The Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom for September 15, 2023

Nice try

From Not Always Right :

(When my son is eight, our family goes to a certain theme park with a mouse mascot. We have long had the rule that when we’re at amusement parks, one souvenir may be picked and it must wait to be picked up at the end of the day; for this trip, the former is amended to “one souvenir per park segment.” One day, my son picks out a hand-sized plush of a certain alien character and while he’s clearly eager to take it home, he patiently waits while enjoying all the rides and attractions we go on. After picking up his older sister’s souvenir, we head for the exit near the cart where he spots the plush and walks up to the staff member manning it. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes clear that there aren’t any of the small plushes out anymore, but we ask the staff member anyway.)

Me: “Excuse me; do you have any of the small [Character] plushes left?”

Staff Member: “Sorry; they’re all gone.”

(My son looks absolutely heartbroken but doesn’t complain. We start to leave, but then I stop us and turn to my husband.)

Me: “We’re getting him the next size up.”

(We did, indeed, get him the next size up of the plush, and he still has it to this day.)

Take him to the park that has teeter totter and one of those things that spins around. He’ll sleep like a babe tonight

Sneaky, Wilberforce, VERY sneaky.

Excellent strategy worthy of Sun Tzu.

Brutus is not amused.

As a kid we didn’t travel over summer vacation, we would occasionally visit out of town relatives, or go camping.

It wasn’t until 1980 that my wife and I went to the mouse house on the west coast. About all I can say is the blueberry muffins were the size of cantaloupe and delicious.

…Kids these days…

how about you make up stuff… just don’t be too dramatic or they’ll know your lying.

The son has scamped Brutus……..again!

I like the kids style. However, it’s too late for the qualifying as a nin school Summer event.If that’s so important, take him fishing. It’s cheaper and will be an experience worth remembering and giving a speech or writing a paper on…..

The look on Brutus face tells it ALL. I’ve been played and had. Now what do I say or do?

I guess I could’ve used Wilbur’s line on my mother, but we didn’t have amusement parks, at least not till the fair came to town in October. And by then the Summer paper would’ve already been turned in. Though I never had problem coming up with interesting stories about my Summers as they were full of trips, art classes, swimming, and projects I would engage in.

When the student becomes the master.

My summer vacation as s loser….

I really love this strip! Wilberforce sure knows how to play his Dad! Brutus’s expression of excitement in the first quickly turns in the third with the side eye of disappointment as the other shoe drops. Brutus next time I suggest you hold off on the “whatever you need” promise until he gives you the Paul Harvey treatment (for those too young to remember, it means he gets the rest of the story). So now we are left to wonder – did Brutus take him to the amusement park??

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Brutus is in the hot seat. Will he compromise? Give in? Let Wilberforce say that one of the things he did over summer vacation was to ask his dad to take him to an amusement park and got refused? Well played, kid!

Brutus you have an out, tell him it would count, he’s not on summer vacation anymore.

we never went anywhere on summer vacation when I was a kid and yet I remember them as fun-filled and happy times.

Brutus should tell Wilberforce to do what most good writers do, simply embellish the truth to make it sound more interesting.

“Sorry son”, Brutus replies “summer is over and that would be cheating, but pretty clever of you to get me to take you”…