food. That’s almost ethnic, right?

  2. Jacket

    *Plays “Satellites” on the Hacked Muzak*

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ba9yGOTz1U

    Alright Stephen, I’m done. You can have the Muzak back.

    1. Amazi-Girl impersonator

      Super Super Super Disco!

    2. Stephen R. Bierce

      Nominally I associate Tex-Mex with ZZ Top, but that’s been done to death. Maybe some James McMurtry?

      1. Sokol

        Good choice.

        1. Stephen R. Bierce

          He killed it on Austin City Limits. Wish I could have found that one.

      2. Dara

        Not Jerry Jeff Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band?

    3. Sokol

      Your crappy disco music was getting old, Jacket.

      First my family, now this.

    4. Falling Star

      *hacks and plays for giggles*
      *then this because it’s an awesome song*
      *gets carried away*
      *gets shot*

  3. Disloyal Subject

    At this point I’d be surprised to find a town without a Taco Bell, excepting backwoods mountain areas.

    1. -Sentinel-

      We have so few of them in my part of Canada. 🙁

      1. CaptainBatson

        I hear you guys’s Taco Bells have fries. Is this accurate?

        1. John Cabot

          Yes! The best fries related food at taco bell is the fries supreme – fries, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, and meat!

        2. StClair

          Want.

        3. Deanatay

          If you can call it ‘meat’, sure.

        4. Michael Haneline

          Hey, I’ll have you know their meat is a full 88% real beef! That’s like a B+! That’s almost an A!

        5. David M Willis

          the FDA does not grade meat

          it’s either fit for human consumption or it is not

        6. Michael Haneline

          Not what I was getting at. It was a joke regarding when Taco Bell revealed its meat was 88% beef back in like 2014. It wasn’t really a huge deal, imo opinion, the other 12% is basically sugar and bread crumbs, the same quality of stuff they put in a lot of other fast food without people realizing it.

        7. Michael Haneline

          ugh did not mean to say “imo opinion”

        8. Tan

          The USDA (Department of Agriculture) does, though it’s entirely voluntary and at the business’s expense, and it’s not an A-B-C-D-F system. This is after the mandatory pass/fail inspection.

          (when I was in culinary school, we had to know the difference between the various grades. I have long-since forgotten the specific details, beyond the broad strokes. It’s mostly about marbling.)

      2. tim gueguen

        We’ve only had one Taco Bell in Saskatoon. It was in the food court in Place Riel on the University of Saskatchewan, but has since gone out of business. If you want fast food Mexican here you go to Taco Time.

        1. Roborat

          That is neither Mexican or food, fast I will give you.

    2. JetstreamGW

      There are towns in Texas without Taco Bell. Those towns do, however, have Dairy Queen. All of them.

      All. Of. Them.

      1. Leorale

        I’d think Texas would have real Mexican food, no? It’d be like opening a Dominos Pizza in Sicily.

        1. Deanatay

          Taco Bell isn’t Mexican food, it’s American food.

        2. Emperor Norton

          And Domino’s is to Italian pizza what Taco Bell is to Mexican food.

          At least I think that was Leorale’s point. Though as Robbzilla points out below, Texas has Tex Mex, rather than pure Mexican restaurants.

        3. Robbzilla

          Texas has real Tex Mex in abundance. Actual Mexican restaurants are mostly limited to larger towns and cities, mostly in the form of tacquerias. For a nice real Mexican restaurant (ie, NOT Tex Mex), you usually have to hit a real city, and then you have to wade through 99 Tex Mex joints to 1 Mexican. Most people don’t really worry about that distinction, but as a native Texan and a foodie, I try. Of course, I couldn’t name a Mexican restaurant that didn’t at least have fajita tacos. Some of the tacquerias don’t have an actual fajita plate. (Fajitas are a Texas invention by Mexican ranch workers)

        4. Rutee

          Taco Bell isn’t really competing with mexican food, at all, no. Real mexican /is/ delicious though, and pretty cheap for the quality.

        5. JetstreamGW

          Depends on the municipality.

      2. Liokae

        And a Whataburger.

        1. JetstreamGW

          Not necessarily. I’ve seen towns that only had a DQ.

      3. Dara

        La Porte may not be in Texas, but it nonetheless has a Dairy Queen!

        1. Michael Haneline

          An a “Wok N’ Roll” a little way down the street! See, they do have “ethnic” food there!

      4. Robbzilla

        This is almost God’s honest truth. But in all Fairness, Twitty TX has no Dairy queen. You have to travel to Shamrock or Wheeler. 😀

      5. CheredisTyping

        DQ! THAT’S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT TEEEXXAAAAS

        Really though, because all the DQ commercials dowm here have so much emphasis on Texas, my bf had NO clue they existed elsewhere.

    3. John

      The nearest Taco Bell to my house, according to Google Maps, is a 20 minute drive away.

      Or – thanks, Google – five hours by bus. It’d be ten minutes faster to walk.

      I mean, I do live in Vermont, but there’s 10,000 people in this town. I wouldn’t exactly classify it as backwoods.

      1. John

        I also note that Google classifies Taco Bell as “Mexican-inspired fast food”.

      2. Disloyal Subject

        Well then, color me surprised.

      3. Robbzilla

        Your entire state has less people in it than Fort Worth TX. I classify Vermont as a back-woods place. (Note: It’s a BEAUTIFUL backwoods place that you should be proud to call home!) 😀

    4. snogglethorpe

      Sob… http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/kouk90zxwyvcfnekgblp.jpg

    5. Bicycle Bill

      Given the choice, I would drive past three Taco Bells to get to this place.  They’re big in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, but just don’t seem to have anything in Indiana (yet).

      1. Betty Anne

        Wisconsinite here! Our “local” (45 min away) Taco John’s is hit-and-miss. However, they survived when the “local” Taco Hell just a few blocks away went under, so…Taco John’s it is. ^^; I mostly only eat at Taco John’s if I’m out with someone and they’re like, “Wanna do Taco John’s for lunch?” Which is, like, twice a year or something. ^^;

    6. Incomitatus

      9000 people in my town, no Taco Bell.

      Oh, wait, we’re a backwoods mountain town. Fairly large for a backwoods mountain town, but one all the same.

    7. Hijean

      There is no Taco Bell anywhere in my entire country. And it isn’t a backwoods mountain country.

  4. evan

    I feel like i’m early enough that I should make some witty comment, but I’m fresh out 🙁

    1. Wolf

      What’s a pirate’s favorite letter?

      1. Sailorcake

        Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

        1. Wolf

          *Slap* NO! HIS FIRST LOVE BE THE “C!”

        2. Sailorcake

          Lol okay that’s pretty good xD

        3. Eyebrow

          Or maybe “aaaaaayye”

        4. trlkly

          They like it so much, they always have to say it twice!

  5. Stephen R. Bierce

    Revolution is in the air–and so is the smell of tacos.

    1. Jacket

      The Taco Revolution is upon us, my dear Stephen.

      1. Tacos

        Join us.

