How to Retire
My parents have this same problem. My dad retired from work, and then immediately tried to start up a new business, and continues to do take consulting contracts. My step-dad retired and then decided to go into the ministry. My mom retired and decided to take a new full-time job. I just shake my head at them and say, “When I retire, I plan to stop working, get an RV, and travel around the country harassing my children and spending time with my grandchildren.” Of course I know the likelihood of this is remote, but I still have my dream.
Dr. John Patterson, whom we have been previously told in the monthly letters was working either 3 or 4 days a week has decided to retire. And by retiring, he means, he will work 1 day a week. Sorry, John, but that’s not retiring by my standards. That is working less. We are also told, for the very first time, that John considers Everett, his associate, as an authority to whom he has to declare his specific working hours. I presume from this, that Dr. Everett Callahan has purchased the business, even though it has never been mentioned in the strip, and Everett has not been mentioned since 2005.
As for the punchline, that is almost the standard phrase. The one I have always heard is “I work harder now I am retired, than I did while I was working.” For Better or For Worse is not exactly treading new ground here: but at least we can rejoice that whoever is writing the strip these days doesn’t seem to feel the need to end each strip with a painfully awful pun.
However, let me see if I can translate this retirement plan for you. In September, when the strip is predicted to end, Dr. John Patterson will go to work one day a week. This means, that if the strip does not end (i.e. the current writing and drawing team take over the strip in September), then John Patterson can have most of his time available for storylines, but still has his hand in the dental business often enough for the occasional dentistry strip.
New porch, new bathroom, and April’s space in the basement.
That’s a lot of stuff. When my dad retired, he did some home renovation for cost savings; because he was accustomed to doing it, and he did not have a retired medical doctor’s savings. I am not sure why Dr. John Patterson wouldn’t hire someone else to do this work. It’s not like he can’t afford it, and frankly, at the speed at which this strip progresses, April won’t have her space in the basement until after she graduates and goes to university. April was promised that space back on May 21, 2007; so we are close to a year since the Pattersons moved into the old Stibb’s place. It seems like yesterday. Time just flies when you spend half your time reading reprints.
Dr. John Patterson, whom we have been previously told in the monthly letters was working either 3 or 4 days a week has decided to retire. And by retiring, he means, he will work 1 day a week. Sorry, John, but that’s not retiring by my standards. That is working less. We are also told, for the very first time, that John considers Everett, his associate, as an authority to whom he has to declare his specific working hours. I presume from this, that Dr. Everett Callahan has purchased the business, even though it has never been mentioned in the strip, and Everett has not been mentioned since 2005.
As for the punchline, that is almost the standard phrase. The one I have always heard is “I work harder now I am retired, than I did while I was working.” For Better or For Worse is not exactly treading new ground here: but at least we can rejoice that whoever is writing the strip these days doesn’t seem to feel the need to end each strip with a painfully awful pun.
However, let me see if I can translate this retirement plan for you. In September, when the strip is predicted to end, Dr. John Patterson will go to work one day a week. This means, that if the strip does not end (i.e. the current writing and drawing team take over the strip in September), then John Patterson can have most of his time available for storylines, but still has his hand in the dental business often enough for the occasional dentistry strip.
New porch, new bathroom, and April’s space in the basement.
That’s a lot of stuff. When my dad retired, he did some home renovation for cost savings; because he was accustomed to doing it, and he did not have a retired medical doctor’s savings. I am not sure why Dr. John Patterson wouldn’t hire someone else to do this work. It’s not like he can’t afford it, and frankly, at the speed at which this strip progresses, April won’t have her space in the basement until after she graduates and goes to university. April was promised that space back on May 21, 2007; so we are close to a year since the Pattersons moved into the old Stibb’s place. It seems like yesterday. Time just flies when you spend half your time reading reprints.
posted by howard at 11:42 PM
15 Comments:
So, John will have the same kind of "still owns the horses" retirement that Elly has. Remember, though she sold Lilliputs to Moira, she holds the mortgage and sticks her nose in regularly. Now John will go in one day a week (enough to be nosy and keep Everett doing things John's way) . What a bunch of obnoxious busybodies!
Remember how Lynn has talked about letting some unnamed person do a strip based on Mike and Dee? Anyone who is considered for that job should think long and hard about what Lynn has shown "retirement" means to her. To her, it means still owning the place. It means sticking your nose in on a regular business. It means getting your own way and maintaining control while doing almost none of the work.
