For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 14, 2019

whoa, Michael, easy now!

One way or another, Michael’s staying home tonight.

You’re REALLY asking for it, Michael!

If I had talked to my mother that way, I would have had my mouth washed out with soap…

On the other hand, Elly has a point. At Michael’s age, he’s really too young to be steady dating Martha or any other girl!

Mike!! You mother is resepctably married and children come with marriage and marriage occurs in adults. You are a child and are in NO position to flip the issue back to your pregnant mom. Your mom is right – you’re getting way too serious about Martha and are heading for a heartbreak. You’re in middle school – can’t you just enjoy dating in groups of other kids and have fun.

YES

I think it’s his dad who ought to be discussing these things with him.

Better get Elly to the ER. She suffered a serious burn.

My parents are great parents, but if I had EVER had the nerve to say that to my mom, I would have gotten smacked in the mouth.

I’m shocked Michael made it past this moment alive!

The past few generations have learned (from TV and movies) to disrespect others as well as themselves. They just “tell it like it is,” and the one on the receiving end keeps quiet to avoid making a scene.

How the Duck. what would we do without you and your inspiteful anal ysis.

Maybe so but Mom and Dad are married adults and HE is a child…..so cool it.

On his way out the door is NOT the time for that lecture. What’s he supposed to do? Stand Martha up? At 13, he probably shouldn’t be dating in the first place, but given that he is, it should be handled differently. And as for the comment about birth control, I don’t think that had anything to do with Elly being pregnant. I think it was a snide comment about the lecture she was giving him about relationships.

Seems to me that Michael is perfectly innocent. And Ellie as usual is reading too many magazine articles.

Lynn’s Comments:

I had to decide what I could talk about and what I could not. Dialogue like this did not appear in the newspaper until my son had approved of it first.

Time to ground his smart mouth and explain a few basic facts about the difference between a kid “getting busy” and responsible parents having a child.

“As a matter of fact yes, come to your room, I have a 3 hour lecture with a quiz.”

I am thinking, of all the people there, She is the best suited to have a long discussion with him about birth control.

Good comeback Michael.

She doesn’t want a grandchild who is the same age as her youngest child.

When I was in my last year of high school, we had the annual sex education discussions with teachers rotating through the classes giving information and leading discussions on the areas they had been designated to teach that year. The three women teachers who were assigned to talk about birth control were all about 6 months pregnant when they delivered the talk about using birth control properly.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Howtheduck gets pleasure from analyzing this strip. Often wrong; but if it makes him/ her happy albeit.

This in one of better comic strips the author Know how to bring outSome good conversation About family raising three children from day of there marriage toRetirement

Sure Michael, let us make a comparison between you and your father:

Is this your first child?: This would be Michael’s first, John’s third.

Was the baby born in wedlock?: John could answer yes. Michael would have to say no, unless Martha’s father puts the barrel of a shotgun to his head.

What job do you have to support the baby?: John is self-employed as a dentist and has built up a business reputation from years of work. Michael works at a hot dog stand, a job he has held for only a few months.

How do you plan to balance school with the responsibilities of your baby? John would answer that is not a concern of his; he finished his education before having children. Michael would probably stand there looking like a dog staring at its reflection in water.

What was the reaction of the four grandparents to the news of the baby? John and Elly will probably be furious, as will Martha’s parents, with Mr. McRae likely grabbing his Mossberg shotgun (as evidenced by the question about the baby being born in wedlock). John’s parents, as are Elly’s parents, likely treating this news as something to be celebrated with champagne.

Elly, I think a backhand across the mouth is appropriate here. Michael needs to respect you more than this…

When you don’t plan and don’t care to stop it they cannot be by definition “oops” babies.

Touche! For once, I am on Michael’s side.

Let me tell you about the birds and the bees. The flowers and trees. The moon up above. And a thing called love.

Michael is going to be the first Canadian in space. When his father learns what Michael said to his mother, John is put his boot in Michael’s fourth point of contact and kick Michael’s butt to the Moon.

This strip would have got a much different reception when it was first published than it does today. Twenty-first Century “Victorians” are pretty unforgiving!

I had such a lovely comment and it appears to have been removed for some reason. We had a lot of excellent responses, but there were a number of people who insulted me, so maybe that’s the reason it was removed. The moderators tend not to like the personal insults.

I will repeat it then. When Lynn Johnston uses the euphemism “get out of hand” she is talking about teen pregnancy. Elly is going to say that phrase a lot for the next 4 years that Michael is a minor and has a girlfriend.

Michael’s response to her in the final panel lets the discerning and intelligent reader know that he and Martha have been physically intimate and he is not concerned about potential pregnancy. He considers his mother who will have had 3 “oops” babies not to be an expert in this area.