      2. TheHabbadasher

        Do you by any chance have hair like thistledown?

  6. miados

    at least if you only have one store or restaurant type you know where to go for food/cloths/etc

  7. Doctor_Who

    Joyce pulls up to where the Taco Bell used to stand, finds that it is now a White Castle.

    “NOOOOOOOOO!”

    1. Sageress

      What’s the problem though

    2. Carolyn

      YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! AH, DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!

      1. Falling Star

        [has planet of the apes flashbacks]

    3. Robbzilla

      Or a Zel’s if they’re really lucky!

    4. miados

      people talk about white castle and chick fil a a lot but i have never seen either in real life personally

      1. Betty Anne

        It’s been a while since I’ve seen a real-life White Castle, but I know they exist (I just don’t travel much anymore ^^;). I’ve been past a lot of Chick-fil-As.

        If you really, really need a White Castle burger, though, some stores stock pre-packaged ones in their barf frozen meals section.

  8. Yumi

    Michigan City! I used to go there every summer growing up. I’ve been a couple times recently as well. I like the zoo there, and the dunes. This strip has me hella nostalgic right now.

    1. Dara

      The beach, lighthouse, and pier look like the ones from the end of Dark City.

      (Webcam)

    2. Yumi

      Oh, fun story about Michigan City though: the summer after I graduated high school, I went there with my two closest friends, who are Chinese American and Chinese Canadian. While we were walking down the beach, we passed this group of middle aged white guys. On our way back, we passed them again and one of them came up to one of my friends.
      “Hey, we were just talking, and we were wondering what your… you know, nationality is.”
      “My nationality is American,” she told him.
      “No, but your…your… you know,” he said.
      “My ethnicity?” she supplied him. “I’m Chinese.”
      “Oh! ‘Cause we thought maybe you were Korean.”
      Luckily my dad wasn’t that far away and came over when he saw a strange man talking to us. When he heard the conversation, he started questioning the guy about his ethnicity and my friends and I walked away.

      1. Leorale

        When racism and entitlement combine, he is Captain Beachcreep. Bluh. I’m glad your dad was there to show him how wack he was being.

    3. Luzahn

      See, I just assumed it was some made-up big city name on Becky’s part. Fantasy Detroit, or something.

      1. Dean

        Damn, I just had the best idea for a Dungeons & Dragons game.

        1. Hielario

          That sounds like middle-ages Rome.

    4. Robbzilla

      I sent this to my mother in law. She was astounded that anyone would put Michigan City (Her former place of residence) in a webcomic.

    5. itachi_0501

      You think your nostalgic for Michigan City? I grew up there, and my Mom lived in our old house until some time after I graduated college. And now, my brother and his family own the ol’ family homestead.

      Me, I’m nostalgic for the MC that WAS: Hacienda (again, Tex-Mex) when it was good; heading to the beach on bike; taking girls to the zoo (inspiring cuteness) – and hell, even taking my now-9-yo son to MC (which we have not done for at least three years!)

      #damnyouwillis – but in a GOOD WAY. 🙂

    6. itachi_0501

      As always, Dave, you have brought to the small(ish) screen a little cinema verite’, in the sense that Bloomington feels like Bloomington and LP at least looks (and sounds) like the La Porte that I remember from our infrequent trips there in my younger days.

      And if the girls are going to MC (or MiCy 🙂 ), make sure you throw in some obscure ref to how the Marquette Mall has less cred than the much-maligned Maple Lane Mall – despite the attached “magnificence” of MC’s tallest building, “Marquette Tower!” – and have them head to the beach. Of course, being that it’s mid-October (IIRC) in this strip, they might need to restrict their beach activities to simply chasing seagulls or picking up trash. 🙂

      1. Betty Anne

        Only weenies are out of the water by mid-October. :p (Says the former Lake Superior resident who once waded out with others to help pull in icebergs for the sake of wading out to pull in an iceberg. I was too much of a weenie to sunbathe on an iceberg as some others did, because I didn’t want to risk drifting out into the middle of the lake. XDD http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/05/28/article-2641861-1E4641A800000578-638_634x613.jpg )

  9. Dr. T

    Re: the hovertext

    The only other strip in which that courthouse appears, as least as far as I recall, did not actually happen. It was during Joyce’s sexy dream about Ethan.

    1. Jacques Cornelius Parrot III

      Nothing’s says repressed sexual feelings like a courthouse, amiright?!

      1. Robbzilla

        Well… in Dallas, we call our old courthouse the “Big Red” Courthouse… so maybe?

    2. Leorale

      You’re right. At the time, and in the context of her dream, I thought it was a twisted-up church.

      1. Bagge

        Turns out it was just a big, honkin’ tower.

        Or does it represent marriage?

        1. Aletheia

          It represents the ever-looming threat/presence of secular values, imposing themselves on Joyce’s psyche so stealthily, she doesn’t realise it. But it’s there… it’s always there.

          Or, y’know, it’s just a tower that she’s familiar with.

        2. Dean

          It’s a big hard sticky-up thing. What could it possibly symbolize?

        3. No Name

          A cigar?

        4. begbert

          Sometimes a cigar is just a courthouse.

    3. ahecht

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/06-strange-beerfellows/know-2/

  10. Cerberus

    Becky! How could you disparage your fair town so?!? I’ll have you know that La Porte has had a long and historic tradition regarding racial matters:
    http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/ku-klux-klan-La Porte-indiana-charter-1925.pdf

    1. Leorale

      Aiee.
      Maybe Drumpf should live there next.

      1. Coru

        #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain

        1. trlkly

          I actually have no idea which word Leorale said.

        2. nothri

          https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&site=&source=hp&q=donald+trump+john+oliver&oq=donald+trump+john+oliver&gs_l=hp.3..0i131l2j0i22i30.2989.13987.0.14243.49.29.11.9.10.0.211.3046.17j11j1.29.0….0…1c.1.64.hp..0.47.2828.0.m4ZGCIBty6g

        3. Betty Anne

          https://youtu.be/DnpO_RTSNmQ Enjoy! #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain

        4. trlkly

          You miss my point. I mean, I don’t know if he wrote Trump or Drumpf, because I have the addon installed. (Actually, I’ve made my own that works even better.)

        5. nothri

          ohhhhhhhhh. my bad

        6. Betty Anne

          LOL Ok. XD

    2. Bryan Redeagle

      Drumpf is not welcome here (I live in La Porte). We currently only have the regular amount of Indiana bigotry (still too much in my opinion), but it’s not a bad town to live in. And, more interesting than our Klan history is the story of Belle Gunness, the serial killer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness

      I come from an Indiana town that has way more people like Joyce’s mom than La Porte, and a couple towns over from that is an active Klan.

    3. Deanatay

      Good thing Becky and Joyce are both white.