Oh, and I too came in to rant about how John and Elly have neglected their promise to April so that it will go essentially unfulfilled. They really are disgusting people.
qnjones:
I never really expected them to keep their promise to April. In their minds, she's not a person whose needs have to be respected; she's an obstruction to be navigated around. People that arrogant and selfish would see no problem with "owning the horses".
qnjones,
So, John will have the same kind of "still owns the horses" retirement that Elly has.
This is a possible interpretation. However, unlike Elly’s influence on Moira Kinney with Lilliputs’ (i.e. Mike’s book-signing), we have seen next-to-no interaction between John and Everett. Everett hasn’t been in the strip since he was introduced in 2005.
Remember how Lynn has talked about letting some unnamed person do a strip based on Mike and Dee? Anyone who is considered for that job should think long and hard about what Lynn has shown "retirement" means to her.
If those persons are persons already in the Lynnion staff, like Laura Piché, then they are already aware of that. That’s one of the main reasons I think Laura may be doing so many strips where she does all the art, and not just the backgrounds. Lynn already trusts Laura will do exactly what she tells her to do; because they have been working together for years.
DreadedCandiru2,
I never really expected them to keep their promise to April. In their minds, she's not a person whose needs have to be respected; she's an obstruction to be navigated around.
Certainly the most recent strips, where April continues to act like she and Gerald are graduating this year would add to that argument. However, Lynn has missed out on the opportunity to make April a nagging teenager about the downstairs space. After a year has passed, she would justified in nagging.
I thought you had concluded that the syndicate doesn't want Laura Piche to draw the spin-off?
Also, I don't think we will actually see John and Everett at work, because John is not as important as Elly. But that is what "retiring" but "going in on Fridays" means. What do you want to bet that, instead of Everett taking out a bank loan to buy the practice, John will continue to own it while Everett makes payments?
qnjones
I thought you had concluded that the syndicate doesn't want Laura Piche to draw the spin-off?
Yes, if they know it’s Laura. But is the syndicate smart enough to know that right now Laura Piché is doing the art? As long as Lynn Johnston claims to be doing the writing and the art, and the story and art do not deviate too far from the Johnston style; then I would bet the syndicate would be happy. After all, with Lynn’s watchful eye over the proceedings, I doubt we are going to get anything more controversial than what we are getting this week.
What do you want to bet that, instead of Everett taking out a bank loan to buy the practice, John will continue to own it while Everett makes payments?
This is possible, but maybe too Elly-like. John seems to prefer good old-fashioned praise and special attention like he gets from Gordon Mayes and Anthony Caine. Based on prior experience, if John popped in on a Friday and Everett thanked him again and again for establishing such a wonderful business, etc., etc.; that would be more like John to me.
But remember, John continues to invest money in Gordon's business. He has said he does this so he has an excuse to go over there and stick his nose in. Maybe it was a monthly letter where he said that, but I thought it might even have been in a strip.
qnjones,
Maybe it was a monthly letter where he said that, but I thought it might even have been in a strip.
Both. It was mentioned in this strip.
And in these Mike letters, but not in the John letters.
Mike's Letter, May 2004
Gordon Mayes is doing extremely well. He's paid off his house and the garage and has taken out a mortgage on both to develop the property next to the garage. It already had a small building on it and he was using the lot to display used cars, and renovated part of the building to showcase some of the new cars he has. Now he needs more space, and my dad, who is now a sort of partner in the business, is helping him to work out the details.
Mike's Letter, December 2005
My dad has always had a hand in the garage and helped to finance Gord's startup. He's been repaid with interest but he's become a sort of silent partner, working after hours with Anthony to balance the books and check on inventory, and to keep the staff happy and productive. Gordon has finally been able to let go a little. Anthony Caine is the official manager - something he's good at, and he's going to have to turn the company finances over to someone else or go crazy trying to keep up.
I think that the cracks in Lynn's creativity (or the vacuum, or the void) really show in the character of April. For Mike, John & Liz, she could, and has always, harvested, or stolen real moments from their lives. But April is an entirely fictitious child.
Some bits of April were clearly recycled from Liz's babyhood, but once she became a big kid/teen, they veered waaaay into the territory of someone who knew a couple of teens 20 years ago, or who has been told the occasional anecdote by someone who does interact with young adults. The speech patterns alone are certifiably insane.
