Thursday, May 28, 2009

Elly Patterson and the Solicitous Waiter

We had Michael Patterson and his $25K bonus from the first publisher to whom he submitted his book. We had Elizabeth Patterson land her teaching job in Milborough thanks to someone getting a divorce, and she magically jumped ahead of any other prospective teachers. And in the beginning year of the strip shown by today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse, we had Elly Patterson get solicited for sex by a waiter within a few seconds of sitting down at Cafe Chez Louis. Classy place, but I can understand why Connie Poirier might like it.

The advantage of this situation for Elly is that she literally did not have to put forth any more effort than to clean up and put on something pretty. There are none of the standard methods used to attract someone else’s attention. No eye contact. No initiating a conversation. No reading body language. No scoping out the men to see which ones you think are the best-looking. And unlike the similar situation that John Patterson had with Ted McCaulay a few months ago, Connie does nothing more than to encourage Elly to dress sexy and flirty. And Connie did not even that in the original strip sequence. This man simply drops in Elly’s lap (so to speak), with no effort of her own or Connie's.

As for whether such an incident should improve a woman’s self-confidence, that is another story. If the situation happened in real life, a woman might be offended that she didn’t have eye contact, or a conversation, or body language, or even a chance to pick out the guy she liked. That’s what flirtation is about and what makes it fun; not being told a phone number by a waiter who thinks she is looking for “fun.” As bad as Ted McCaulay was, at least he would try to compliment the woman on how good she looked. Instead of having her self-confidence lifted, Elly should worry that she looks like a really desperate woman, with that kind of come-on from the waiter. Although Elly got a self-confidence boost; what should have happened was that she would have felt extremely uncomfortable with this waiter around her all during her dinner.

I remember a few years back, I had gone to a restaurant after doing a concert in a remote area of Tucson. I was by myself eating, when a very attractive young lady asked if she could sit at my table. After being startled by the request, I remember getting an initial ego boost that such an attractive woman would want to sit with me. Then I remembered that I am in my 40s, I am not what women would call attractive, and even back when I was in my young and single days, a woman that pretty would not have wanted to sit with me. Then it struck me why the woman had made that request, and I refused it. She left and went to ply her wares at a different table and found more success there.

This situation with Elly in this strip reminded me of that strange incident. Unlike Elly, I realized what was going on. I wonder if the same situation happened to Lynn Johnston at one point, and she didn’t realize what was going on and took it as a compliment. Imagine Rod Johnston’s surprise at reading this strip for the first time after he had come back from his dental convention. I am sure he was really happy his wife managed to get out and have some time on her own while he was gone.

More likely what we have is just another indication that Lynn has had virtually no experience with being single. The standard cliché which would accomplished the same thing and not been as unbelievably creepy, would be the usual “man at another table buys the lady a drink" scenario. That would have been a temptation AND a compliment. As for the solicitous waiter, Elly should give him a call to find out what his rates are.

11 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

That's right; Elly should feel uncomfortable in the presence of the Big Giant Cougar-Hunter; being sized up as an easy mark by a gigolo isn't the good thing that Connie thinks it is. It's simply too bad that Connie makes herself unlikable by using Elly's oh-so-understandable disquiet as a springboard for some Rod bashing.

11:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Instead of having her self-confidence lifted, Elly should worry that she looks like a really desperate woman, with that kind of come-on from the waiter. Although Elly got a self-confidence boost; what should have happened was that she would have felt extremely uncomfortable with this waiter around her all during her dinner.No kidding. Lynn Johnston's idea of "a compliment" is creepy.

11:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trying again for more legibility...

Instead of having her self-confidence lifted, Elly should worry that she looks like a really desperate woman, with that kind of come-on from the waiter. Although Elly got a self-confidence boost; what should have happened was that she would have felt extremely uncomfortable with this waiter around her all during her dinner.

No kidding. Lynn Johnston's idea of "a compliment" is creepy.

11:44 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

Although Elly got a self-confidence boost; what should have happened was that she would have felt extremely uncomfortable with this waiter around her all during her dinner.
Seriously. I would have been skeeved out and tempted to speak with the manager about the waiter's inappropriate behavior.

3:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, this sort of reflects Lynn's comment on the Canada AM interview: "I haven't had a date in... ever!". She uses any opportunity to get the word out that she's looking for a date. Why not make Elly look desperate too?

5:38 AM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2 That's right; Elly should feel uncomfortable in the presence of the Big Giant Cougar-Hunter; being sized up as an easy mark by a gigolo isn't the good thing that Connie thinks it is. -

From Connie’s perspective, that waiter was a godsend. Look at what Elly is wearing to be flirty and sexy. She’s covered all the way up her neck. If Connie turns his giving a phone number into a good thing for Elly (instead of creepy), then Connie does not have to spend the rest of the evening trying to find someone else to tell Elly she is attractive in her turtleneck.

8:44 AM  
Blogger howard said...

Anonymous,

Well, this sort of reflects Lynn's comment on the Canada AM interview: "I haven't had a date in... ever!". She uses any opportunity to get the word out that she's looking for a date. Why not make Elly look desperate too?-

True enough. This strip does fit in well with that idea and certainly the last few years have shown that she intentionally picks reprints strips that go along with what is going on in her life currently. There was the Canada AM comment and it wasn’t too long ago when the website had a story about how she had her house checked out by the local Corbeil Fire Department and used the opportunity to flirt with the firemen. The strangest part about this strip is that it was originally written back in the first year of the strip, when Lynn Johnston was relatively, newly married and 30 years younger. She has had issues with feeling attractive for a long time.

8:44 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

I would have been skeeved out and tempted to speak with the manager about the waiter's inappropriate behavior. -

That’s what my wife would have done too. She has no tolerance for inappropriate behavior in a waiter or waitress. She’s gotten people fired before (in a few very extreme cases).

8:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The advantage of this situation for Elly is that she literally did not have to put forth any more effort than to clean up and put on something pretty.Well, Elly got cleaned up, but she didn't put on something pretty. What she'd wearing would be appropriate -- if ugly -- for a semi-casual business lunch.

I've had waiters flirt outrageously with me before, and it gives me the creeps. I'm too shy to ask for another waiter, though I did get up and leave once after one sat down next to me. "Flirting" in Florida is way more heavy-handed and pushy than what I'm used to. However, I know for a fact that "flirting" in Toronto does not consist of solicitation.

I would be completely unsurprised if a gigolo did "hit on" Lynn in this fashion and she took it as a compliment. Lynn Johnston can observe the surface of what's happening around her, but her judgment about why anything's happening is severely impaired.

12:32 PM  
Blogger howard said...

clio_1,

Well, Elly got cleaned up, but she didn't put on something pretty. What she'd wearing would be appropriate -- if ugly -- for a semi-casual business lunch. -

Maybe I just should have said, “prettier than the formless, shapeless, lumps of clothing Elly Patterson usually wears.”

I would be completely unsurprised if a gigolo did "hit on" Lynn in this fashion and she took it as a compliment. Lynn Johnston can observe the surface of what's happening around her, but her judgment about why anything's happening is severely impaired.-

Oftentimes, when I have seen her in interviews, there is that sense of disconnection. In the most recent one with CTV Canada AM, many of her responses seemed to be disconnected from what the interviewer was asking her.

3:33 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

That’s what my wife would have done too. She has no tolerance for inappropriate behavior in a waiter or waitress. She’s gotten people fired before (in a few very extreme cases).
Fortunately, I've never had a waiter engage in behavior poor enough that I've resorted to that. Did your wife ever have a large-headed waiter who leaned in and offered her his "personal telephone number" while wrangling the wine?

3:53 PM  

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