  11. carl320

    The Taco Bell in La Porte is just down the street from that courthouse lol (I live in the area :|)

    1. Dara

      Y’know, just talking architecturally, La Porte seems to have kept most of its downtown. That’s kind of unusual in my experience in that area, such as I have it. (I went to graduate school in Kentucky. They do not have this.) So I’m surprised to be looking at this and legit seeing lots of promise here. Yeah, there are a bunch of holes, but that’s useful – new development, right? Housing over retail, housing over offices, mixed use bringing in local residents to be customers, etc.

      1. carl320

        That’s one thing I like about the town. It does seem like a lot of towns just tear down older buildings, that end up staying vacant lots.

  12. Andr3wtime

    I keep reading the commas as little diacritical marks over the letters beneath them. Tis my curse.

    1. Joseph the sheep herder

      Can’t unsee MICHIGÁN now. Damn you Andr3wtime.

  13. random832

    In case anyone’s curious, it does. Right across the street from the McDonalds.

    Okay, that was unfair. There are two McDonalds.

    1. Undrave

      I wonder how often it happens in America that McD and Taco Bell are across from one another? In Toronto it’s Starbucks and Tim Horton’s… SO MAUCH COFFEE!

      Also I hear Starbuck has a section of their website where employee can take pictures of Starbucks visible from their own Starbucks…

      1. Bagge

        Now I wonder which franchise has the largest line-of-sight-chain. I think starbux is a good bet.

        1. Bagge

          …starbucks

        2. Reltzik

          I’d guess McDonalds still has the edge….

          … no, wait, I’m changing my vote to Virgin Airlines, on account of them having fewer obstacles blocking line of sight between their planes.

        3. Captain Button

          By that standard, I’d go with Intelsat.

          Or is Virgin Airlines a franchise operation?

        4. Reltzik

          Kinda. There are a bunch of other carriers willing to do business under the Virgin name. You book with Virgin and you end up on another airline for a leg of the trip. (Though it’s not JUST Virgin doing that, I picked the name out of a hat.)

          http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/20/style/20iht-trfreq_ed3__1.html

          Bonus points for the food service cart, which technically counts as food, the same way fast food technically counts as food, and is technically traveling pretty fast.

        5. fogel

          Borg

    2. Michael Haneline

      Wow, you’re not joking. https://www.google.com/maps/place/202+Pine+Lake+Ave+La+Porte,+IN+46350/@41.6163728,-86.73238,3a,75y,204.85h,88.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3QSrjHh71T40r4KR_pF0zA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9a950ba9577bf195!6m1!1e1

  14. Wolf

    There’s a Taco Bell?

    Prove it, Joycey.

    1. Dallas

      Google Maps.

      1. Falling Star

        Google Maps sucks.

        1. Michael Haneline

          https://www.google.com/maps/place/202+Pine+Lake+Ave+La+Porte,+IN+46350/@41.6163728,-86.73238,3a,75y,204.85h,88.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3QSrjHh71T40r4KR_pF0zA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9a950ba9577bf195!6m1!1e1

  15. Dara

    See I genuinely would’ve thought that using the car without approval would’ve got her in a lot of trouble right there. But, well, good. I hope.

    1. random832

      It’s entirely possible the trouble hasn’t caught up to her yet.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Well, it has to walk, she took the car.

      2. Dara

        I’d’ve thought they’d’ve heard it starting up and gone out to stop them. I don’t know, I’m not good at Indiana or cars.

    2. Opus the Poet

      I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would need a car in La Porte, according to Google Maps it takes about a half-hour to ride a bicycle from one end to the other. I mean, really, what’s the point? Proving you have enough money to waste it on a car?

      1. Tacos

        Probably. Owning a house and a car is still seen as a symbol of success.

      2. pertainstothesea

        The actual town of La Porte is fairly small, but it’s got a lot of outlying areas and zero bike lanes, plus not that much public transportation. There’s also a ton of snow in the winter. Trust me, a car is a necessity.

        1. Dara

          Plus I imagine there’s even less transit out of town. I see you guys don’t have trains, either. (Tho’ apparently Michigan City does. Well done, Michigan City!) Do you have private bus? I’m sure Bolt doesn’t serve anything that small, but Greyhound or another regional carrier might.)

        2. Dara

          Wait, am I wrong? Am I wrong? Is this passenger station still active?!

        3. Bicycle Bill

          No, it’s not, although it is alongside an active railroad line.  But Amtrak does run through — and have a depot in — Michigan City.

        4. pertainstothesea

          And there is a train line that goes around Lake Michigan from South Bend to Chicago; La Porte is just a little too far inland to get a stop.

        5. Bryan Redeagle

          No. That station is now the Chamber of Commerce. A train goes through La Porte every few minutes (I live down the street from the tracks), but doesn’t stop. We have a small bus line that drives around town and the surrounding area, you can even schedule a trip ahead of time.

          Michigan City has the South Shore line that takes you between South Bend and Chicago, and bus station for larger buses.

      3. David M Willis

        Okay, so Joyce gets on the bicycle that she may or may not have (if she has one, she’d probably take it with her to college, but probably not bring it back with her for the weekend), and then Becky runs along beside her the three miles into downtown from Joyce’s house.

        No idea why they took the car!

  16. John

    If anyone’s wondering about the hovertext, it was here.

    1. Wolf

      That was the greatest dream ever.

      1. Amazi-Girl impersonator

        Just replace Ethan and Joyce to Wolf and me and it’ll be much better.

      2. Leorale

        But, it has to compete with El Sexo Loco. Oh Ethan’s dream-chest, will your weird and vivid dreamsex never cease?

        1. Amazi-Girl impersonator

          El Sexo Loco. MMMMMmmmmmm………

        2. Vagabond J

          Would you like that in Danny, Ethan, Mike or Wolf?

        3. Amazi-Girl impersonator

          I’ll have Wolf with a pinch of Danny, please.

          *Gets Ready*

        4. Vagabond J

          Ok, Danny and Wolf it is!

          *Slices off Wolf’s hand and pinches Danny with it*

        5. Wolf

          OW!

        6. John

          I think Joyce’s dream wins just on sheer wtfery.

    2. Emperor Norton

      You just saved ten thousand readers the task of having to search for the courthouse. Have a medal!

  17. brionl

    One of the many things I disliked about living in Connecticut was no Taco Bells.

    1. thejeff

      There’s plenty of Taco Bells in Connecticut. Could be sparser than some other places, I suppose, but they’re certainly here.

      1. brionl

        That was back in the 80’s.

  18. Tacos

    I wouldn’t exactly call Taco Bell “ethnic food.”

    1. Jacket

      The French would.

      1. Tacos

        They’re weird so…

        1. nothri

          Le fuck d’toi.

      2. Leorale

        I had a high school classmate who, in full seriousness and exasperation, said “Man, the French have a different word for everything.”

        1. insomniac

          That is beautiful.

        2. Reltzik

          Except for the number 80. They don’t have a word for the number 80. They literally have to say “four score” because 80 doesn’t have a word for it. I HATED that for completely obsessive-compulsive reasons when I was taking French.

