Lazy Children
Unlike yesterday’s For Better or For Worse strip, which was the diametric opposite of my real-life experience, today’s strip (even though a reprint) is something that I have personally experienced. My kids like daddy or mommy to hold everything for them. The worst case is when they go to a county fair or the like, and get some stuffed animal, and then daddy or mommy get to carry the giant stuffed animal around for the rest of the day, because the stupid thing is big and bulky, my kid can’t handle it for long. After the big animal, then it’s everything else. There’s always some souvenir from some event, even if it is a little free prize ribbon from participating in the pig races and the like. I have gotten to the point where I have had to say, “I can’t hold anymore. You are going to have to carry that.” If I am loaded down, my kids are usually pretty responsive to this statement, and turn into little helpers, which is nice of them.
And here we come to the differences between me and Elly Patterson:
1. If my kid had ever said, “Meany!” to me in that situation, my kid would find that I could drop the source of contention in the nearest trash bin.
2. I would not ever attempt a long walk with a kid strapped on my back and carrying two bags of groceries.
a. When I was in university and had no car, I had my groceries double-sacked and I carefully arranged the groceries in the bag, so I could carry two bags on top of each other, with the lower one adding stability to the upper one. Paper bags are too fragile and two precarious to do what Elly Patterson is doing in this strip.
b. Baby strollers usually have these little storage areas on them, where you can carry diapers and the like. If I were desperate, I would find a way to put groceries in those storage areas, and use a stroller to carry the kid instead.
c. Kids’ wagons are a wonderfully easy way to carry things for distances, because of the single handle control. My daughter and I wheeled Girl Scout Cookies around her neighbourhood using one of those. I could put a kid on my back, if I were pulling one those along.
3. I would not scream, “No!” My favourite phrase is, “What did I just tell you?" I think it is a lot more polite, and you can say it with quite a bit of parental menace. I save screaming “No!” for when my kids are about to burn themselves or do some other kind of serious injury to themselves. If you don't scream at a child all the time, you can get their attention more effectively when you do.
All in all, today's strip is not a bad reprint. The visual joke doesn’t work though, because the parts of Elly with the groceries and the kid on her back are not covered by these items in the prior panels. A key element of the "great reveal" kind of visual humour is where everything looks the same, until the viewpoint pulls out for the reveal. Now that I think about it, Lynn Johnston almost never uses “the great reveal” for humourous effect in her strip anymore. I wonder why.
And here we come to the differences between me and Elly Patterson:
1. If my kid had ever said, “Meany!” to me in that situation, my kid would find that I could drop the source of contention in the nearest trash bin.
2. I would not ever attempt a long walk with a kid strapped on my back and carrying two bags of groceries.
a. When I was in university and had no car, I had my groceries double-sacked and I carefully arranged the groceries in the bag, so I could carry two bags on top of each other, with the lower one adding stability to the upper one. Paper bags are too fragile and two precarious to do what Elly Patterson is doing in this strip.
b. Baby strollers usually have these little storage areas on them, where you can carry diapers and the like. If I were desperate, I would find a way to put groceries in those storage areas, and use a stroller to carry the kid instead.
c. Kids’ wagons are a wonderfully easy way to carry things for distances, because of the single handle control. My daughter and I wheeled Girl Scout Cookies around her neighbourhood using one of those. I could put a kid on my back, if I were pulling one those along.
3. I would not scream, “No!” My favourite phrase is, “What did I just tell you?" I think it is a lot more polite, and you can say it with quite a bit of parental menace. I save screaming “No!” for when my kids are about to burn themselves or do some other kind of serious injury to themselves. If you don't scream at a child all the time, you can get their attention more effectively when you do.
All in all, today's strip is not a bad reprint. The visual joke doesn’t work though, because the parts of Elly with the groceries and the kid on her back are not covered by these items in the prior panels. A key element of the "great reveal" kind of visual humour is where everything looks the same, until the viewpoint pulls out for the reveal. Now that I think about it, Lynn Johnston almost never uses “the great reveal” for humourous effect in her strip anymore. I wonder why.
posted by howard at 10:36 PM
9 Comments:
Possibly because she knows she's not very good at it. Kinda like Elly's not very good at planning ahead. That's probably the reason she didn't think to bring a stroller or any other sort of labor-saving device with her. Her emulation of a pack-mule is simply the first in the series of false economies that make her life harder than it has to be. Just as she buys cheap bedsheets from the bargain bin that pill up after a few month's use instead buying pricier ones that last longer, she bought the cheapest possible way of carrying her child around because she didn't realize the peace of mind she'd have with a proper stroller is worth the extra dough.
