Do Not Ask for Whom the Elly Toils

Today in For Better or For Worse, Anne Nichols was reintroduced. I suspect we are going to see a lot of old characters returning in the final year. Tomorrow’s strip was the real surprise, with the suddenly sickly Grandpa Jim and panicky Iris. underpantz picked a great time to join April’s Real Blog and take on Iris Richards.

I knew an elderly couple where the woman had a stroke and her husband became so panicked, he did nothing to help. Later, the woman’s daughter came to visit and found her mother on the floor unconscious with her father beside her, still not knowing what to do. I also remember my 90-year-old grandfather who was in a bathtub and accidentally turned the hot water on too hot, and burned himself pretty badly, because he panicked and it took him a long time to regain his composure long enough to turn the water off. So, the idea that Iris would not call 911 and waited for Elly is not unrealistic to me. At 85 years old, grandpa Jim is well over the average lifespan for the American male, and so this could be it for him, and I would be so impressed if it was.

However, the idea that Lynn Johnston would have the final situation in the strip with a conscious grandpa Jim be one where Iris stacked too many things on his cart, seems highly unlikely to me. When grandpa Marion went, there was a long lead-in to it, and she got have many final touchy-feely moments. I expect the same for Jim. With any luck, a grandpa Jim funeral, will mean, not only a Phil and Georgia appearance, but Fiona Brass will return too.