ThursdayNext,
The speech patterns alone are certifiably insane.
There is a method to her madness. I have noticed with April, and also with little Francie, Merrie, and Robin; Lynn tends to write the story she wants with the character (Francie gets the step-kid stories, Merrie gets the rotten kid stories, Robin gets the toddler stories, April gets the rude, teenager on the cusp of university stories) and then puts the dialogue within the context of the story without considering if it fits an average Toronto-area Canadian’s dialogue for someone that age.
This shows up with April, but is really obvious with the little kids. If you start from the perspective of “This is what I, a 60-year-old woman, want the character to say”, it is difficult to work that down to words that a very young person would use, especially when the concepts being used are well beyond someone that age. For example, a 60-year-old woman might be interested in maintaining friendships to a far-from-now high school reunion, but a 17-year-old girl is probably more worried about keeping her friends, if she goes to a different university than her friends.
It was a lot easier for Lynn when she was copying stories directly from live examples of her own children, because it had the advantage of not having to view everything character from her skewed perspective. Also, she didn’t have to worry about researching it. As you can tell from the dialogue, this appears to be something which Lynn does not like to do.
I just found this site yesterday through The Comics Curmudgeon, and I'm enjoying going backwards through the archives.
I just have one note about the September 5, 2007 post about '70s dental equipment, and the lack of a spitoon. The first trip to the dentist that I remember was about 1974 (when I was 4), and I remember specifically being surprised that there was not a spitoon, because I'd seen one in a Sesame Street film segment about a dentist visit. Instead, he had one of those flexible suction tubes to suck fluid out of the patient's mouth.
Howard: Universal Press Syndicate is not run by idiots. They may not necessarily have great taste, but they are a multimillion dollar business that syndicates numerous well known comic strips.
If we, who have no particular connection to the industry, know that Lynn has an assistant named Laura Piche who does a lot of the artwork, would it really be a secret to UPS?
Keep in mind that among UPS's other strips is "Garfield." I doubt that the UPS execs assume every line of that strip is drawn by Jim Davis himself. But as long as UPS doesn't get complaints from the newspapers that subscribe to the strip and the client list remains in the 2,000+ range, there's no reason for them to object.
So if Lynn turned over all the art duties to Laura, I think the most likely result is that UPS would know, but not care.
Diamond Joe,
I just found this site yesterday through The Comics Curmudgeon, and I'm enjoying going backwards through the archives.
Welcome to the Howard Bunt Blog.
The first trip to the dentist that I remember was about 1974 (when I was 4), and I remember specifically being surprised that there was not a spitoon, because I'd seen one in a Sesame Street film segment about a dentist visit.
You must have gone to a more advanced dentist than mine. In 1974, I was 10 and had gotten my first set of braces, which required I had a lot of baby teeth pulled (the standard of that day). I remember doing a lot of spitting in a spittoon. I don't remember suction tubes until the 1980s. However, I lived in small, backward town; so perhaps that is the difference.
Joshua,
If we, who have no particular connection to the industry, know that Lynn has an assistant named Laura Piche who does a lot of the artwork, would it really be a secret to UPS?
Certainly not. Lynn Johnston's own website specifically says that Laura does the inking and background art; while Lynn Johnston does the writing and the art on the main characters. The difference I am talking about here is Lynn Johnston not doing even that much.
I doubt that the UPS execs assume every line of that strip is drawn by Jim Davis himself.
As I recollect, Jim Davis has told people publicly he doesn't do the art on his strip anymore, so this shouldn't be a surprise to the execs.
But as long as UPS doesn't get complaints from the newspapers that subscribe to the strip and the client list remains in the 2,000+ range, there's no reason for them to object.
Absolutely true, and to be honest, the way the writing has been over the last year with newspapers dropping the strip, they may actually approve a change in creators. The only one who should be objecting would be Laura herself, for not being properly credited.
So if Lynn turned over all the art duties to Laura, I think the most likely result is that UPS would know, but not care.
"But not care" I can go with. "Know" is a different story. I would expect Lynn would maintain the fiction of her doing all the character art and writing the story to the UPS, and the UPS would trust that even if that statement were not true, Lynn Johnston would still be personally claiming responsibility for a certain quality and style of the strip.
Re: suction tubes, my dentist had a new practice then (he's still my dentist, 34 years later), which helps explain the up-to-date equipment.
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