CSotD: Try an “F”
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"Elderberries" is one of a handful of zombie strips that actually became funnier once they were taken over by a new artist. The strip, set in a retirement home, was launched in 2004 by writer Joe Troise and artist Phil Frank. Troise left the strip two years later, and then Frank, already known for the strips "Farley" and "Miles to Go," became seriously ill with cancer. Shortly before Frank's death in 2007, the strip was passed on to Corey Pandolph, who proceeded, over time, to inject his own demented sensibilities into things, raising the strip from gentle humor into the "wacky" realm.
Today's example is much more thoughtful than is the norm for "Elderberries," but it does illustrate one of the strengths of the strip, which is that the cowboy, Dusty, is not just a wacky guy who creates wacky situations. He has genuine friends in the home and, while he's not often this reflective, it's not entirely out of character, either. This kind of nuance is a legacy of Frank and Troise, respected by Pandolph, that you don't often find in contemporary strips, where the "wacky" character is usually a one-dimensional wisecrack machine.
As for today's strip — and here's a bit of hilarity for you — it reminds me of a story I did years ago on suicide, which is as great a problem among elders as it is among teens, but gets less press attention there because older people also die of enough other things that suicide doesn't rise to the top as a cause of death in their demographic. One of the experts I interviewed noted that older people sometimes feel that they are simply seen as "old people" and that things they did in their youth, like coming ashore at Normandy or climbing mountains, simply aren't meaningful to the people around them, that they might as well have spent their youth doing nothing for all that it matters to anyone now.
Regarding today's strip, most people's "bucket lists" seem to consist of things like jumping out of an airplane or visiting Tahiti that won't do much to change the world. Once you get to the point where you're looking back at your life and wishing you'd had a few more adventures, it's a little late to join the Marines or spend the summer hanging out on the streets of Amsterdam and living in a hostel.
Not that the route to adventure is closed off: For those who hit retirement age and still find themselves with the energy to do so, the Peace Corps and Vista will accept them, but I think those sorts of people don't sit around making lists. They just go down to Appalachia and help feed the poor or whathaveyou.
Meanwhile, my eldest son, who will not hit retirement thinking he missed any adventures, claims to have started a list of things he has never done, probably never will and certainly won't miss one way or the other. He has a name for it that sounds like "bucket list" but starts with a different letter.
Trying brunch would fit very well on that list, but I've taken the kid to brunch, so he'll have to think of something else.
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