Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Young John in Fear

For the second time in the For Better or For Worse reprints from 1979, we see a moment where Dr. John Patterson is afraid of a client. The first one was in a single panel of this strip. These strips are interesting, particularly during this time when Lynn Johnston was known for taking real life stories and translating them to her strip. However, today’s strip where the joke is that the big scary guy is really a softie is standard comedy material and seems unlikely to come from real life.

On the other hand, Lynn Lake, where Lynn and real-life dentist husband, Rod lived in 1979, is in the middle of Manitoba, where the primary occupation of the town appears to be hunting and fishing tourism and the town was founded as a part of a mining operation. One could imagine tough guys living there. In my mind, the situation where the patient threatens the doctor seems like it came out of a Hollywood gangster movie, and not from real life. It makes me wonder if Lynn Lake was such a tough town, that the local dentist really was threatened to be beaten up, if he didn’t do good work.

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It makes me wonder if Lynn was projecting her fear of the locals into the strip. It's easy to see that she felt uncomfortable with the people of Lynn Lake and it could come from their being more physically imposing than she is.

3:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My dad, who was built like a Sherman tank, could not donate blood because he would faint at the sight of it.

Last week Associated Press reported the following story.

Alex Rodriguez passed out during the birth of his first daughter.
"The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor," Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of the Yankees star, said on an episode of the YES Network.
"And really, I am not being paid much attention to besides the doctor and a couple of nurses," she said. "And he is there moaning. In between pushing, I am going, 'Honey, are you OK?' and 'Are you breathing? Are you OK?' "
"As tough and big as he seems, he is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation," Cynthia said.

Anon NYC

5:26 AM  
Blogger howard said...

dreadedcandiru2,

It's easy to see that she felt uncomfortable with the people of Lynn Lake and it could come from their being more physically imposing than she is.

Good point. This could well be Lynn's own fear and not Rod's, and it would make more sense, because the idea of a dentist shrinking away from a patient just because of his size, seems silly. But the wife of a dentist, alone in Lynn Lake while her husband has flown off somewhere, could easily be afraid of some burly Lynn Lake guy.

6:44 AM  
Blogger howard said...

Anon NYC

My dad, who was built like a Sherman tank, could not donate blood because he would faint at the sight of it.

When I donate blood, I have to turn my head when they stick me. I completely understand.

Alex Rodriguez passed out during the birth of his first daughter.

Let me tell you, there was something about bearing my son which caused my wife's back to change. She had no problem with the epidural for my son; but when the time came for her to get an epidural for my daughter, it was not easy. As I was watching what the anesthesiologist had to do get that epidural in her, I almost passed out. So, I completely understand Alex Rodriguez. However, in none of those cases did I hug the doctor and cry. So, Brawling O'Brian is on his own for that one.

6:45 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

As I was watching what the anesthesiologist had to do get that epidural in her, I almost passed out.

Maybe that's why my husband wasn't brought into the OR until after my epidural and morphine had been administered (had a c-section). :)

7:49 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

I was told if a C-section needed to happen with my wife, I would be asked to leave. I suspect it had more to do with that, than anticipated fainting on the part of your husband.

Ah for the old days like my father had, when the fathers had to sit in the waiting room and pass out cigars. Of course, if my father had been with my mom when I was born, then the little problem she had would not have occurred. They had a shift change while she was in labour with me, and the staff coming in was not informed she was there.

9:28 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

howtheduck:

I was told if a C-section needed to happen with my wife, I would be asked to leave. I suspect it had more to do with that, than anticipated fainting on the part of your husband.

Though he was permitted to sit by my side through the entire procedure, and they even offered to lower the screen to allow him to see our son being born. He declined. :)

10:50 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

Though he was permitted to sit by my side through the entire procedure, and they even offered to lower the screen to allow him to see our son being born. He declined. :)

Your doctor was different from mine with respect to C-sections. I don't know how I would have done if I viewed one. Scalpels on skin. Yeesh!

As it is, I got to view the other style of birth, and I made it through OK. Watching the epidural was the worst part for me.

11:26 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

Scalpels on skin. Yeesh!

That's how we felt, too! I went through a long period after my son was born where I couldn't get enough "birth story" type programs on cable TV. The only ones I couldn't bring myself to watch were the c-sections. Eventually (probably over a year later) I watched one, and it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. But I really needed that distance!

4:34 PM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

My wife loves those surgery shows on TV. I have to leave the room when she starts watching them.

6:55 PM  

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