For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 13, 2010

I believe it was Job…

The Buddha said “To be born is to suffer”

Or the Buddha said “To be born is to suffer, is not in the book of Job”

??????

I might be more sympathetic if John had specifically forbidden Elly to buy the $20 can opener. As it was, she spent $143.90 on kitchen gadgets ($100 more than originally) bought on an impulse after she’d planned to buy only a can opener, so she comes across as a total hypocrite here.

Besides, for all that John shouldn’t have said last week that it was “his” money, Elly really isn’t someone who ought to be in charge of the household budget: http://catalog.fborfw.com/indexid.php?q=3834

http://catalog.fborfw.com/indexid.php?q=171&Submit=Search

http://catalog.fborfw.com/indexid.php?q=172&Submit=Search

Blast out her whining with the new stereo. Steppenwolf?

Job did say that “man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7) …

This happens to be a typical thing between husbands and wives. No one seems to talk, and when you don’t talk usually the yelling comes. But is it not good to get the feeling out? That way they don’t fester and become something more. Of all the people to need marriage counseling. I’m just glad I don’t have that type of relationship with my spouse.

Job also said “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble”. Job 14.1 Ecclesiastes in similar vein wrote “7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.”

And who suffers during childbirth???????

This strip is getting irritating lately, too much whining.

You know, I’ve been reading the comics the past few days, but avoiding commenting because you all are in mob mode again. Jeez, chill out people. Like none of you have ever gotten mad at your spouse…right. Especially at the beginning of your marriage with young kids and everyone working hard. Plus, consider that money is the number one issue that couples argue about. I’m sure everyone is the perfect spouse and sits down calmly and discusses every issue rationally. Now that’s what I think is funny today.

What ever happened to TALKING with your spouse BEFORE you make a big purchase like a stereo????

I went in to buy a camera that was on sale for $30, wife bought a $2500 tv and blu-ray player.

I’m with lightenup. Everyone seems to want to bash Elly [or Connie, or Annie] constantly.

Elly … go get a job, and earn your own money, so you can spend $100 on kitchen appliance… oh wait, you already did spend that much? Oops never mind my rant.

@ Allan V: Elly does have a job - as a homemaker, which, as others have said, with its multiple functions, is very valuable (monetarily and otherwise). That is why John admitted it was wrong of him to say it was his money. They have a partnership, and the money is theirs.

You make a strong case, AdamsFamily1MW :-D

I agree, AdamsFamily1MW - you support your point well, and I appreciate the links. Certainly both Elly and John have their flaws.

okay john, take elly out to get a new can opener and then take a detour and take the whole family out for dinner

gillbill, LOL!– i was wondering the same thing

and no, she never ever EVER shuts up

I don’t think this strip is about either a can opener or a stereo.

This is the typicial man-woman budget arguemtn. She has a closet full of clothes, he has a garage full of boats and tools he’ll use one time and BOTH think the other is the cause of the bankruptcy. Giving up for the other together and growing up together go together.

She may be whiny, but she IS right

“She may be whiny, but she IS right”

Except for not mentioning the other $123 she spent.

I agree with Jade.

John, I am sure, spent some time looking for the best quality for the best price with the stereo for $2000.

Elly spent $143.90 on impulse on kitchen gadgets she didn’t plan to buy (or need?) when she went into the store.

Did John complain one bit about Elly’s impulsive purchases? Also, Elly will enjoy the stereo more than John since she is the one at home more. Perhaps, as Adams Family showed, Elly can’t manage money and she should give the checkbook over to John to manage.

Joe, Job said, “Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.”

Fascinating. According to a good most of you, if a woman is unhappy with a situation and vocalizes it, she’s whiny.

What is a man who vocalizes his unhappiness?

There is a great difference between $143 and $2000.

And did anyone stop to think SHE was buying items for the house…exactly who was that stereo for?

I agree that there is a big difference between $143 and $2000.

Silly me, I thought this was a comic strip - Does NO ONE see the humour here?

Or are the comics now just one more vehicle for judging others .. ?

I do have a hard time understanding why people who don’t like Elly bother to read the strip…

You GO lightenup–talk about hitting the nail smack dab on the head;) and Reddheadd–EXCELLENT points!! Freeholder1, love the last line of your post–very insightful* All I have to add is that there is nothing whiny about or wrong with Elly-she is HUMAN!

If people are criticizing Elly, it’s because she deserves it. Everyone did such a good job today, I can take a break (if I wanted to).

Now… 143.00 Canadian was about 107.00 in American money back then. Still alot, but look at what she bought. It wasn’t impulse stuff, it was all practical, necessary, everyday items. Most of it seemed to be stuff she needed now, or needed to replace. People keep forgetting the exchange rate and calling it 143.00.

