Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Patterson Values: Money Earned not Given…Except

One of the nice things about the new Foob search site (http://catalog.fborfw.com/) is that the strips go back much further than the AMU reprints limit of 1996. One of the downsides is that AMU reprints keyword search is much better, because you can search the texts of all the panels of the comic strip. With the Foob search, you can search the texts of the final panel only. Nevertheless, using both tools I was able to determine that the word “loonie” and the word “toonie” were not used in For Better or For Worse after 1996 and are not a part of any final panels ever. The word “buck” used to stand for a dollar is much more common in the comic strips. I suppose it is a safer thing to write, considering that the word is common both in the US and Canada.

The big advantage with the Foob search is now I can see a sort of history of Michael Patterson with money. In today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse, Michael is seeking after free money. John refuses to give anything for free. He has to earn it. Does Michael learn this lesson? Probably not, since he goes right to Elly for the money instead.

What a good example John Patterson is. It makes me wonder how it is that Michael Patterson grew up to the man who squandered 50 bucks on a parking space as an adult.

The answer is in this comic strip from 1981. In this strip, John Patterson complains about the high prices for things. Then he runs into Helen Binks, an old friend, and asks her for her address. She asks for a worthless piece of paper to write on, and John gives her buck. Moreover, John does this right in front of Michael. Oops! Lesson learned.

Now flash forward to 2007. The parking lot attendant says to Michael, “I’ll need something on paper” and what is the phrase old Michael says when handing over the 50 bucks for the parking space he has already paid for: “50 bucks is something on paper.” Notice the similarities between that strip and the one from 1981?

No matter what John may say to Michael in today’s new-run, ultimately Michael will see that John considers paper money to be no more than something to write on, and can be given away without earning it. Consequently, older Michael will think nothing of throwing away 50 bucks in 2007.

6 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

The real lesson Mike is learning here, of course, is that John will not help him without expecting far too much in return because of his belief that his children personally owe him every cent he spends on him. This sort of thing is why Gord and Tracey were so quick to torpedo Anthony's first marriage: Don Patterson made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

10:41 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

That "Helen Binks" strip from 1981--again with the Patterson "give me your address." Don't most real humans ask for a telephone number instead? Is Elly going to just show up?

3:29 AM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

This sort of thing is why Gord and Tracey were so quick to torpedo Anthony's first marriage: Don Patterson made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

I suppose that is a possibility; however my pet theory was always that Anthony was really interested in Tracey, and that was the reason they were so anxious to get Anthony associated with Elizabeth. In this strip, it was established Thérèse was jealous of Tracey in the same way she was jealous of Elizabeth. In this strip, Tracey is clearly pushing Elizabeth towards Anthony. And finally in this strip, on his way to his second wedding, Anthony asks Gordon if he would ever get divorced, so Anthony could have a chance with Tracey. Gordon skillfully deflects his inquiry.

5:16 AM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

That "Helen Binks" strip from 1981--again with the Patterson "give me your address." Don't most real humans ask for a telephone number instead? Is Elly going to just show up?

Most real humans would ask for a telephone number. We have not seen Elly on the phone with anyone who is not a relative or a salesperson. We have seen Elly write Christmas cards to people that she barely knows. That would be my guess as to why John asks for the address and not the phone number. He knows his wife all too well.

5:18 AM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

We have not seen Elly on the phone with anyone who is not a relative or a salesperson.

Or Connie or Anne. :)

We have seen Elly write Christmas cards to people that she barely knows. That would be my guess as to why John asks for the address and not the phone number. He knows his wife all too well.

Christmas cards did cross my mind. Of course, Helen Binks would be on the probationary list, ready to be dropped if she did not respond in kind. :)

5:58 AM  
Blogger howard said...

Or Connie or Anne. :)

I had a fun time with the Foob search looking at strips with Carol and Keith Enjo, particularly Carol, who had the potential to join into Elly's group. Looking at it in perspective, it looks like the Enjos disappeared after Connie came back with Greg, only to reappear during the storyline of Elly's pregnancy with April, because Carol was a nurse and because Keith grew a pumpkin to compare to Elly's pregnant figure. After April was born, the older Enjos are pretty much gone.

8:36 AM  

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