The Hygienist Hiring
aprilp_katje has so nicely provided this look at the whole strip sequence being reprinted.
When you look at this set of strips which is being reprinted we have:
a. The new hygienist looks like Cheryl Ladd. I saw her in the 1980 CBC documentary and she did look a little like her. This assertion is based on truth.
b. There were two hygienists down from five competing for the same position. One who “has great references, loads of experience, & is making a career of her work…” and one who has “almost no experience.” This one is questionable and my main problem with the idea that Dr. John Patterson’s alter ego Dr. Rod Johnston intentionally hired only pretty women for his office. The Lynn Lake I saw in the CBC documentary appeared to be so small and so remote, it’s hard to imagine that there were any dental hygienists competing for a position to work there, much less 5. It seems unlikely that Dr. Rod Johnston would be able to intentionally staff an office in Lynn Lake with brainless beauties, even if he wanted to.
In this website, we have this description of Lynn Lake and dentistry:
Dental Clinic
A dentist that visits the Lynn Lake region once a month.
Once a month is the town’s current status. To have a local dentist in Lynn Lake would have been huge boon for the town and the surrounding area. Doing a quick Google shows the closest dentist to Lynn Lake to be a 4-hour drive away. If Dr. Rod Johnston showed up and set up office, he would be the only dentist around for many kilometres. There would be virtually no one with a dental background he could hire to fill technical positions.
In my mind, here is what happened: Dr. Rod Johnston put out offers across Manitoba to fill his hygienist job or any other technical dentistry jobs he needed. A person who might be interested would be someone young, not settled, and willing to move—probably a recent graduate from the University of Manitoba dental hygiene program and would expect to be well-paid to live in Lynn Lake. I notice the key phrase in the strip: “is making a career of her work.” No offense to dental hygienists out there, but my guess is that Lynn Johnston is drawing a contrast between a woman who became a dental hygienist with the plan to work at the job forever vs. those women who wanted to make some quick money until they had enough to do something better. Dental hygiene is pretty quick degree to get with a very good chance of employment. I can see Dr. Rod Johnston with a very young staff, who would not stick around for very long. This could be the source for the John Patterson overreaction to the loss of Marie, who would stand for any employee of Rod’s who might stick around for awhile.
c. Elly concedes that the Cheryl Ladd hygienist is “interesting, intelligent, witty, …and really very nice.” This could be out of consideration to the hygienist John hired, as Lynn probably realized the real-life hygienist would be offended by the strip referring to John as a chauvinist who only hires “beautiful and dumb” women. Or, this could really be Lynn saying that she realizes that just because a woman is attractive, doesn’t mean she is incompetent and stupid. Or, this could be Lynn’s point where she acknowledges Rod had little choice in whom he hired and did not hire this woman based simply on her looks.
d. John compares the quality of his staff-hiring to his selection of Elly as a wife, by pointing out that his choice of Elly is proof that he is not only interested in “a beautiful face and a sexy shape”. This is the heart of the issue and the point of these strips.
There is a running theme in For Better or For Worse that men are lechers. Grandpa Jim was constantly ogling other women in front of Iris, and you could always count on John Patterson to do the same during those trips to Mexico. If Dr. John Patterson were located in Milborough, just outside of Toronto, it would be easy to see how he could pick one hygienist over another based on looks. Regardless of Rod’s intent (limited selection vs. lechery); Lynn was intimidated by it, probably questioned Rod’s choice, and was not satisfied with his answer (which I am guessing is, “No. I am not going to hire someone else, just because you think she is too pretty.”) Then she published her comic strip sequence to let everyone know she was still upset, and Rod had to undergo his usual humiliation at the way he was portrayed in his wife’s comic strip.
In the Macleans’ article, what we see from Lynn Johnston is her belief that Dr. Rod Johnston always staffed his office with beautiful women, and not just in Lynn Lake. She says, “There were all really nice people” and talks about how she didn’t want to be a jealous wife. On the other hand, this strip sequence shows us that she was jealous back in 1980 and she still is in 2008.
With respect to the validity of Lynn’s claim past the hiring of the Cheryl Ladd hygienist, I have one more data point. The person, for whom Rod Johnston is rumoured to have left Lynn, used to work for him as a dental hygienist. I have seen pictures of her that used to be on Lynn’s website when she worked for Lynn, and in my opinion, she was not a stunning beauty. She was reasonably attractive. I know that Lynn Johnston has very low self-esteem when it comes to her appearance, and this is the key to the claim. She mentions it in the Macleans article with her strange negligee story, and we need no more proof than a drawing of Elly Patterson circa 2008. I can’t imagine anyone John Patterson or Rod Johnston hiring who is less attractive than old turnip-nose.