Once again, too, the supposed framing narrative for this flashback is abject bullshit. Mike's reverie appears to go: "hey, look -- this child who only looks vaguely like the little goblin I occasionally call 'son' is making farting noises while playing with a toy airplane of a sort I'm not sure you can even buy in a toy store any more. That evokes fond memories of yet another time when I was little and my mom shrieked at me because I was being a shit. Also, this child's arms are weirdly effeminate."
No one involved in today's cartoon would ever fondly remember the events depicted. Lynn would be better off doing a pure reprint rather than this half-assed crap.
dreadedcandiru2
Just as she buys cheap bedsheets from the bargain bin that pill up after a few month's use instead buying pricier ones that last longer, she bought the cheapest possible way of carrying her child around because she didn't realize the peace of mind she'd have with a proper stroller is worth the extra dough.
I know that not using a stroller makes Elly look more pitiful, but do you think that it is a case of economics? The old umbrella strollers were not that expensive. I wonder, even back in 1980, if someone would look at this strip and say, “Oh, she’s frugal, just like I am, and went for backpacking her kid instead of a stroller.”
Of course, the sheet-shaving is an excellent example. I have never known anyone to shave sheets, and I have known some pretty cheap people in my lifetime. And they are apparently walking their groceries home, and not using a car, which says, “Cheap” again. I think you may have a good point there.
dlauthor,
No one involved in today's cartoon would ever fondly remember the events depicted. Lynn would be better off doing a pure reprint rather than this half-assed crap.
I expect what Lynn was after was a strip where there was a child playing with a toy, so she could set the framing sequence in a Christmas type setting. However, I will agree that the overall point of the strip is not one anyone would fondly remember. I don’t fondly remember it.
On the other hand, think of the possibilities for framing sequences: Lizzie in a diaper could be matched to a framing sequence with someone dressed as the New Years’ baby. Someone wearing green could be matched to a framing sequence showing St. Patrick’s Day. The possibilities are endless, and the more outrageous they are, the funnier it will be.
I'm going to my hand at a FBorFW style flashback.
Last year I was biking to the laundromat, with a large bag full of dirty clothes in the basket. I have gone on many laundry runs with my bike and had no incident. That particular day was different.
A car came speeding through a red light, I swerved and lost my balance. Several other cars stopped. One driver rolled her down her window and asked "Are you OK?" I told her I was a little startled but otherwise fine. Another actually got out of his car and helped me pick up my belongings. I thanked him and continued on my way.
The point of my story: that helpful man and the concerned lady are way more sensitive to others' needs than Micheal Patterson could ever hope to be. Today's strip reinforces my belief.
I have a theory about why Elly deliberately makes her life harder than it has to be. Notice how Deanna always seems to reject Mira's generosity because she thinks that her mother is trying to boss her around when she just wants to help? I'd say that Elly is the same way. She'd rather do eveything the hardest way possible just to prove that she's self-sufficient.
must love dogs
The point of my story: that helpful man and the concerned lady are way more sensitive to others' needs than Micheal Patterson could ever hope to be. Today's strip reinforces my belief.
Good story. Now to be fair to poor Michael, he has had his moments of kindness. He has picked up his parents from the airport, and he has raked leaves for his dad without being asked and sacrificed his job so other would not be unemployed. However, all things considered, I still agree with you that the helpful man and the concerned lady are way more sensitive to others' needs than Micheal Patterson.
dreadedcandiru2,
Not just Elly, but Mike and Deanna do the same thing. Snarkers of the strip have long complained about Mike and Deanna’s claims of near poverty, while they are both bringing in good money. This was especially true when they were renting from Lovey Salzmann, who gave them a discount on their rent, because they were so nice.
If the Pattersons Redux were salting away a large-ish percentage of their take-home pay into an RESP for Meredith and Robin, I'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, we've seen Mike throw away money on shiny trash too many times not to be a bit angered by his claims of poverty. It's the way he was raised, though. His father burned through his bank account like an idiot too.
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