For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 17, 2024

Rhetta’s poetry in response:

Ignore your girl at your own peril.

Only “goodbye” means you had quit.

Another boy will prove more virile.

While you go chase Jodi or Kit.

Ah, the depths of the artistic soul! Cherish it, Mike—there’s so little of it in this increasingly ugly world!

Write a country song!

Think of it this way Mike, you didn’t have to buy her a present. You didn’t did you?. I found an old newspaper from 1983 today, and they were just starting this ark!

Rhetta did not really dump him… did she?

No, Lynn. Micheal is not any type of intellectual (snerk!)

I wonder if Michael is the one that created that classic public restroom poem, “Here I sit, Broken Hearted”.

I read these back in the day but this took me by surprise. Don’t remember this part. Also one reader said it was her brother that broke them up, so was waiting for that. On to a college girl I guess!

…and get that darned tooth fixed!

He is having a miserable Christmas break. It’ll get better, Mike.

& THIS is how he becomes a writer or journalist!

Trust me. He finds better, MUCH better.

I feel so sorry for Mike, but his writing is probably the best therapy for him.

It’s both …

I’d be in pain with a monitor that big, too.

“Oh to be young, and feel love’s keen sting.”

And thus Michael embarks on his career as a screenwriter for the Lifetime Channel, as the good writer, writes what they know.

Shopping malls are a good place to go to cheer ya up. Who knows might just find a new girl there for him.

Both Michael and Elizabeth have recently strung along love interests in relationships that clearly weren’t going anywhere (yes, I know we’re not done with Anthony) and were surprised and upset when third parties swooped in to offer those love interests a promise of something more serious. Maybe they can bond over that and thus open the way to a more mature brother-sister relationship.

This sure is the polar opposite of the strip on prom night where he and Rhetta were passionately discussing their future together.

If he had told her he loved her and wanted to marry her, I’ll bet she would have been more patient. Also, they could have married any time during his matriculation, she working to provide some funds. Bet his mom and dad would also help. He just took her for granted, and this is what happened.

Young Love…..great song by Sonny James!!

A Hallmark card for sure

I’m wondering why John hasn’t done anything for Mike’s tooth yet.

Way to go man, use it, the experience will make you a better writer! ;-)

Why hasn’t his Dad dragged him down to the dental office to get that tooth fixed?? I believe that was the main reason for his trip home.

I still remember the words over 40 years later – “I don’t think so.”

Does anyone remember who he really married?

Oh No! Goth poetry!

Would John be allowed to prescribe pain meds for Mike, or is that against ethical guidelines?

A broken heart, be it the first or tenth, never heals completely.

Ironic that Michael’s relationship with Rhetta the same time that the writing is on the wall for Justin Trudeau.

Mothers can feel the kids mood swings really fast.

Michael feels lower than a Canadian dollar.

That tooth is agonizing…I never had to wait for the swelling to go down to get the darn thing out. I had 2 that were impacted and the oral surgeon got them out as soon as I could get in.