Birds

Cidu Bill on May 17th 2008

birds.gif

Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Herman, birds, comic strips, comics, humor | 14 responses so far

14 Responses to “Birds”

  1. dd May 17th 2008 at 12:31 pm 1

    Toxic sandwich. Poor Herman.

  2. Kevin Andresen May 17th 2008 at 12:45 pm 2

    Is this about why Unger dots the ‘g’ in his name?

    Here’s my best guess: This one-time Canadian (born in England) moved to the Bahamas in the middle of his daily panel career in the ’80s. I noticed his feet are covered in what could be sand and the birds have those special beaks.

  3. Kevin Andresen May 17th 2008 at 12:50 pm 3

    Oops; “pronoun trouble”. :)
    “This one-time Canadian” = Jim Unger
    “His” = the depicted fellow’s

  4. Scott May 17th 2008 at 02:35 pm 4

    Tom Lehrer at play?

  5. Kevin Andresen May 17th 2008 at 03:53 pm 5

    Okay, I give up my idea that the birds are sunning themselves and are ailing or passed on.
    They are definitely shore birds, most of whom with that bill, find their food under the sand (be it in the water or on the land). The guy’s feet are under the sand. Uh-oh!

    The worst sunburn I ever got was on the tops of my feet after teaching myself to use a neighbor’s windsurfer on Grand Cayman island (about 100 miles south of Cuba). So, I assume people put their feet under the sand to protect them (or maybe it’s just to keep them cool).

  6. Oy vey May 17th 2008 at 05:52 pm 6

    Wow! At first I was agreeing with #1, thinking that Herman’d tossed pieces of crust to the birds, and then he just noticed that they were all dead as he was chewing his first bite. Then I thought maybe - since the birds are all lined up with their tails towards him - they were going to try to catch the crusts with their feet. Then I noticed that Herman’s feet appear to be immersed in water, so maybe the birds are floating on their backs so they can grab the tossed crusts before they hit the water and get soggy. But why’s a bench installed in foot-deep water? My brain hurts, I need a beer.

  7. Lola May 17th 2008 at 08:26 pm 7

    The paper he got the sandwich from seems to be in the shape of a swan like was so popular a few years back as doggie bags at trendy restaurants. Soooooo, maybe the birds are in worship mode? I’m almost ashamed to say, having the sense of humor of a 12 year old, that my first thought was that he was having digestive distress and gassed them. :)

  8. Dave K May 17th 2008 at 09:29 pm 8

    maybe the birds are playing dead in order to get some food ala dog training

  9. pepperjackcandy May 18th 2008 at 08:42 am 9

    I thought it was a flatulence joke.

  10. J-L May 19th 2008 at 04:37 pm 10

    Where are his feet?

    And for that matter, where is his face?

    And why is flesh-colored goo shooting out of his arm and attaching itself to his… neck?

    (Seriously, though, I can’t figure out which way his face is supposed to be “facing.”)

  11. Kevin Andresen May 19th 2008 at 06:07 pm 11

    I’ll risk repetition by being more explicit with my perception because hinting doesn’t seem to work (as my dating record indicates):

    The fellow has placed his hot feet in the cool sand. The result is that the birds, whose beaks were purposefully drawn to indicate they probe deep under the sand for food, have keeled over from the oppresive emanations that are permeating the nearby area.

    (To be fair, I don’t know what kind of sandpiper-like bird has a redish/pinkish belly; I’m comfortable thinking it’s the reflection off of the guy’s shirt.)

  12. tim May 20th 2008 at 10:46 pm 12

    Kevin’s idea makes more sense than anything I could come up with. Thanks Kevin!

  13. J-L May 21st 2008 at 11:42 am 13

    I just had a thought:

    I’m thinking that this man has a habit of eating a sandwich for lunch every day on the park bench, and every day he sees birds begging for hand-outs.

    But today is different: Although he still sits on the park bench eating his same old sandwich, the usual mendicating ritual has been mysteriously replaced with a flock of dead birds.

    Wouldn’t that make you feel at least a little creeped-out?

  14. J-L May 21st 2008 at 11:47 am 14

    I noticed that hand is supporting his head similar to the classic “Thinker” posture.

    So he might be wondering, “Why are all these birds dead?” and “If all these birds are dead, is this really the best place to eat my sandwich?”

    Kind of makes me wonder what I’d think if I were in the same situation.

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