When you look at this set of strips which is being reprinted we have:
a. The new hygienist looks like Cheryl Ladd. I saw her in the 1980 CBC documentary and she did look a little like her. This assertion is based on truth.
b. There were two hygienists down from five competing for the same position. One who “has great references, loads of experience, & is making a career of her work…” and one who has “almost no experience.” This one is questionable and my main problem with the idea that Dr. John Patterson’s alter ego Dr. Rod Johnston intentionally hired only pretty women for his office. The Lynn Lake I saw in the CBC documentary appeared to be so small and so remote, it’s hard to imagine that there were any dental hygienists competing for a position to work there, much less 5. It seems unlikely that Dr. Rod Johnston would be able to intentionally staff an office in Lynn Lake with brainless beauties, even if he wanted to.
In this website, we have this description of Lynn Lake and dentistry:
Dental Clinic
A dentist that visits the Lynn Lake region once a month.
Once a month is the town’s current status. To have a local dentist in Lynn Lake would have been huge boon for the town and the surrounding area. Doing a quick Google shows the closest dentist to Lynn Lake to be a 4-hour drive away. If Dr. Rod Johnston showed up and set up office, he would be the only dentist around for many kilometres. There would be virtually no one with a dental background he could hire to fill technical positions.
In my mind, here is what happened: Dr. Rod Johnston put out offers across Manitoba to fill his hygienist job or any other technical dentistry jobs he needed. A person who might be interested would be someone young, not settled, and willing to move—probably a recent graduate from the University of Manitoba dental hygiene program and would expect to be well-paid to live in Lynn Lake. I notice the key phrase in the strip: “is making a career of her work.” No offense to dental hygienists out there, but my guess is that Lynn Johnston is drawing a contrast between a woman who became a dental hygienist with the plan to work at the job forever vs. those women who wanted to make some quick money until they had enough to do something better. Dental hygiene is pretty quick degree to get with a very good chance of employment. I can see Dr. Rod Johnston with a very young staff, who would not stick around for very long. This could be the source for the John Patterson overreaction to the loss of Marie, who would stand for any employee of Rod’s who might stick around for awhile.
c. Elly concedes that the Cheryl Ladd hygienist is “interesting, intelligent, witty, …and really very nice.” This could be out of consideration to the hygienist John hired, as Lynn probably realized the real-life hygienist would be offended by the strip referring to John as a chauvinist who only hires “beautiful and dumb” women. Or, this could really be Lynn saying that she realizes that just because a woman is attractive, doesn’t mean she is incompetent and stupid. Or, this could be Lynn’s point where she acknowledges Rod had little choice in whom he hired and did not hire this woman based simply on her looks.
d. John compares the quality of his staff-hiring to his selection of Elly as a wife, by pointing out that his choice of Elly is proof that he is not only interested in “a beautiful face and a sexy shape”. This is the heart of the issue and the point of these strips.
There is a running theme in For Better or For Worse that men are lechers. Grandpa Jim was constantly ogling other women in front of Iris, and you could always count on John Patterson to do the same during those trips to Mexico. If Dr. John Patterson were located in Milborough, just outside of Toronto, it would be easy to see how he could pick one hygienist over another based on looks. Regardless of Rod’s intent (limited selection vs. lechery); Lynn was intimidated by it, probably questioned Rod’s choice, and was not satisfied with his answer (which I am guessing is, “No. I am not going to hire someone else, just because you think she is too pretty.”) Then she published her comic strip sequence to let everyone know she was still upset, and Rod had to undergo his usual humiliation at the way he was portrayed in his wife’s comic strip.
In the Macleans’ article, what we see from Lynn Johnston is her belief that Dr. Rod Johnston always staffed his office with beautiful women, and not just in Lynn Lake. She says, “There were all really nice people” and talks about how she didn’t want to be a jealous wife. On the other hand, this strip sequence shows us that she was jealous back in 1980 and she still is in 2008.