        3. No Name

          They also don’t have words for seventy or ninety – you literally have to say sixty-ten and four-score-ten (to follow your example) and to get the numbers in between, you have to count like a four-year old.

        4. Bob

          An other word we don’t have in French is ‘cheap’. We say “not expensive” but we can’t say cheap :P.

          Also I’m impressed that four years old count 90 as “four twenty and ten” because they must really good at math then 😉

          For the story, back in the days, people from the Gaulle used to count in base20, 10 for the fingers and 10 for the feet. and 70-80-90 are all that is left from this now. And trust, you don’t think of the math at some point, you just say it as one word :).
          Also, if you go to Belgium then they have a word for all those numbers and not a math combination.

        5. No Name

          Well, four-year-olds wouldn’t say “four twenty and ten” for ninety; they’d say “ninety” for “ninety”. What I mean is four-year-olds, sterotypically at least, recount the teens every time they hit a new ten, so instead of going “twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one”, they’d go “twenty-nine, twenty-ten, twenty-eleven” and hit “thirty” after “twenty-nineteen”.

          Now, not all four-year-olds count like this, certainly none I’ve ever met, but it was the closest thing I could get to “Elan the Bard” in the real world.

        6. No Name

          Also, French doesn’t redundantly count the seventies after finishing sixty-ten through sixty-nineteen (or the nineties after four-twenties-ten through four twenties-nineteen). I should probably have made that clear.

        7. Liliet

          Well, why wouldn’t you just say Elan the Bard XD

        8. Arkayjiya

          Well if you’re not happy with our language, just go to our north-american cousins, they have proper words for all of this! Of course they also translate horrifyingly literally every movie title but you can’t have everything in life.

        9. John

          Quebec has the lamest swear words ever, though.

        10. Bob

          Tabarnak ! X)

        11. Falling Star

          Try writing numbers in Japanese.

        12. Roborat

          Was your friend named Steve Martin?

      3. Undrave

        Well yeah, it’s AMERICAN! That’s Ethnic in France.

    2. Romanticide

      is the closest they may have at the moment… and their only consolation they may have at the moment…. damn, I just realized how sad all this is really :/

    3. JetstreamGW

      That’s the Joke
      /Rainier Wolfcastle

    4. Skizz

      Australians do.

    5. pertainstothesea

      I just think it’s weird because La Porte actually has a lot of really good actual Mexican food.

      1. Bryan Redeagle

        I agree with pertainstothesea. We have a legit Mexican place in El Bracero as well as Cali-Mex (which is also vegan-friendly) in Mucho Mas. Plus we have Mexican stores that sell the ingredients to make delicious Mexican food.

  19. JessWitt

    There’s a Michigan city? Or is that just a Beckyism?

    1. Dallas

      Google Maps.

      https://www.google.com/maps/place/Michigan+City,+IN/@41.7095682,-86.9444191,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x8811058540da2c03:0x852e2fee2dcd02c8

      1. carl320

        ^ There is a Michigan City in Indiana. There’s a casino and an outlet mall there.

        1. Wolf

          Hey Dallas, I know where we can rob a casino!

        2. Sokol

          OOH! OOH! Can I join on this one!?

        3. nothri

          There are like 10 times as many evil clowns on this site lately than there should be anywhere.

        4. Hoxton

          I’ll be damned.

          Wolf actually had a good idea.
          Been a while since we’ve had a good Casino job. I’m game.

        5. Undrave

          Who’s the idiot who named it that? :p

        6. Wolf

          Indianites who thought it was Michigan.

        7. EvilMidnightLurker

          Is there an Indiana City in Michigan? It’s only fair.

        8. David M Willis

          Well, Michigan City is on the coast of Lake Michigan. If there were a Lake Indiana, maybe.

        9. pertainstothesea

          And it used to be part of Michigan. There’s a sign by the KFC commemorating it.

        10. No Name

          I don’t know, but there is a Kansas City in Missouri. Right next to the Kansas City in Kansas. And the Missouri one is the one that gets to have the name unmodified. Isn’t America grand?

    2. Yumi

      As someone from Michigan who went to Michigan City as a child, I can confirm both that it is a thing and that it is confusing.

    3. Robbzilla

      Yup. My wife’s grandmother lives there in a 100 year old house. So it’s been there a while! 😀

  20. Cerberus

    Ah man, Becky’s slightly nervous smile in that last panel really gives away this performance of “wacky Becky”. She’s really worried about what is happening and why Joyce has suddenly decided to defy her family and run off with the car (not to mention why she doesn’t seem to be saying anything until the final panel, just driving with a focused look on her face), but doesn’t want to push on things Joyce doesn’t want to talk about because of the Ryan stuff.

    Also, hoo boy, Carol is going to be even more passive-aggressive when they get back and this weekend is just going to get worse and worse before there’s any sort of light in any sort of tunnel.

    Also, damn, she really was needing to run off and just needed to have someone there as trauma shielding… As much as this is frightening and painful for Joyce, I’m glad she has Becky here so she is not literally trapped in her increasingly unsafe house.

    1. Undrave

      It’ll get worse when they have to go to Church on Sunday… or dear if Becky goes it’ll be SUPER awkward…

      1. Cerberus

        Yup. Given my limited experience, there tends to be very “pointed” sermons when someone brings in a flavor of “sinner”. Basically just tons of hard-sell with passive-aggression.

        So, yeah, I’d expect either a speech about the evils of the flesh and homosexuality or on the importance of family and obeying one’s father and mother as they know how to save you from temptation or whatnot. My bet’s on the latter, but however it goes, it’s definitely going to be twelve different flavors of awful.

        1. Bagge

          Heh, if they try that on Becky will have the Brown Dinner in reprise, unflappable smartass as she is.

          “Let’s pray for a poor man in prison..”
          Becky interrupts: “And lord said maybe don’t point a gun in the face of your child, hmmm?”
          Joyce: “FLIP ALL THE TABLES!!!!”

        2. Reltzik

          I’m actually guessing it’s going to be about Christianity being persecuted in the modern era, about how the worldly society out there doesn’t allow Christians to raise their children any more, look at all the evil influences, be sure to home-school your children if you want them to be godly, shield them from all the apostate influences out there or THIS is what will happen.

          … though really your guess is as good as mine. I’m calling it more for story-impact than because one is more likely than another in that breed of Christianity.

        3. thejeff

          Sounds about right to me. Along with some prayers for Ross and likely for bringing his wayward daughter back to the fold.

        4. John

          Our reading today will be from Genesis 22…

    2. Bagge

      “Um, Joyce… where are we goin… tell you what, let’s make tacco bell jokes instead.”

      1. Needfuldoer

        Carol’s going to have an aneurysm if she finds out the girls borrowed the car so they could go eat tacos together.

        1. StClair

          ahahahahaha
          I didn’t think of that.

          Cue the older version of the “O.O” Joyce freakout face.

        2. BenRG

          She’ll probably spend the afternoon deep-cleaning the inside of the car because, if she’s anything like how DMW describes his mother, she’s afraid that there are “gay cooties” on it or something.