We can see the beginning of “The Dumpy Butt” here. She should have picked up one of those new fangled Jane Fonda workout videos with the kitchen stuff. After doing that workout, she’d have less energy to carry on like a loon with a husband who can’t move past doofishood. She keeps using the same approach, and always ends up with the same results. Misery. He’s a doofis, not a mindreader. Did he know she was being frugal? Apparently not. They are both wrong, and she’s just plain annoying.

Thank you Carol. :)

MrsLukeSkywalker So you are saying that Jon is a “doofis” BECAUSE he can’t read Elly’s mind? I’m just asking.

i don’t much like elly or john either for that matter but i read this strip because it’s a daily train wreck – you can’t take your eyes away. that’s also the case with dick tracy, btw which surpasses even fbow in hilarious lameness. besides, the comments/criticisms/rationalizations here are worth the price of admission.

The Seeker: “Why are we born only to suffer and die?” The Great Wise Tralfamadorian: “Why not?” –Kilgore Trout, Venus on the Half Shell

Elly and Jon are both justified in their purchases, and they are fortunate to have the 2143.00 to spend on less than necessary things. (Or $1603.50 if you think MLS can peg the exchange rate on an updated version of a 30 year old comic strip.)

It is the contrast between the amounts, and the surprise factor that set Elly off. In time, she will see the comparitive equivalence of their actions, they will both apologize, and be better able to handle the next financial decision. And we (at least some of us) will get to laugh at the humor of hyperbole in the Patterson household as it reminds us of our own humanity, our own weaknesses.

I don’t think we have a problem with Elley’s point , its just that shes blathering like an idiot and John has stopped listening because her bombastic rhetoric has ceased to have any point

She made the statement that there was no excuse for the purchase, no matter what John said after that a haughty look and a grunt would have put him in his place. Instead of the cold stare she stars once more running off about her can opener.

as can be seen from the last panel she is still carrying on in the distance with no audience but herself which is almost border line insane, while her husband thoughts drift toward suicidal. Her next move will probably be to call Connie and tell her what a rat John is for buying something for himself and how terrible her life is having to open cans by hand. I guess my point is if you constantly over react to every situation people stop caring what your upset about.

BTW I do like this strip because I have been reading it for years and never got to see some of these early strips (the kids were much older when my paper picked it up daily)

This reminded me of my parents about the financial before buy something. My mum bawled Pop for not dicussing with her about buying the solar on the roof to save $$ with power bill etc…. Pop already went ahead and bought those parts for solar thing. Goodness knows! Later on, Mum realized that the solar parts was worth a try to save their money than spending on power bill from Co.

All the more reason why such large purchases should be discussed beforehand.

Normally, marriage is considered a partnership between a husband and wife but that’s a really hard thing to have when one of the two people feels (and acts) like they have ALL the power in that relationship and the other has none.

John said it himself: “It’s my money.”

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t marry a woman who’s just going to smile, roll over, have absolutely no opinion at all and say, “Yes, dear Master, it is your money and you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want with it!” … and he should have a brain enough by now to realize that!

No Starguy. That is NOT what I said. read it again.

“He’s a doofis, not a mindreader. Did he know she was being frugal? Apparently not. They are both wrong, and she’s just plain annoying.”

I don’t know how you got that from my statement, which actually sticks up for him to some degree. I’m not a man basher, but this strip is. The men I know are quite intelligent. I always comment that I can’t understand why the personalities of all the men in this strip are so one dimensional. Ted, the jerk, has the most character of any of them, and it isn’t good character. If you don’t follow the comments on a daily basis, you can’t expect to pop on for a day and know how any of us feel. Funny you should pick me out of the crowd, but you hit a dead end there. If you actually follow the strip and you still don’t know John is out of touch and on the slow side, well, that isn’t an issue to take up with me, because I don’t write the strip. I’m just one of many who point it out. Both of their actions in this storyline made them both wrong, and before you comment back to ME on why they’re wrong, go read ALL THE COMMENTS, since Elly broke the can opener, not just mine.

I’m just answering. Please don’t read attitude into my response, because I actually mean it nicely.

I agree with lightenup – but most of you already know that. I do think she could handle it better and lord knows he could have done the same. When they quit screaming at each other, they’ll sit down, talk it out and stay married which is more than over half of American couples do today.

Isn’t Job considered to be the oldest book in the modern bible?

We’ve been duking it out for days about a can opener. And looking for answers in the Bible. That’s what I call living! I’m off to see Calvin.