OK. I get it. Robin is stupid.
Yesterday I wrote a For Better or For Worse website Coffee Talk comment basically saying the one thing I would tell Deanna Patterson is that Robin is developmentally disabled and needs help to get proper treatment. My expectation is that this comment will not make the Coffee Talk list, but I felt good just writing it. My initial thought was that since Stephanie, the webmaster, likes to include Coffee Talk comments that go along with the strip of the day, my comment might be excluded since it was unlikely Lynn Johnston would go with two “Robin is stupid” strips in a row. I was delighted to see today than Lynn has continued in this same vein with the humour, making my comment seem even more relevant.
Part of the strip which does work is the concept that the two Patterson children would want to eavesdrop on the party. Robin and Merrie are at the ages where they would want to do what the adults were doing, if there were no other kids in the house to play with. The party would make too much noise for them to sleep, and there is a natural curiosity at that age to see what adults do when they socialize. I did the same kind of thing when I was their age, except I was a lot better at hiding.
Thing they are doing I didn’t do, was to listen that carefully to the conversations going on. If Mike Patterson had suddenly launched into his “I could be a failure” speech followed by Deanna’s vehement denial of the possibility, I am sure that is the part of the conversation on which I would have focused at that age. Emotionally-charged statements will attract the attention of a kid more than misunderstanding what the word “misgivings” means.
It was also a nice touch that Michael Patterson has finally shown some sense of fear when it comes to his chosen profession. We all know Lynn Johnston will declare his book to be a best-seller, but it is good to know that Michael has not expressed the same trust in blind faith that his sister did when it came to her career. After all, if his novel does fail to sell, then his publisher is going to feel pretty foolish at having given $25K in advance and pushing his book with such heavy publicity. Unlike Liz, someone getting divorced is not going to cause his book to sell, so the usual Patterson method of achieving success will not work.
Part of the strip which does work is the concept that the two Patterson children would want to eavesdrop on the party. Robin and Merrie are at the ages where they would want to do what the adults were doing, if there were no other kids in the house to play with. The party would make too much noise for them to sleep, and there is a natural curiosity at that age to see what adults do when they socialize. I did the same kind of thing when I was their age, except I was a lot better at hiding.
Thing they are doing I didn’t do, was to listen that carefully to the conversations going on. If Mike Patterson had suddenly launched into his “I could be a failure” speech followed by Deanna’s vehement denial of the possibility, I am sure that is the part of the conversation on which I would have focused at that age. Emotionally-charged statements will attract the attention of a kid more than misunderstanding what the word “misgivings” means.
It was also a nice touch that Michael Patterson has finally shown some sense of fear when it comes to his chosen profession. We all know Lynn Johnston will declare his book to be a best-seller, but it is good to know that Michael has not expressed the same trust in blind faith that his sister did when it came to her career. After all, if his novel does fail to sell, then his publisher is going to feel pretty foolish at having given $25K in advance and pushing his book with such heavy publicity. Unlike Liz, someone getting divorced is not going to cause his book to sell, so the usual Patterson method of achieving success will not work.
posted by howard at 10:56 PM
9 Comments:
In all the chatter about Robin channeling one of the children from 'Family Circus', it's good to know that someone got to the real point: Mike got what looks like a smackdown for thinking rationally. After all, the book may not be the success everyone thinks it is. 'Tis passing strange that he starts to become sympathetic only to be bidden to revert to arrogant, oblivious asshattery.
"Another book was on its way to becoming a best-seller, only its author got a sudden divorce, so of course people stopped buying the book. And they all bought Stone Season instead." Woot! Success!
Your comment was put up this morning. Cheers!
Anonymous,
Thanks. I was quite excited. It seemed like it was one of those mornings where they put up several snarking comments in the Coffee Talk.
aprilp_katje,
Your idea about the divorce causing book sales for Michael Patterson seems preposterous, but then again, if I go just from the history of Pattersonian success, you may have the best path to those books selling.
DreadedCandiru2,
We have had a couple of Mike humble moments when it comes to his book, but each time it has been in the face of his friends and family’s overwhelming approval of what he has been doing. I would like it to be in the face of the opinion of someone who has actually critically read the book or in terms of actual sales for a change.
Not just a divorce, you know. One person MUST be a cheater; no one ever divorces in Foobland for the usual reasons, like finances or just growing apart.
So, let's make it a cheating author and there you go.
DJ
Your Coffee Talk post is brief and comes across as sincere, so I'm not surprised that it was selected.
We know that Robin, who is not quite three, has done some stupid things in several previous strips, but I'm wondering what it is in this week's strips that reenforces your impression.
Anon NYC
Anon NYC
Monday – Robin believes words are heavier than pictures. Kids normally pick up basic spatial concepts like bigger is usually heavier pretty early on.
Wednesday – Robin believes that to be on television, you have be in the television. My kids figured this out at an extremely early age, possibly before language. They left fingerprints all over the television screen as soon as they were able to pull up and touch.
Thursday - Robin ignores the emotionally-packed statement of failure from his father and mother to latch onto misinterpreting the word “misgivings” by Gordon Mayes. This isn’t so bad, but might indicate Robin’s interest is not attracted to the same things most kids are.
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