        3. John

          Joyce just wants tacos.

    3. Shiro

      As much as I was hoping for Jocelyne, it’s probably a good thing they didn’t go full fugitive. I wonder what’ll happen on this lovely Saturday drive, though. They’ve gotta run into someone.

    4. Reltzik

      I guess I’m reading that Becky smile differently. I see her as teasing, trying to get Joyce to freak out and make that face she loves. … though maybe there’s an element of cheer-her-up behind that.

      1. Bagge

        I think it’s both. Becky want Joyce to do the Joyce-face because that’s the reaction she is used to. This new Joyce freaks her out.

        Basically, Becky is reaching out to her best friends, but she doesn’t really know how to do it.

        1. Emperor Norton

          In my experience, the first time you have to really reach out to a friend, you don’t really know what to do, so you’re just making more or less educated guesses.

          Now, granted, this probably isn’t the first time for Becky by far, considering they grew up together. So she’s probably trying to do the things that usually works on Joyce. But the two problems with that is that

          a) None of those problems have been anywhere near what is going on now (OK, I don’t know this for sure, but I think it’s a fairly safe bet), and
          b) Becky doesn’t know about the overheard conversation.

          As such, it might as well be the first time Becky has to reach out properly.

  21. DarkoNeko

    ethnic food like … taco bell… errr…

    1. Jay Eff

      Well, they do have Taco Bell, but–

      Do they have… Taco John’s?

      1. Peny

        Do they have… Papa John’s?

        1. carl320

          It’s next to the… Taco Bell.

        2. DarkoNeko

          it’s hilarous, i bet pizza isn’t considered “ethnic” food when it’s, like, from a country several thousands kms away, Italy.

        3. No Name

          Neither, for that matter are hamburgers.

        4. Kamino Neko

          Not if they’re fortunate.

      2. Bicycle Bill

        Looks like Evansville has the only Taco John’s anywhere in Indiana.  Too bad for the rest of the state.

        1. Bryan Redeagle

          Actually, There’s a Taco John’s about 40 min north of La Porte in Michigan.

    2. Dara

      Surprise! (Are you surprised? I’m surprised. Yelp thinks it’s actually good and still exists and everything.

      1. Bryan Redeagle

        It actually is good, and has a second location in Michigan City. It’s also vegan-friendly.

        1. carl320

          I’ve wanted to try that place.

  22. Guairdean

    When I go to Taco Bell, I compare the ground beef (or whatever the hell that stuff is), and the refried beans. If I can’t tell which is which, I go somewhere else. It hapoens more often than I like.

    1. Charlie

      We don’t have Taco Bell where I live, so I don’t know what it’s like, but this comment makes me hope that all their meat is actually secretly vegetarian like in that episode of Buffy.

    2. Reltzik

      Here’s whatever the hell that stuff is:

      “Beef, water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate.”

      Okay, beef is the first ingredient, good. Water, okay, fine, you’re boiling it. Chili, tomato powder, onion powder, you’re giving it flavor, perfectly fine.

      … oats? OATS?

      Yeast? WHY ARE YOU PUTTING YEAST INTO SOMETHING THAT’S NOT BREAD?

      Cocoa? This is CHOCOLATE-FLAVORED beef?

      Silicon Dioxide? That’s quartz! QUARTZ! If it’s ground up real fine that’s SAND!

      1. CJ

        Isolated oats product sounds interesting.
        Yeast extract is a common part of spice -concotions, works as a flavour intensifier. Silicon dioxide probably comes from the same mix of spices and ensures they keep – help, how does rieselfähig translate? – …. 8-/ … that is, to avoid the stuff clogging up the small holes in the dredger (sorry, my English is unsound where cooking is concerned).
        Cocao, yeah, why not, it’s supposed to taste Mexican, doesn’t it? But listed next to caramel color, it might just help to provide the color.

        1. Kamino Neko

          help, how does rieselfähig translate?

          Free-pouring would be best.

        2. Random832

          Caramel color does have a flavor… did you ever try Crystal Pepsi back when it was a thing?

      2. Kamino Neko

        Cocoa? This is CHOCOLATE-FLAVORED beef?

        The most authentically Mexican thing about it.

        The silicon dioxide is specifically identified as an anti-caking agent (part of the powdered ingredients), isolated oat product is a stabilizer and texture enhancer, yeast is likely part of a thickener.

        Really, over-the-top rants about food including common ingredients doesn’t do anything to make the food look bad.

      3. Bicycle Bill

        Silicon dioxide is classified as a trace mineral, and certain minerals or mineral compounds in our food are generally considered to be beneficial.

      4. Tacos

        Even when people know what’s in it, they’ll still eat it.

      5. Hielario

        That doesn’t sound so weird, my mom’s meatball recipe has grated bread on it.

      6. Willoughby Chase

        Top cooking tip: if you’re stuffing chilli powder or chillis in yr cooking, put either sugar (Indian curries usually) or cocoa powder in with it. Helps to take the sharpness out of the chilli. It’ll be just as hot but also edible at the same time.

  23. A

    > Have shitty day
    > Still have something to smile about because this comic exists

    1. Vagabond J

      I know, right?

      1. Someone

        except for when it is sad.

        I’m having a really sucky day! maybe Dumbing of Age will help!

        *Strip about Carol insulting homosexuals*

        That didnt help at all! 🙁

        1. inqntrol

          I heard that watching pictures with cute kittens helps, give it a try.

        2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Snakes work better. They’re as silly as cats but up to 50% funnier because they’re noodles.

        3. Bicycle Bill

          Just for you, Gamaran….. http://www.amazingjokes.com/img/2016/56a7ed2ca8e76_Cats.jpg

        4. Falling Star

          I put on something to DANCE to.

  24. Vagabond J

    I dunno why, but I expected a “must feed Daniel” vibe from this strip.

    The fact that Willis gave me something I didn’t expect is a good thing.

  25. Kris

    No black people in La porte? Maybe we don’t want to be in La porte. Think about that!

    1. Cerberus

      According to the Census.gov site, the demographics skew 85% white and 11% african-american. But what I’m finding on google seems to suggest that the history of the area is… let’s just say that the KKK is still actively recruiting in that area (yes, in the 2010s) and leave it at that:
      http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/18091

      1. Kris

        This one gets it.

      2. David M Willis

        Note that those census numbers are for La Porte County, not La Porte-the-city. La Porte-the-city has way fewer than 10% black folks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Porte,_Indiana#Demographics Michigan City has 26%, which is where that average of 11% comes from.

        Nearby Westville, IN, which is where my dad has his dental office and where he grew up and then lived for the past decade, used to have 1% black folks according to the 2000 census, but now there’s 25% black folks. The story, insofar as it’s been related to me? Real estate shenanigans were artificially constructed to keep black folks from moving into town so they could live closer to the factories where they work. They’d be forced to commute instead. I’m guessing that new census number means some common friggin’ sense prevailed.

