Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for February 15, 2010

You noticed that, huh?

You are learning the fine art of a snow job Calvin.

I do not think you could build a more unique character than Calvin, shovel or not.

Thats the not so beautiful side of snow!

I think I told my son that once when we were shoveling the snow……………………..Go Calvin! And get Hobbes to help you.

A son’s torment.

It also builds strength, giving you the chance to survive Hobbes’ kamikaze attacks when you come home from school.

It’s keeping him out of Mom and Dad’s hair for a few hours too.

Oh, cruel and vengative parents!!

Why is everybody in this board taking the parents side?

What are electric or mechanical snowblowers for? And remember, a 6 year old should not operate that machinery.

Poor creature is going to catch a cold as a minimum, a double pneumonia at the worst!

Normally he seems to love being out in the snow. It’s being useful that irks him.

the same reason my parents used me as a remote for the tv.

You don’t have a dog & bark yourself !

This world could stand a little more Character building.

My Character is sufficently built - having raked leaves from the perpetual shedding trees as a youth. :>)

Clavin should try one of his “if I do my work bad enough,…” moods..I’m sure something extraordinary weird would be the outcome of this shoveling :D

Yeah, it is convenient Calvin! Being slave labor of a sort is part of being a child – or an adult.

In today’s ACLU driven society, Calvin’s dad would be thrown in jail for child abuse.

fathers can be cruel.

well said ninmas

It’s the same principle as it was when I was a kid and asked my mom why they didn’t buy a dishwasher. She’d just say she had one! (Me) Then a few years ago I read about a 14-year-old girl who sued her mother for forcing her to wash the dishes. I thought dang it, I was born too soon!

Jobs & chores that I hated as a child became interesting and sometimes memory-laden as an adult. Most prominent was cutting and chopping firewood. Of course our tools are much less labor intensive today! :-)

Boy does that bring back memories - and my Dad didn’t have a snow blower, either. You might say I built a lot of character and a strong loathing of snow.

Calvin could shovel snow forever and still not build any character, but his last comment is perceptive.

I would rather it build a nice savings account… For me Dad!

I’m quite a character now.

it’s any kids dream to play in the snow, but it is another story to actually have to shovel it

What moron makes a 6 year old shovel snow?

I suspect a snowblower would build alot more character than a shovel where Calvin is concerned.

I can somehow imagine him blazing a downhill swath through the woods with dad’s snowblower mounted on his sled.

I agree with “ronaldmundy”. It seems my parents were always pushing my buttons………

At that age they are not even aware that they’re working. My daughter would looooove to shovel the driveway.

I’ve never had to shovel snow, but it is my understanding that it is heavy. A six year old would probably not be strong enough to do it. That is why fictional works, such as comic strips, often require what is known as “suspension of disbelief.” Just go with it people. It’s funny if you don’t think too much about it.

And note also Calvin’s exaggeration: if a kid of Calvin’s age could shovel the snow, it probably wouldn’t cost “a couple of hundred dollars”, more like $5 or $10 to get it done.

But, I agree–it would be more fun and better for Calvin if Dad was out there shoveling with him. Better example, bonding time (for males), and not so aggravating.

maybe calvin’s dad saves that $ for all the stuff Calvin breaks and for fun stuff :)

I feel the humour in this to the ends of my toes A 6 yr old shovelling snow without Dad for a companion or as a teacher

You don’t need to shovel rain. It doesn’t rain at 5500 feet in the High Sierras (sob)

Calvin needs to realize that this would be a great opportunity to treat the driveway as a moat around the fort he should be building. Oh, and how about some snowmen as sentries around the fort? Come on kid, get with the program.

God put the snow where he wanted it. He’ll melt it off in his own time. My father, the Reverend, wasn’t amused.

(Actually, I’m sure he was amused. He just couldn’t let it show.)

So now Calvin finds out there is a price to pay for that beautiful moonlit scene.

When I was a kid we used to have snowbanks that were as high as the house by the time the season was done. I remember trying to help my Dad shovel when I was little but couldn’t throw the snow up high enough to reach the top of the bank. Dad would lift me up and put me on top of the high bank by the driveway and told me I had the most important job as supervisor. When he’d get tired and need to stop and take a break he’d make me a snow cave out of the bank by the front door. He always made it deep enough for me to get my sled in all the way and tall enough for him or Mom to sit in it with me. On the other breaks we’d work on a huge snowman and cover it with Dad’s old clothes. Of course I ate alot of snow and icicles too. Mom would watch the clock and come out and get me and bring me in after a certain time I’d help her make a hot lunch or dinner for all of us. If he didn’t get in when it was ready she’d go get him because she was watching the clock for him too.

Having recently gone through by-pass surgery, I didn’t want to risk shoveling the snow. Noticed a couple of young lads shoveling a neighbors drive.

“Are you guys hiring yourselves out?”, I shouted across the street.

“Yes.”, one shouted back.

“How much?’

“$10 and $15.”

“What do I get for $10?”

“We shovel your driveway.”

“What do you do for $15?”

“We REALLY shovel your driveway!”

Laughing to myself, I hired them for the higher priced job (which really included the sidewalks).

About an hour and a half later, two little half frozen pre teens with pink noses and ears finished the task.

They did a REALLY good job, and I gave them a nice tip.

Be glad it’s snow & not ice, like some places got last year Calvin.

Perhaps your character will be a lot less greedy than Dad’s.

Stupid Dad has armed you with a metal shovel! Make them regret it in true Calvin fashion. We already love your character Those of us who understand the whole point of strip do, anyway.

Calvin’s dad is passing the torch. He had to do it when he was young, too. My wife and I don’t have kids, so guess who is still shoveling the #@*%! snow! Not our 3 cats! Fortunately we have a guy who plows the driveway and we just have to shovel the (substantial) walkway to the drive.

technically calvin is 6. behaviorally and intellectually, he could be anywhere from 6 to 16. watterson can have him do whatever he likes to insult his own father - as he does here

Furienna, I think a 6 year old is perfectly capable of cleaning his room. He is the one that messed it up, after all. I wouldn’t expect him to vacuum it, but he definitely should be expected to put away his toys and keep his clothes off the floor. If the trash is light weight and not messy, I might expect a 6 year old to take it out to the trashcan, but not if it’s really heavy or something that will make a mess if it spills.

I do agree that shoveling the snow is probably a bit much for a kid that age to do alone, though. Even a 10 year old would have trouble shoveling the snow if you get much of it.

It looks like shoveling the own grave. Not very reliefing!

Calvin might think his is the only family in the world without a snow blower and still having to shovel the entire driveway by hand but he’d be wrong … that would be MY house!

My stubborn husband has the theory that if we were to go to all the expense of buying a snow blower, then it would never snow here again and we’d have wasted money on something we didn’t end up needing. I always say, “That would suit me just fine! It would be money definitely well spent!” I really, really, really hate shoveling snow!

this year we had the longest snowfall i have ever seen

oh did i mention i live in new mexico?

Everything builds character for Dad, Calvin.

I’d rather be shoveling it than snowblowing it. I’m deaf enough as is. Snowblowers are useless technology, in my opinion. Its just a fancier way to shovel snow and a quicker way to go deaf. Calvin might as well point Hobbes at the snow and have him roar it away.

I served as family messenger for some time, getting food and beverages for my family when they need them; returning movie rentals; making Xeroxes; and buying newspapers.