For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 01, 2019

kids couldn’t take a hint of parental sarcasm

1. Notice that Eddie Haskell, I mean, Lawrence is completely gone by the time we get to this point.

2. The part that gets me confused is that Elly has said her job as the assistant to the assistant to the librarian (yes, that’s what her job is) has gone from part time to full time. Isn’t that the opposite of what libraries normally do in the summer?

3. I think Elly means closed-circuit television and not short-circuit television. Elizabeth knows what she really means, but I am not sure Michael does.

Why not put it in the bathroom; There is no privacy anymore. I think my Samsung flat screen HD TV Monitor is reporting me to some Government agency already.

Get a baby sitter, Grandma and Grandpa or send them to camp and ground them.

Short-circuit TV?

Yeah, that’s a wonderful idea…

Wrong answer Mike.

My sons have cameras all over their houses. they check from their phones all the time while away.

Old enough to be trusted? Mike’s at the early teen age where he’s old enough to make parents worry frantically.

put anankle monitor on the kid!!

Michael broke the window so he has to pay for it. Elizabeth did no wrong. None of the events from the week would have happened if Michael was nicer to his sister.

She’s being sarcastic, Michael!

How a good idea can turn bad!

Short circuit TV might work if Michael hold the bare wires.

‘Short circuit TV’? Sounds either dangerous or broken. I would rather use a closed circuit system.

The best thing to happen to me in a school library happened the day I checked out a book, read it through, and tried to return it the same day so I could get another. I was denied; school library policy required a child to keep a book for at least one week without exception, and limited children to one book a week. What was good about that, you ask?

That was how I learned that the adult library downtown did not enforce school library policies. And all this happened years before anyone had even heard of “Catch 22”.

Now I live in a civilized city which keeps its libraries open (with reasonable hours, of course) ALL YEAR LONG!

“Short-circuit” TV??!?

I have a friend with cameras all about his house so he can monitor from his smartphone. As he has two huskies in the house, I guess he does need to check in with them.

Libraries are wonderful things. Now you can get free eBooks at your local library with your library card membership. They stay loaded for a given time, and can be renewed once. You don’t get to keep them. Works with all Kindles, etc. and there’s an app for your smart phone or computer.

Elizabeth, Michael called you names because you locked him out.

The only thing that needs to be short-circuited is Elly’s hippie era “time out” methodology in terms of parenting. Obviously it hasn’t worked for her so far.

Well, at least the kids are agreeing on something.

and thus begins the fall of their family… mom being gone now. typical American family now – a disaster because mom has to leave to work… or chooses to, anyway.

Happy Canada Day!

Lynn’s Comments: This series posed a bit of a conundrum when we started animation. We see a window in the basement of the house here, but other illustrations of the downstairs showed no window at all. A complete layout of the house had to be made, and this meant some “creative architectural drawings!”

If they can’t behave at home, threaten to take the to the library where they will have to read all day and be quiet.

Sparky! The short circuit TV for today’s enlightened parents.

Would it be so difficult to give both of them keys?

I don’t know how the mother could think that any of her children could be reliable, the girl is still very young and the son has been with a cretin attitude in the last few days.

In addition, as an observation, raising two children is also a full-time job.

Ok, Lizzie is the bad one here. I don’t care what he called her. Locking him out & tormenting him into doing what he did makes her the bad, in my opinion!!! It’s just my opinion, not my kids & all, but it was not bad enough for that drastic a move!