With respect to the validity of Lynn’s claim past the hiring of the Cheryl Ladd hygienist, I have one more data point. The person, for whom Rod Johnston is rumoured to have left Lynn, used to work for him as a dental hygienist. I have seen pictures of her that used to be on Lynn’s website when she worked for Lynn, and in my opinion, she was not a stunning beauty. She was reasonably attractive. I know that Lynn Johnston has very low self-esteem when it comes to her appearance, and this is the key to the claim. She mentions it in the Macleans article with her strange negligee story, and we need no more proof than a drawing of Elly Patterson circa 2008. I can’t imagine anyone John Patterson or Rod Johnston hiring who is less attractive than old turnip-nose.
posted by howard at 6:14 PM
13 Comments:
LOL at her "updating" with a Shania Twain reference. Shania was considered new and hot when I was a freshman in college. That was 1995-96. So now her reference is only 12 years out of date. This retread is sooooooo worthless.
qnjones,
She can't win with Shania. Back in 1980, she was too young to be known. In 2008, she is in her 40s and no longer fits the "dumb and beautiful" line. All we really know now is that Lynn Johnston hasn't heard any new music in 12 years.
Shania Twain's name was Eileen Twain back when this comic is supposed to have taken place.
howard,
Dental hygiene is pretty quick degree to get with a very good chance of employment. I can see Dr. Rod Johnston with a very young staff, who would not stick around for very long. This could be the source for the John Patterson overreaction to the loss of Marie, who would stand for any employee of Rod’s who might stick around for awhile.
That seems to be exactly it. Every dentist alive would be able to sympathize with Rod/John but outside the field, this would be greeted with at best a blank stare and at worst derision. Not having it in to empathize with people who aren't exactly like her, Lynn still thinks Rod was being an idiot.
Or, this could be Lynn’s point where she acknowledges Rod had little choice in whom he hired and did not hire this woman based simply on her looks.
We've all seen how mucch Lynn hates to admit that she's wrong; most of her explanations show us she knows people have issues with what she's doing but does not view their ideas as being valid. I would imagine that she only feigned acceptance of the truth so she could pose as being fair-minded. Behind the condescending grin was an angry woman who still thought Rod was lying. Besides, even if she believed him, she would never admit it; if she admitted error, he would 'win' and she 'lose'.
If Dr. John Patterson were located in Milborough, just outside of Toronto, it would be easy to see how he could pick one hygienist over another based on looks. Regardless of Rod’s intent (limited selection vs. lechery); Lynn was intimidated by it, probably questioned Rod’s choice, and was not satisfied with his answer (which I am guessing is, “No. I am not going to hire someone else, just because you think she is too pretty.”) Then she published her comic strip sequence to let everyone know she was still upset, and Rod had to undergo his usual humiliation at the way he was portrayed in his wife’s comic strip.
In the Macleans’ article, what we see from Lynn Johnston is her belief that Dr. Rod Johnston always staffed his office with beautiful women, and not just in Lynn Lake. She says, “There were all really nice people” and talks about how she didn’t want to be a jealous wife. On the other hand, this strip sequence shows us that she was jealous back in 1980 and she still is in 2008.
Thus we come to the heart of the matter. Lynn is filled with anger and bitterness that she will not let go. She's always used the strip as a club to beat her family over the head with and sees nothing wrong with doing it.
I have seen pictures of her that used to be on Lynn’s website when she worked for Lynn, and in my opinion, she was not a stunning beauty. She was reasonably attractive. I know that Lynn Johnston has very low self-esteem when it comes to her appearance, and this is the key to the claim.
Her insecurity about her appearance, among other things, is what fuels her anger at the world. Of she fely better about herself, she wouldn't have felt the need to pillory her family for every little thing they did that ticked her off.
Addendum: It would appear that Lynn's dissatisfaction with Rod's "No, I am not going to hire A because you think B is too attractive" is the inspiration for the next strip in the sequence. As you know, it has an angry, crying Elly berating John for decorating his officer with beatiful idiots and his responding someone has to hire them. This tells me that she will not concede points that make her look like not a good girl. Good girls aren't jealous or angry, you see.
Muzition,
Shania Twain's name was Eileen Twain back when this comic is supposed to have taken place.
I think it is fairly safe to say that Lynn Johnston no longer considers these stories to be set in the past. She is retelling and modernizing them in the same fashion that Archie used to do with their old stories, by replacing old pop culture references with more recent pop culture references.
DreadedCandiru2,
Thus we come to the heart of the matter. Lynn is filled with anger and bitterness that she will not let go. She's always used the strip as a club to beat her family over the head with and sees nothing wrong with doing it.
It is the secret to her success. In the old CBC interview, there was one young lady who was at a Toronto showing of Lynn Johnston art, who said that the thing she liked about For Better or For Worse was that she would have similar things going on in her life as Lynn’s, and they wouldn’t be that pleasant, but Lynn would put some comical spin on it that made her feel better about it. In other words, the strip was a club to beat her family, but along with that were other people across the world, who would clip out the strip to beat their family too.
