Bah, it’s the most tired “long car ride” gag of all-time, a joke that was tiresome back in the 1920s, which means it’s right in BatNard’s wheelhouse. No Holly, you’re obviously not “there” yet and believe me, we ALL wish you were. I certainly hope he’s not doing another week featuring the ride back to Ohio, as based on these gags he’s already totally out of “car trip” material, but then again I wouldn’t put it past the sick bastard either.
Son of Stuck Funky 
None of us are There, Holly. None of us will ever be There, ever again. Holly.
For some inexplicable reason TomBa has decided that this drive has to be chronicled in real time. We can only hope that they don’t have to drive all the way to Key West.
I always answered that question with, “Why yes we are”. Of course they would always complain that we weren’t there yet. To which I would ask if you knew we weren’t there yet why did you ask if we were there. Somehow that always ended that conversation … until the next trip.
Batiuk does this regularly, where he’ll have his characters go on a trip or a flight, and part of me thinks “Yay, a change of scenery can’t help but improve this strip at least a little”.
And then you get the “joke” about Crankshaft waiting in line for airport security, the “joke” about airline food, the “joke” about flights being delayed. And then the next thing you know the strip is right back in its regular setting.
Batiuk is one of the few writers I know who uses a change of scenery just as an excuse to trot out another set of cliched, sad jokes.
I mean, honestly, the genesis of this “arc” is probably just that he was driving somewhere and noticed a McDonald’s or his wife fell asleep in the car and he thought “I can turn this into a strip”, and came up with the silly “Holly and Funky have to drive to Florida to pick up Holly’s mom for the Alumni Band performance” thing after the fact.
Exactly. While he’s always used that wry “deadpan” style of humor, back in the day the gags at least centered around the events of the story. Now though, they’re all just generic old jokes and staggeringly mundane “observations” that have nothing to do with anything.
Brace yourself for a week of Mother-in-law jokes.
Also, I can totally see Batiuk doing another one of these two panel “flashback” strips, except with “If you don’t stop annoying me . . .” “I’m going to stop this car and you can walk home!”.
Alternative second panel:
“Why are we pulling up to the drop off door at Bedside Manor?”
BRILLIANT!
If that’s where they dump Holly’s mom, we’ll be spared the two-way return trip to Florida.
Or, she could die and they could ship her home in a box.
Or skip the “she died” part. I’m not fussy.
They wouldn’t need to be ‘there’ at all if her mother didn’t feel obliged to feed them a story prompt.
“ I certainly hope he’s not doing another week featuring the ride back to Ohio.“
You know he will, he has a lot of time to kill.
And the coming reunion isn’t until September 1.
There will probably be a week in Florida itself, followed by a week back in Ohio while everybody gets ready for the reunion itself…and OF COURSE it will end with an outdoor performance, in a driving rainstorm
Brett Sommer is Holly’s mom.
This story arc has to continue next week. Batiuk hasn’t trotted out the joke with the passenger having to go pee right after passing a rest stop.