Poor, Crowded April

Today’s For Better or For Worse was a real sympathy-getter for April. It also, as a sideline, finally confirmed that Mira and Wilf Sobinski did do what was described in the January letters, about bringing lot of things over for Mike and Deanna. This would be considered an act of kindness, and in fact, that is how the January letters described it. But it would not do for us to see the Sobinskis in anything other than a bad light, so Lynn has April report today, the reason for her being overcrowded in the rec room, the biggest room in the whole house, is because of Mira Sobinski. Naturally I had Michael Patterson take charge of that storyline and snark the final bits of the January monthly letters I had left unsnarked, because I was uncertain if Mira’s kindness was a letters-only thing. For example, I have avoided having Michael ever say that his rescue of his novel was anything other than a rescue of the only copy; because the strip has never contradicted it. The letters contradict it, to make it seem like Mike is smarter about doing backups, but by doing so, they weaken the case for Mike risking his life for the sake of his novel. Clearly Lynn Johnston never intended it to be anything other Mike rescuing his only copy. Since that was the way that played out it in the strip, I was uncertain about what to do with Sobinski generosity until today.

I also felt the need to turn one character slightly against April and her rec room angst. I know in my house, my 9-year-old daughter would love nothing better than to spend the night downstairs sleeping in front of the television. If she were in April’s situation, she would be happy as a clam. So, I had dear, old Howard mention that camping out downstairs wasn’t that bad a thing.

The part about the structure of the Patterson house that confuses is me, is that the basement is not marked on the blueprint. Over on the FOOBiverse’s Journal, many assume the rec room is in the basement, when we have seen pictures of the basement, and that is where the central vac is located. So, the rec room is not down there. However confusing matters is April’s comment about it being colder in the rec room, in the January monthly letters, which wouldn’t be the case for a room on the main floor of the house. After all, Elly and John have their bedroom on the main floor of the house.

Tomorrow’s strip: All that sympathy for April suddenly disappears when Liz appears. Not only does Elly turn her focus on Liz, but we turn our focus away from April when she eyerolls a completely lack of sympathy for her sister and her most recent boyfriend breakup. Come on, April. You should care a little.