As you know, it has an angry, crying Elly berating John for decorating his officer with beatiful idiots and his responding someone has to hire them. This tells me that she will not concede points that make her look like not a good girl. Good girls aren't jealous or angry, you see.
Exactly. No husband in his right mind would make the comment Rod does in the next strip, nor the confession the hygienist he chose looks like Cheryl Ladd (Shania Twain). These would be observations that came only from Lynn / Elly as she complained about it.
howard,
No husband in his right mind would make the comment Rod does in the next strip, nor the confession the hygienist he chose looks like Cheryl Ladd (Shania Twain).
That's right. What's also right is that there are a lot of women out there who think that their husbands are cheating on them but lack the courage to say so. They'd hate to be subjected to what Elly was but they also don't want their husbands to 'lie' to them. It's this sort of irrational jerk who wants things both ways that makes up the bulk of Lynn's fandom.
dreadedcandiru2,
What's also right is that there are a lot of women out there who think that their husbands are cheating on them but lack the courage to say so.
I'll have to take your word on this one. I have never met a woman who knew her husband was cheating, who did not call him on it. Of course, considering I would never find out something like that unless the woman did call her husband on it, my experience is limited.
Howard,
Old-school women frequently didn't call their husbands on cheating. It was considered something that men did, and their obligation was to be discreet. Growing up, we lived next door to an Irish-Catholic family with three kids. The husband was known to be a philanderer for many, many years through the 1970s and 1980s. (They would be contemporaries of Rod and Lynn.) The wife wasn't happy, but she kept her mouth shut because she knew that was how things were done in her husband's family before she married him. She only got upset and divorced him a few years ago, when he became indiscreet and started picking up on women within their social circle. In one of the more disgraceful examples, he hit on my childhood best friend (then around 25 y.o., the same age as his oldest son) while drunk.
It actually used to be a very common arrangement in marriages that the man would cheat, and the wife would keep silent on it as long as the husband didn't let it impinge on the wife/family life.
qnjones,
Old-school women frequently didn't call their husbands on cheating. It was considered something that men did, and their obligation was to be discreet. Growing up, we lived next door to an Irish-Catholic family with three kids. The husband was known to be a philanderer for many, many years through the 1970s and 1980s.
The problem here is that you knew about this husband’s philandering, which obviously means he wasn’t being that discreet. Perhaps you are more perceptive than I am when it comes to such things. I usually only heard about philandering after the husband wasn’t discreet and the wife called him on it and there was an ugly divorce.
You can tell that Lynn suspected Rod was philandering with members of his staff very shortly into their marriage, if her comments in the Macleans article about Lynn Lake and its commonplace adultery can be taken as proof. However, she never out-and-out said that she knew he was cheating back then, and the comment about Lynn Lake is too over-the-top to take seriously. Her claim is that Rod’s cheating in 2007 was a surprise to her. She could have been doing the old-school thing and did not want to admit to Macleans that her marriage has been a farce from the very beginning; but then we have the comment about Rod and his all-female staff in the land of cheaters from the same article. I don’t know what to make of it.
We certainly have proof that Lynn Johnston is not afraid of humiliating her husband in public with the subject matter of her comic strips over the years. This could have been a revenge on her husband for cheating. The only problem with this theory is that Lynn also had no problem humiliating her son and daughter via the strip.
On the other hand, Lynn Johnston is certainly not playing the part of the discreet, old-school wife when it comes to her interviews since the divorce. And in the strip sequence we have this week from 1980, she did not seem to be shy about accusing her husband of hiring eye candy for his office; something that I doubt would sit well with Rod’s staff. It’s hard to tell with a woman who has certainly shown a lack of discretion over the years, where the line is that she won’t cross.
Most of us found out about the philandering only in the 2000s, when the divorce happened. The wife started to open up about it then. We had no clue in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the husband's male friends knew (the ones he went out cruising for babes with). When I say "known," I mean that his wife assumed it to be true back then, but we all know now because of a number of sources that started to talk, including the cheater himself.
When I say "known," I mean that his wife assumed it to be true back then...
Usually, when wives know their husbands are cheating, there are a number of tell-tale signs. There's the classic lipstick on the collar or the long hair on his coat that doesn't match her own. One lady I knew back in Dallas discovered her husband was cheating when she cleaned out his car one day and found a little slip of paper with a phone number on it she did not know.
With Lynn Johnston, I can't tell that her suspicions of Rod went anything past "He's surrounded by beautiful women all day" or "Adultery was common in Lynn Lake". Those sound like comments coming from her own insecurities instead of from some actual proof.
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