        Not that Westville’s a prize or anything. It’s literally like a Dairy Queen and a gas station. And a dental office.

        1. Bryan Redeagle

          This is true about the real estate. I’m so very frustrated trying to find a house in La Porte (I refuse to quit my job because my employer is too awesome). I’ll only be moving to an awesome place now because I’m buying my coworker’s house.

          And many have warned me about the crime in Michigan City, but I think there’s just too many black people for those folks. If you look at the actual statistics. Crime rarely appears in the residential areas.

        2. Bundy

          Hey, there’s a stoplight there, too. And, the pumpkin farm. Can’t forget the pumpkin farm. 🙂

        3. carl320

          There’s a warehouse and a prison as well. There’s a lot in Westville.

    2. Undrave

      As a pure whitebread (well maybe not THAT pure, early French settlers did bang a lot of Native women before women were imported :p …) I wouldn’t live in La Porte either so I’m not sure how much one impact the other… Then again I’m a filthy agnostic who was born out of wedlock and baptised in a Catholic church…

  26. Pantheon the Mantheon

    *Implying La Porte doesn’t allow black people*

    1. Vagabond J

      *Also implying black people just don’t like La Porte*

      1. thejeff

        Given the history of race relations, white flight and redlining in the US, one is a hell of a lot more implied than the other.

      2. Betty Anne

        *Implying that, like many semi-rural areas, La Porte’s white population effectively made it suicide for black families to live in the area, thus making it so that La Porte doesn’t allow black people by making black people not like to live there*

        For a case study in this, see the Clayton Jackson McGhie lynchings in Duluth, Minnesota as the reason why there were no black families in neighboring Superior, Wisconsin until the Air Force brought black families to the Air Force base in Duluth in the 1960s, and why racial tensions are still high in Superior today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Duluth_lynchings

  27. Luzahn

    Wait, why is their courthouse a church? =P

    1. Undrave

      La Porte doesn’t believe in the separation of Church and State?

    2. mystseekyr

      A lot of smaller towns use old churches as municipal buildings.

      1. Undrave

        I know two libraries in former churches… and condos too…

        1. Robbzilla

          Pittsburgh has a brewery/restaurant in an old church.

    3. Marie

      Just looks like the average clocktower to me

    4. Betty Anne

      Looked it up just to verify, but Willis’s drawing is very good. It’s Richardson Romanesque architecture, and has always been a courthouse: http://www.in.gov/history/markers/417.htm (This style of architecture HAS been used in churches, but it has also been used in government buildings and private residences.)

  28. Just Me

    Wikipedia had an interesting bit of history relating to La Porte and to a former resident named Belle Gunness.

    Not that this should be of concern to Joyce, even if Belle was never found….

  29. newllend(henryvolt)

    When the great American rite wars start this place we the first to go.

  30. Dumb Idiot Is Who I am

    La Porte County Courthouse looks like a Beeker screaming.

    1. Dellaran

      …can not unsee…

  31. Xelgaex

    Hmm… Joyce is resisting coming to the conclusion that her hometown’s culinary diversity is woefully lacking. It’s almost like home might not be quite as good as she thought. Weird.

    Anyway I’m sure this is just a straightforward discussion of available fast food franchises with no uncomfortable subtext at all, right?

    1. Megatron

      I don’t believe in subtext.

      1. Rutee

        …This is you overreacting to Starscream, isn’t it?

        “Now that Megatron has, shall we say, departed…”

    2. Reltzik

      That or it’s a conversation she and Becky have been having for years.

      “Our town sucks! It’s so small and boring and doesn’t have any interesting stores in it!”

  32. UnoriginalPasta

    As a Mexican, I only go there for the Doritos Locos Tacos. It’s my guilty pleasure, though the amount of anything I get inside the damn shell tends to be disappointing. Hence why I feel guilty about it.

    1. AeromechanicalAce

      I always thought the guilt of taco bell was felt entirely via the colon.

      1. StClair

        Sometimes in other parts of the lower GI tract!

    2. Robbzilla

      As a Texan, I can’t even stomach that. The Cinnabon bites though are literally the only thing I ever order there, and I’ve only done that twice because they’re the devil! (Oh so yummy!)

  33. Bagge

    Becky is freaking out about Joyce’s mood, so she defaults to smartassery.

    I love that even now, Joyce is still a hyper aware driver!

  34. Matt

    Nothing good ever starts with someone driving in Willis comics.

    1. Bagge

      Sure it does! Toedad driving ended up with This
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/strength-2/

  35. Orion Fury

    But you do need us, Willis. Or, at least, everyone else. I work nearly 40 hours a week, and I can’t afford to buy my own food, let alone support a PornLord. And is Lady & Lings. (Is that a thing?)

  36. Mo

    Hey, black people are totally allowed, as long as they’re playing basketball for the prep school in order to get recruited for college by former Indiana prep stars. (Granted, my whole experience comes from these two dudes.)

  37. Lan

    Dammit now I REALLY want a burrito and discount DVDs.

  38. Beardo Deluxe

    Hey, there used to be a pretty neat comic shop in that K-Mart : mall combo, and a nice used book shop “downtown”. And they even have a game shop now. https://www.facebook.com/GameEmporiumMedia

    1. David M Willis

      I rode my bike to the comic book store at Maple Lane Mall occasionally, and I won a contest that the comic book store downtown ran one year with a Robo-Vac comic book. I blew my prize on Valiant Super Mario Adventures comics.

      Maple Lane Mall is where I would get my hair cut. I had a few birthday parties at Aladdin’s arcade.

      I also remember my mom telling me not to touch the nickel-automated rides at the mall because they’d give me AIDS.

      1. Reltzik

        But… but… that’s not how nickels work!

        Rule 43: If there’s a way to not understand how sex works, American Sex Ed will propagate it.

        1. Silamy

          Do we know what Mike’s doing with them? Or how safe he’s being?

        2. Betty Anne

          Suddenly I want to make a “Mike and his nickel-automated rides” joke, but that’s a little bit on the offensive side of offensive jokes. ^^;

      2. Willoughby Chase

        Now I’m seeing you as a cross between Comic Book Guy and Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show.

      3. Betty Anne

        My mom stopped short of saying they’d give us AIDS (she just said they were gross, dangerous, and a ripoff), but that was apparently a thing with some parents, because at least half of my friends when I was a kid believed they’d give you AIDS. 😐

  39. Skizz

    When I am driving home at midnight and haven’t eaten recipe for happiness. A nacho cheese doritos locos taco wrapped in a double beef volvano burrito and swilled down with a limeade. So wrong, yet so good.

  40. Joy Baker

    LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA IS AMAZING.

    And by amazing I mean it’s well worth the 5 dollars you pay for an entire pizza. AN ENTIRE PIZZA FOR SO LITTLE MONEY.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      A batch of bread dough with some tomato sauce smeared on top does not a pizza make.

      1. StClair

        Perhaps not, but it’s still tasty, and sometimes that’s what you’re in the mood for.

