Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for November 20, 2009

Sigh….

It was worth a try.

Then again, I may tip you clear over!!

Pity you Cal!!! no reward for being quick and prompt! :(

‘Calculating,’ wasn’t he!

You need a different approach Calvin!

A kid after my own heart.

I have three sons to part, it’s hard sometimes!

Heh heh. Calvin in a classic Maitre D’ pose - a slight clearing of the throat while extending a up-turned hand behind him. Perfect.

Here’s a tip for Calvin. Get your tip BEFORE you hand Mom her purse!

Born to be a room service waiter. What a great career choice.

North American service culture… . . Sucks!

Calvin, here’s a tip - Speedynag in the fourth at Oval Park.

And yet another tip…

Don’t pet burning dogs.

Hope Calvin never makes it into the Service sector… I hate tipping people as “the done thing”.

Is Calvin’s AHEM (clearing his throat) because of phlegm? That’s a calculated guess!

Yukoner, Judging from Calvin’s mother’s overreaction, she might be the Speedynag who finishes out of the money! Maybe that’s why she won’t/can’t tip Calvin.

either one of them shoulda said ‘Help Yourlsef’ to the other. chuckle.

cryptomaniac said:

“Hope Calvin never makes it into the Service sector… I hate tipping people as “the done thing”.

cryptomaniac is Mr. Pink from ‘Reservoir Dogs’

AllensBrain said, “…His mother really WAS a horrible, abusing woman!” Your post from yesterday fits today’s comic. Did you read ahead?

krisch, Calvin can help himself by taking his tip from her purse. His mother can help herself by getting her calculator herself. If I get your ‘drift’, I wasn’t ‘snowed’ by your play-on-words. Is that a paradox? It’s a ‘calculated’ risk in either case. Actually, they both NEED help!

i meant either mum shoulda said help urself to calvin in panel 3 or calvin shoulda said it to mum in panel 1 to avoid panel 4 (where both of ‘em are diasppointed in each other) i meant it in a mutually exclusive sense.. phew!

Come on Mom. What a cheapskate!

C’mon mon, even fido gets a treat for fetching.

Since when is Calvin entitled to being paid for everything that he does? If he is, in fact, so entitled, then his mother is equally entitled to submit a bill to him for everything that she’s done for him for the last six years, including the previous nine months that she carried him inside her and however many hours of labor she endured to give birth to him. And let’s not forget how much Dad has shelled out over the years to feed, clothe, house, and educate Calvin – not to mention how much Dad has had to pay to fix so many of Calvin’s screw-ups! If Calvin can expect to be paid every time he runs a small errand for his parents, then they can be expect to be reimbursed big time for services rendered and costs advanced on his behalf.

That’s what Calvin’s next birthday present should be – a bill from his parents.

Good point legaleagle48…. But this is a comic after all… although, how it parallels real life is uncanny…

moms overreaction puts a sour note on an otherwise cute strip. I think most parents would laught and say - “yeah, right!” if thier kid asked for a tip

AllensBrain said, (yesterday) “Puddleglum2, Also like Daniel & his companions, Susie is rejecting the rich food of King Calvin’s table in favor of the vegetarian sandwich and water.” Yes, and in the same context, Calvin should check Susie’s “pulse” (and especially her blood pressure). I don’t think she is faring as well as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. See Daniel 1 Thank you for the comment!

legaleagle48 great point if anyone is bitter parent who expects to be repaid from their children for having and caring for them, if parents don’t want that burden and expect something in return don’t have children, after all it wasn’t Calvin’s choice to born out of will, and children definately aren’t dropped at anyones door step by a pelican. If anyone should feel there “owed” something from there children even if there fiction characters, shouldn’t there comedic genius be enough…i guess not, i’m going to send a check to my parents now with your comments attached. Probably wont be enough to cover the additonal 9 months though.

Its a comic strip and its funny, sure am glad it brings out the real character in people…

As some can clearly see, it’s events like this that drives kids like Calvin to become professional purse-snatchers. And, as any fool can see, it’s all the mother’s fault.

God save us!

Welllll… I used to bartend and I would make great tips by telling them I would leave them alone if they tipped me…

Of course this was with my regulars and was just kinda of a joke with us BUT, I think this might work great for Calvin.

