Tag: Cayla

It's Called Cloning.

Things sure are moving quickly in this story arc; today’s strip makes it obvious that _____ has gotten a scholarship to Kent State!

Now, I have to admit, _____ has always been one of my favorite characters for the following reasons:

1. Despite being raised by a single parent, _____ has been able to really push herself and become a star basketball player on her high school girl’s basketball team; so much so that Kent State has invited her to the campus and she’s even been able to get a scholarship out of it.

2. ____ is incredibly cool about the fact her parent has entered into a mixed marriage, and is even very close to her new “sister”, _____.

3. ____ May be a girl, but she’s all tomboy at heart, and isn’t afraid to throw down with the boys.

4. _____ loves Montoni’s pizza! Thankfully, she has a parent that works there so she can get a good table. She also has parental figures that work at the local high school that she attends.

Seriously, is there any reason to have Keisha around if she’s just going to be Summer II? How much more interesting would it have been if Keisha didn’t get a scholarship to Kent State and had to slog through classes at a local community college? There’d be resentment, drama, jealousy over Summer’s charmed life and Keisha’s valiant struggle to validate herself…

But what do I know; I’m not a writer, apparently.

A non-turn of events!

A single phone call reveals what a most snarkers and my long-dead grandmother suspected; Summer will be going to Kent State. With most folks a lot more wary of the value of a college education I’m not sure Les should be making his smirk/smug satisfaction face.

In a development that should surprise no one, Summer II got invited to Kent State as well, causing Cayla to break out into her best hatchet-face.

Comin' up, one side of spatula smack!

Guest blogger DavidO here, filling in as best I can for the very funny TFHackett!

Les looks like he’s just about to set some ground rules with a spatual upside of Cayla’s head, if his tiny flippered arm will let him reach that far. Meanwhile, Keisha’s transformation into a classic Westview Turtle person is almost complete. And, of course, no gathering would be complete without at least mentioning Montoni’s greasy pizza.

99 Percent Bullshit

Hoo boy—she is mad, too! Just look at her little fists clenched in front of her. This is the strongest display of emotion we’ve seen from Cayla in a long time!

Now that he’s put “the intolerant” of the world in their place, the un-didactic Mr. Batiuk takes a(nother) swipe at those wicked Wall Street Billionaires, who in Cayla’s mind have somehow (how, exactly?) made college tuition difficult to afford. Les soothes her by relating an anecdote that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. had shared in his commencement address to Rice University’s Class of ’98:

I’ll pass on to you what another Methuselah said to me. He’s Joe Heller, author, as you know, of Catch 22. We were at a party thrown by a multi-billionaire out on Long Island, and I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel to realize that only yesterday our host probably made more money than Catch 22, one of the most popular books of all time, has grossed world-wide over the past forty years?”

Joe said to me, “I have something he can never have.”

I said, “What’s that, Joe?”

And he said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”

Let’s don’t quibble over the distinction between having “the knowledge that I’ve got enough” and just “enough”. Cayla expresses to Les her concern over the expense faced by their soon-to-be-blended family, and Les’ idea of easing her mind is to (mis)quote a writer, because writers are wise and all-knowing. Billionaires, on the other hand, are “greedy, amoral morons” who fuck things up for decent folk like “us”.

From April 2010: