In the name of transparency

Some folks are more effective at letting you know if they aren't interested.
 

For your short- and long-term needs

We just set the record for the highest temperature ever here in our little town — 117 F! We've had 100+ temperatures for three days in a row. 

The missionaries could have filled the chapel with the promise of air conditioning and free WiFi!

 

Sketchbook: Catastrophe

As more and more people go back to the office, fewer and fewer cats are going to know what to do with themselves during the day!

Not just that, but video chats will be a lot less fun. One of the best things about Teams/Zoom/Skype is the chance to peek in to your co-workers' homes and pick up on clues that show what they're really like!
 

Nor anything else!

Our governor announced that restrictions will be lifted at the end of the month if we can just get a few more people vaccinated.

Oddly enough, my doctor told me this morning that practically everyone who is hospitalized now because of COVID are people who haven't been vaccinated. Interesting how that works!

Stay healthy, and may the Force be with you!

 

Worlds without end

Raise your hand if you've ever seen leftover pizza from a function missionaries were involved in. Anyone? Didn't think so!

This reminds me of something we did during the pandemic shutdown. We did our best to support local businesses, particularly our favorite restaurants.

One night, we decided to have pizza for dinner. We like to spread our business around, so rather than order everything from one pizza place, we ordered wings from one, bread, salad and dessert from another, and the actual pizzas from a third.

All the delivery people showed up at about the same time, passing each other in the cul-de-sac or in the driveway. There were some confused looks — and we had a great dinner with our favorites from each restaurant!

 

Beat the heat

Sometimes the simple solutions are the most difficult to see!

We're supposed to have a record-breaking heat wave this weekend. Look for me in the freezer section! 

One step at a time

We had quite a discussion on forgiveness in our Sunday school class last week. Forgiveness is an easy concept to understand, but it's much more difficult to put into practice. Sometimes you do have to take it in layers.
 

Helping hands

There are days I wish that I had a Primary class to help me!
 

Sketchbook: Cleared for landing

I had a little wishful thinking when I looked at my controls the other day. 
 

Here's to you, dad!

I read somewhere recently that Brigham Young had 56 children with 16 of his wives. He would have gotten a few well-wishes for Father's Day!

 

Reach out and touch someone

As a missionary, I don't think I ever had a fridge that was big enough to be capable of supporting life.
 

Q and A session

I distinctly remember one interview with my stake president where I went in feeling great, but I came out feeling worried about my eternal salvation — and I hadn't done anything wrong!

He was a little intense.

 

Both sides now

Every time I think that I’ve drawn my last pandemic cartoon, another one comes along!

Tomorrow is the last day of school for the year, and from what I’ve seen there are a lot of kids who feel this way!

 

One day at the doctor’s office

We had a family discussion the other night about Brigham Young having a  bad case of arthritis. One of my sons came up with this gag right on the spot. 
 

Sketchbook: In other words

This was leftover from a series I did a few weeks ago. There are a lot of things missionaries wish they could say, but they can’t. 
 

Moving on to an upgrade

It’s graduation season, thanks in part to millions of home computing devices everywhere!
 

A lost branch

With drug sniffing dogs, bomb sniffing dogs and so forth, why not a genealogy sniffing dog?

Motion to table

It's a slippery slope when you start voting on what's for dinner!

SUPPLEMENTAL: Perhaps: "All those who can release this broccoli from the dinner table with a vote of thanks, please signify by the uplifted hand." would have been a better caption.
 

Proper authorization

One change I hope they keep when the pandemic has passed: the people at the sacrament table washing their hands right before they pass. 

I was a deacon. I know what can happen between washing your hand at home and showing up at church!

Sketchbook: Alice says

If I hadn't just done the Elvish Presley cartoon, this might have moved past the sketchbook. The rhyme scheme could have been better, too.

Graduation this week, end of school for everyone else is next week. Let summer begin!
 

Hazards of an open mic

Let's just say that I've never been in a place where this hasn't happened!
 

Cut to the chase

Or would that just make it too easy?
 

The heat is on

Oh, what I would have given for an air conditioned apartment as a missionary!
 

Didn't he perform at Bilbo's party?

I was watching a training video the other day. There was a typo in the closed captioning — the autogenerated captions apparently didn't understand "Elvis" so they replaced it with "elvish." I dutifully listened to the rest of the video, but my focus was on the sketches in my notepad.

A quick internet search showed that the gag has been done before (mostly as a meme) but only half-heartedly: putting pointy ears on Elvis; Legolas singing Love Me Tender; or throwing in some Tolkien-ish words into some of Elvis' songs.

My thought that the gag should be like Elvis: a little over the top! Singing his songs in Elvish, wearing rhinestone-studded Woodland elf clothes! And definitely not the fat Elvis! I tried rendering the lyrics he's singing into an Elvish script, but part of the fun of the joke is almost recognizing the lyrics.*

When I report back on the training, I'm going to have to say that I may not have gotten much out of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
 

*If you're interested, we could get into a side discussion on the theory of humor. Any takers?

For joys laid up above

...and if they have too much sunshine, there's no way that they're going to be able to sleep!