(Strip Number 4049, Original Publication Date, 18 August 1981)
Panel 1: We start off with Mike telling us why he's bored; it seems that there's nothing to do, nothing on television, nothing to play with and no one around. In other words, it's the bottom half of August.
Panel 2: Since all days are pretty much the same to her, Elly tells him that there's always something to do and that life is too short to waste a second of it. The absurdity of that remark coming from her seems to not have registered.
Panel 3: She then says that he should read a story or make something because she thinks that time is precious.
Panel 4: He reacts by saying that that's because she doesn't have as much left as he does.
Summary: While it's true that Elly is genuinely trying to help here, she simply cannot and will not understand what it's like to be a child facing the bottom of August. Not only has Mike done everything that there is to do and played with his toys until he's sick of them, there's nothing but re-runs on the box and all his friends are being dragged to back-to-school sales by their mothers. As I said, Elly doesn't understand this because as someone who's settled down into a comfortable rut, all her days are the same. As for someone like her talking about wasting time, the absurdity of that is way too obvious; most of her life has been wasted on things like feeling sorry for herself, being pointlessly upset at other people and unproductive and unnecessary busy work.
ETA: The first post-migration banner seems harmless enough but still sort of bugs me; that's because I remember that Farley's remains end up getting buried under the tree in the background.
