DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Full disclosure-- since I drew this, I read the first Dune book; I am now considering starting to read the second one.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI, FESTIVAL ON BIRCH: To my memory, this is the first time I've ever personally known someone who had to use a motorized shopping scooter. It was a fun science/engineering lesson.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: I really haven't eaten from the Kwik Trip hot grill-- or any gas station hot grill-- since then, I swear!

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Every few years, I venture back to Kwik Trip's hot grill, even though it gives me food poisoning every time. This became the third and final time, I swear.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: George slipped and got emergency-room-ambulance-level-injured on some ice as he was trying to go to a sale at the record store. As he later joked, 'I was SO CLOSE to Revival Records!'

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: The title says it all. The title says so much, I haven't felt the need to watch it yet.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Wilbur really does have a keen self-awareness and a long memory. It's a delightful combination.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI, THE JOYNT: When you are undercultured about jazz, you can mistake a legendary jazz violinist for your old undergrad adviser.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI, RACYS: I'd say only Therese would look to Skyrim for venison cooking tips, but actually I bet there's a lot of like-minded nerds out there.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: If you know Beau of the Fifth Column's YouTube opening or are familiar with the Gon theme song ear work, this is a comic you can kinda hear. And I suppose if you've had Persian rice, this is a comic you can also smell and taste! A sensory feast!

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Not one off-color joke the whole time. I swear. Ask Therese. If you can figure out her real name and where to find her.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: And that's two 'peak upper-Midwest' moments in this webcomic in a row. Also, god bless friends, relative and neighbors who come to you bearing venison for the winter.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI, RACYS: You know you're in the upper Midwest when all topics, including international affairs, seem to eventually lead to sports.

DECEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI, RACYS: It was hard to watch Ukraine's struggles back then. It hasn't gotten any easier now.

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Therese and I don't do Thanksgiving together, but there's something strangely magical about our phone calls around that time, as we share our respective plans with each other.

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: As Wilbur gets older and older, his appearances outside of his bar (or the apartment he lives in above it) get rarer and rarer. It's always a delight to spot him 'in the wild.'

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: In my household, November kicks off 203 relentless months of someone almost always being sick. I don't like it either.

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Therese and I share a fascination with modern linguistics.

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: I have seriously let myself fall off WAY TOO MANY ledges and other precarious places IRL.

NOVEMBER 2022, EAU CLAIRE, WI: Therese was all 'Free cake? But at what cost?'