In the first two panels it seemed like an alien clone of Calvin had taken his place, but in the last two the true Calvin shines forth. Thought you had given in to the system there for a minute Calvin!

There was a song I think it was called “No charge” where a mother was given a bill by her little boy for all the little chores he’d done and then she handed him a bill for all she’d done for him saying there was no charge. At the last the boy read the bill and wrote on his own bill paid in full. They used to play that song on Mother’s day and it always brought a tear to my eye.

Tipping is not a city in China, but it has no place in the home either. Your allowance is based on doing your chores and helping out around the house…or so it should be, otherwise it would be a form of charity.

Of course he could offer Mom a cup of Phlegm in retaliation.

Macushlalondra said, 2 minutes ago

There was a song I think it was called “No charge” where a mother was given a bill by her little boy for all the little chores he’d done and then she handed him a bill for all she’d done for him saying there was no charge. At the last the boy read the bill and wrote on his own bill paid in full. They used to play that song on Mother’s day and it always brought a tear to my eye.

I had that song in mind when I wrote my earlier post, Macushlalondra. And, tonyg71, it’s not the “bitter ranting of a parent who expects to be repaid for having children and caring for them” – I’ve never been married or had children – it’s simply a comment on Calvin’s entitled attitude (which, unfortunately, reflects the entitled attitude of too many children today who just automatically expect their parents to pay them for every little chore that they’re asked to do, and who don’t stop to consider what their parents do for them every day, without expecting payment for services rendered.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, but no Children’s Day. As Linus van Pelt’s grandmother once pointed out, every day is Children’s Day!

krisch, I should have realized that ‘either’ could not be ‘both’, so it had to be mutually exclusive. Other than that, I had understood it correctly. Thank you!

“”I think people talk too much anyway. Sometimes people are talking to me and in my mind I’m just like “shut up, shut up, shut up…blah blah blah blah blaaaaah.””

– Ellen DeGeneres

Here is a youtube link to the song I mentioned earlier, it’s sung by Tammy Wynette only it’s a girl in the story not a boy. In the one I remember it was a boy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaO9b8gWL9w

Sometimes people do talk too much. “You Talk Too Much” - a 1960 single by Joe Jones However, maybe Ellen DeGeneres should take her own advice. :o)

mom will give you something , she’ll let you have dinner tionight,,,MAYBE

Better get used to it Calvin. They don’t tip at McDonald’s either. It looks like that may be your career path.

how much do Moms get for being moms?

Hey legaleagle48, they actually do have a Children’s Day. It’s April 30th.

Why was Calvin named after John Calvin of Geneva? Will somebody tell me????

Heres a tip Calvin, dont ask for tips from your parents.

@ Macushlalondra

I remember that song from my childhood too. My mom had the record with it and we played it a lot. That version was also a little boy. I didn’t know there was a version with a little girl until you posted that link.

Character Flaws ??

I will say that, while Calvin can be a handful at times, if I had been the mom in this instance, I would not have blown up at him like that. He had been good after all and did what she asked.

I would probably even have given him a little something for his trouble. Maybe a sticker, some gum or a piece of candy, perhaps a dime… or even just the promise of a treat later.

Our dad unapologetically told us that the main reason he had kids was for a convenient source of unpaid labor. We did what we were told, when we were told. No tips. No pay. No allowance. We had a roof over our heads, 3 squares a day and basic necessities were provided. All of us later went on to college, got good grades and have had lucrative careers.

Work ethic. Duty. Honor. Responsibility.

Parents - Please be generous in doling these out to the next generation.

calvin will grow up to be a multi-billionare!

I always tip my kids…don’t you?

If they can tip cows, why can’t they tip kids?

Tip him with a kiss.

I don’t ever remember my parents making me fetch something for them on a daily basis. The only time I remember was the couple times Mom or Dad were home alone with me and had the flu and were stuck in bed. I knew they were sick and would make them a tray with all the stuff they’d get for me like a book, tissues, cough drops, thermometer, ice cubes in a bowl to suck on or put in a washcloth to keep cool with, etc.

A friend told me that he knows this “business man” whose son-in-law had billed him.

The “business man” had apparently asked his son-in-law ( a lawyer) a legal question ( all made sense now) while on a fishing trip he paid for (reels and all)

Calvin all grown up. Also, don’t argue law with lawyers, it could be considered billable time.

I did this exact same thing (asked Mom for a tip) once!