      2. No Name

        Especially if they don’t cook it all the way through, which they are apt to do. It keeps them from burning in the “Hot ‘n’ Ready”.

      3. kelticat

        It’s better than a two-for-one pizza I once had. But seriously Totino’s was better than that twofer pizza.

  41. Rani

    WELL THAT CHAPTER TITLE’S FOREBODING.

  42. Megatron

    This comic is unrealistic. I’m not crushing fleshlings (I really need to add the word this terrible computer’s spell check) under my heals in any of it’s panels.

    1. Reltzik

      Nonono. You crush undead under your heals. The living benefit from your heals.

      *flees*

      1. Betty Anne

        I thought heals just made undead living (and usually on your side) again? Unless I’ve been casting heals all wrong all this time. 🙁

        1. Megatron

          I hate fleshling languages.

    2. nothri

      Anytime this comic depicts you not doing that you can just assume that Starscream screwed up your ability to do so off panel.

      Like he always does.

      Always.

  43. BenRG

    As I predicted yesterday, this is the moment when Joyce realises that, yes, she was brought up in a sleepy small town that is nowhere near as cool and exciting as she thought as a teenager. Especially now she’s lived in Bloomington a while. In its own way, that realisation will change her the most. Her number of reasons for returning, post-college, are withering away.

  44. slovenlysine

    As a resident of Michigan City I am amazed it was referenced anywhere ever…

    1. Robbzilla

      My mother in law was as well. She lived there with her mom until she moved to Dallas for work. Her mom still lives there, so we visit on occasion.

  45. Bicycle Bill

    “You guys are pretty awesome! I’m pretty sure I don’t deserve you.”
    ——————————
    No, probably not, but you’ve got us and you’re stuck with us.

  46. Bicycle Bill

    …. must obsessively search Google Streetview to try to find the house Willis used as the model for Joyce’s house……

    1. StClair

      There’s a non-zero chance, particularly considering the semi-autobiographical nature, that it doesn’t exist anymore.

  47. David

    How about skinny dipping in Stone Lake? Old Beach should be pretty empty this hour.

    1. No Name

      If Joyce and Becky did that, Carol would have a heart attack. And Joyce wouldn’t want that.

    2. Bagge

      They could visit Mount Baldy
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/baldy/

    3. Falling Star

      Yes, because that’s exactly what we want right now.

  48. LWS

    Bloomington must seem like New York City by comparison to La Porte. In French, La Porte means “the door.” Makes you wonder what the town is the door to: bigotry, homophobia, religious intolerance…

    1. BenRG

      My feeling that, symbolically, it will be the door between Joyce’s innocent and relatively sheltered childhood and the far more complex and nuanced world of adulthood. Her moving on from La Porte into the wider world will be at least partly metaphorical of her moving on in her perceptions of the world.

    2. Deanatay

      Hopefully God is closing La Porte behind Joyce, and not sealing her in.

      1. Betty Anne

        Most instances of God closing the door I’ve seen have referenced “God” (usually, the church) closing someone out because of a perceived sinful nature; essentially, excommunication for Christians who aren’t Catholic. Joyce’s mom might considering tightening her grip on Joyce to be “closing the door” to the outside world, but I think she’d find it as effective as it is for most controlling parents who try that. :/ And, when Joyce does manage to flee, suddenly God’s closing the door to her (from Carol’s perspective), because Carol no longer has power over her, so clearly she’s one of those ‘heathens’ who are lost to God. :p (Also, clearly, I’ve heard too much of this shit thrown at my face over the years. :p)

  49. Chronos

    That’s a pretty good looking courthouse.

    1. Deanatay

      It’s apparently the only interesting thing in La Porte. Probably why Willis keeps drawing it.

  50. Speaky2k

    A while ago I was dating a girl originally from La Porte but living in Portage at the time. We only visited her family in La Porte once or twice because there was nothing in the town and now where to eat.
    We went to Michigan City quite a few times because they had the best “ethnic” food around at El Bracero Mexican Restaurant. Having visited Mexico for work several times, this was the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in the US, mostly because they hired 100% Mexican cooks there on temporary visas.

    1. Robbzilla

      Not Mexican food, but go hi “Don Quixote” in Valpo. That’s some seriously good Spanish food. And by not Mexican, I mean don’t expect ANYTHING Mexican there as far as food goes (They hate it when someone comes in expecting chips and salsa!). The food is 100% Spanish, and the owners are from Spain. My wife worked there in high school as a busgirl and dish washer. I’ve eaten there twice, and while it’s not cheap, it IS superb. I highly recommend getting tapas and possibly a Tarta de Cuajada for dessert. It’s probably the best food I ate the times I visited NW Indiana.

      1. Robbzilla

        That’s go HIT, not go hi. :p

  51. Robbzilla

    My wife’s mom lived in Michigan City, and her grandmother still does. it’s funny to see that little spot in the road mentioned as a better place to be! And they may allow black people, but there’s still some serious animosity between races on both sides of that fence.

    That being said, the beach is kinda cool and they have a fairly nice casino there.

  52. Deirdre

    Hey, La Porte has a thriving Mexican community! With multiple restaurants and grocery stores going, so that the pastor of St. Joe’s never has to pay for a meal!

    Not to mention the really cool Cali-Mex-Organic place (Mucho Mas).

    Shopping, on the other hand? If you’re not going to the outlets in MC, you’d better head to Valpo or SB.

    (OTOH, I could believe that people who thought all the Catholic churches were representatives of the Whore of Babylon would not actually KNOW about the thriving Mexican American community. Plus, when we lived there, the Mexican kids weren’t allowed to play with the white kids in our neighborhood, because too many of the white families were selling drugs or running brothels.)

    1. pertainstothesea

      Mucho Mas is the BEST.

      It’s been puzzling me for a while trying to figure out how Joyce can avoid Catholics at all in La Porte. From what some homeschooled friends have told me, the local homeschool organizations lean heavily Catholic, and even outside of those half the county seems to be Catholic. Did they just not leave the house while they homeschooled?

  53. HMRC4EVR

    Why do I get the feeling that all of Joyce put all of their stuff in the trunk and is taking them back to the college?

    1. Betty Anne

      Unless she sneaked out with the bags between overhearing her parents and waking Becky up, I doubt it. Becky would definitely notice the bags, having been a runaway herself. With any luck, Joyce said “fuck the dirty clothes” and is headed back with Becky as is.

      Clothes are things. Yeah, like Becky found out, it sucks to be stuck for a while with only the ones on your back. It is, however, a better situation than being stuck in an abusive household.

      1. merbrat

        I thought Joyce just had a backpack (when she had Becky stuff clothes in it) Becky would’ve planned to get stuff from home.

      2. Kamino Neko

        With any luck, Joyce said “fuck the dirty clothes” and is headed back with Becky as is.

        That is not a ‘with any luck’ thing. That is ‘now her parents are definitely going to pull her’, and ‘if they’re particularly vengeful, they won’t ignore the fact that she stole their car’.

