Home Businesses
My wife currently sells Homemade Gourmet. She used to sell Creative Memories. The Grubberware sequence being reprinted in today’s For Better or For Worse is very familiar to me. There are a few minor discrepancies as is usual for Lynn Johnston, but one of the big ones is that the saleslady is portrayed as being old, while the persons attending the party are much younger. A lot of what I have noticed about the Home-based business salespeople, is that they appeal primarily to stay-at-home mothers who want to have some kind of income, even though they are saddled with the kids most of the time. As such, the sales force is not typically made up of old women, but women with kids. That may be the perception Lynn Johnston got from her Grubberware party, but I doubt even in Lynn Lake,only old women sold products in people’s homes.
Just to let my fellow participants in April’s Real Blog know, as of Monday, I will be beginning a 5-day-long vacation with my family to celebrate Thanksgiving. They have a computer setup there, but it is likely that I will have limited or no time to put in my usual April’s Real Blog comments or to maintain a Howard Bunt Blog. We will see.
Just to let my fellow participants in April’s Real Blog know, as of Monday, I will be beginning a 5-day-long vacation with my family to celebrate Thanksgiving. They have a computer setup there, but it is likely that I will have limited or no time to put in my usual April’s Real Blog comments or to maintain a Howard Bunt Blog. We will see.
posted by howard at 11:16 PM
9 Comments:
She really hated Lynn Lake, didn't she? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some people aren't designed for living in an isolated company town. The problem is, of course, the frustration at being cut off from the civilzed world and having her private life being made the focus of public discussion is that it bled into her work. The nastiness of the Patterson's behavior didn't abate until she moved closer to civilization.
Today's strip brings back memories of those Tupperware parties that I attended when I was a young wife. I enjoyed the camaraderie and the food - but I also felt pressured to buy much more than I could comfortably afford. By the time I got home I regretted spending all that money.
In hindsight, the plastic containers (and toys) that I purchased were worth the price. The stuff I use today is cheaper - but the quality and "the look" are not the same.
Anon NYC
P.S. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Anon NYC,
They still have Tupperware parties. My wife has been to a few, just as I remember my mother going to them a long while back (well before 1979). Apparently the product has been around since post WWII. My mom kept her Tupperware for years and years, so I think she would agree with you about the quality of the product.
By the way, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving too.
dreadedcandiru2,
The nastiness of the Patterson's behavior didn't abate until she moved closer to civilization.
Did it abate? From what I can tell from the reprint strips, Lynn Johnston has been remarkably consistent in her characterization over all these years. I have the feeling that the modern Lynn Johnston would feel just the same way about a Tupperware party today as she felt back in 1979.
I am vaguely annoyed by the fact that Lynn's "Grubberware" is a line of cleaning products instead of plastic containers. If she wanted to do cleaning products, Elly could have been at a "Shamway" party!
howtheduck, I will miss you and I wish you and your family a great holiday and vacation. :)
This begs the question of why we thought that this strip was good in the first place. While you're getting a well deserved break from contemplating the Pattersons and their ways (Happy Thanksgiving, by the way), I'm still left pondering this. Maybe we're supposed to be glad we're not them.
I just don't 'get' the joke? What's funny?
anonymous,
The joke is that Elly did not consider the Grubberware party to be a night out, but rather like an unpleasant chore. So it is "funny" John automatically considered any night a wife takes off by herself to be a fun night out.
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