    2. John

      From preview panels, I’m pretty sure they’re just going out for breakfast here, and to get out of the house, and they’ll be back this evening if not earlier.

  54. HuqYouUp

    for anybody interested

    https://www.google.ca/maps/@41.6118838,-86.7219783,3a,75y,177.96h,94.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sebWFMoXPLvEjA0j2IQ_RBA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

    1. Dellaran

      Thanks for finding that and posing it. To be horribly pedantic, though, I think they’re at the opposite corner of the courthouse:

      https://goo.gl/maps/fTgpkcACdKT2

      Note the median strip on the street they just turned onto, the flagpole, and the little sign between two shrubs at the corner. (In the comic, it looks like a piece of white bread to me for some reason…)

      Also, if they continue as they’re going now, they’re headed north on US 35, toward Michigan City, or to Interstate 80/90. I wonder where they’re going?

      1. Betty Anne

        If they are going to Round the Clock (which IS in that direction on 35NB), they can still spin around and drop 35 south and either cut cross country to I-65, or stay on 35 to Kokomo, grab 31 to Indy, and end up on the same route back to Bloomington.

        1. Dellaran

          I bow to your superior knowledge. And your better-endowed avatar.

        2. Betty Anne

          LOL The avatar I’ll grant, but the “knowledge” just comes from having been on the road with my husband (an over-the-road truck driver) and learning how to play navigator/dispatch for him. XD

  55. caesaria82

    As a European who has never been to Taco Bell, I feel like I have nothing to contribute to today’s conversation lol.

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      I’m a 21-year-old Canadian and I’ve been to Taco Bell, like, twice.

    2. inqntrol

      Maybe there’ll be a future strip about shawarma, gyros..crap now I’m hungry.

  56. FarmerB

    It gets really weird when I start seeing buildings from my childhood in this god-damn comic.

    1. pertainstothesea

      I grew up in La Porte and I go to IU. This entire comic is an exercise in seeing how weirded out I can get from seeing familiar places.

      1. trlkly

        Does he go there to get references, or does he just remember what it looks like?

        1. carl320

          I can imagine he remembers the courthouse from his childhood. It’s a pretty unique building. The IU locations he visits and takes pictures to use as references.

        2. David M Willis

          Plus Google Maps Streetview exists.

          (there’s a link two comment chains up)

      2. FarmerB

        Early on the mentioned going to Mount Baldy and I almost choked on the nostalgia.

  57. Alex_L_H

    Come to beautiful Port Colborne, ON and see our scenic broken lift bridge, and the business signs being snarky about it!

    1. Spencer

      Oh hey, I’m from Niagara too.

      Seriously it’s been like a year. When the hell is it getting fixed?

  58. Ethan

    According to Tripadvisor, the second best restaurant in La Porte is Mucho Mas, a mexican grill. That sounds WAY better than Taco Bell.

    1. No Name

      What’s the first best?

  59. kelticat

    Food that is ethnic, but we don’t think about it.
    popcorn : American Indian
    hamburger : German
    hot dogs : German
    catsup : Chinese
    mustard : Chinese
    pizza: Italian
    spaghetti : Italian
    beer: Egyptian by way of Germany
    There are other foods , but this is enough for now.

    1. thejeff

      OTOH, tomato sauce on pasta or pizza was a late adoption in Italy. Tomatoes themselves are an American plant.

    2. Akiosama

      Pizza and spaghetti may be Italian in origin, but pasta is a Chinese invention (or so I’ve heard), and the pizza and spaghetti we know is pretty different than what the Italian version is like.

      At least people don’t mistake Ramen and Sushi for anything but Japanese, although there are a lot of less-than-Japanese incarnations running around for some of it – especially Ramen.

      1. Mydnyt

        If I remember right didn’t a national poll in Japan state that the greatest invention of the 20th century was instant ramen?

    3. John

      On the other hand…
      fortune cookies : American.

    4. Jezi

      I mean, given that the American government systematically eliminated as many traces of the continent’s native people and cultures as it possibly could, like 99% of our food is from somewhere else.

      /Debbie Downer

      1. thejeff

        Except for the actual foods themselves: corn, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, turkey, off the top of my head. We stole them and exported them to the rest of the world.

    5. Guairdean

      Ice Cream and (sort of) the ice cream machine – Chinese http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/06/the-history-of-ice-cream/

      1. Captain Button

        Love the 8th Man avatar!

        ObDoA: Has Joyce experienced enough real ethnic food to be now repulsed by the tawdry imitation ethnic food of her hometown? I doubt it.

        1. Guairdean

          Thanks, I watched 8th Man on rainy days back in the mid 60s. Looking back, I’m amazed it was on, but there were several Non-US animated shows on in this area back then. Supercar was one of the others that I remember.

  60. smooti

    Ah yes, the “first time home from college” disillusionment with the hometown. Soon it will happen to you too, Joyce. Though considering Joyce has more reasons to continue to BE attached, I guess it’s a little harder to let it go.

  61. flareonflare

    im out of comics to binge…….

    In 12 hours i have become emotionally dependant on this

    i want to feel sad, because reasons, now give me sad story so i can feel things

    >.> ugh i need to be a real person so im not so emotionally crippled that i need to get my feelings from a comic

    1. Betty Anne

      Have you read Go Get a Roomie? That one’s a good one to binge on.

    2. Betty Anne

      (FWIW, I find new comics via the HiveWorks ads when I need something new to binge. I have not yet found a bad comic via them, and most of them I have ended up sticking with.)

  62. flareonflare

    and if it took over 5 years to get this far, i dont want to wait 5 more to get just as much

    this is why i should wait until series are finished before i start binging them, my withdrawals happen too fast without a concrete ending for me, so i dont just go “but i want closure…..”

    1. Reltzik

      Have you considered limiting yourself to, say, 14 days of comics to a single day of real time?

      … because that’s totally what I do.

      …. honest.

  63. Tenn

    THANKS FOR REMINDING US, ALT-TEXT!

  64. Falling Star

    Just two girls out on the town.
    What could go wrong?

  65. Rob S.

    Apparently, based on the different dates on Google Street View, sometime between August 2013 and October 2015, some sort of community bulletin board was erected on that corner.

  66. GreatNate

    I had to comment, that this strip exactly captures my hometown of Clarion, PA. A courthouse, a mall with a Kmart attached to it, and for many years, the only “ethnic” foods were the one cheap Chinese Restaurant and a Taco Bell.

  67. kaunisenkeli

    Taco Bell is serves Mexican cuisine so authentic, they might as well be Cracker Barrel.

    1. kaunisenkeli

      Ugh. Silly grammar errors.

  68. Paul

    I just realized that the Willis twins where born on my 51st birthday! December the 3rd is the best damn day to be born ever! Just ask anyone born on that day!

    1. Lily

      it is the best day indeed! our birthday is 12/3!

      1. Lily

        they were born on my 24th birthday 🙂

        1. Paul

          Clearly they are destined for greatness!

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