For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 10, 2022

I would call it two problems (four if the younger sisters came too).

The center of attention

Poor Michael. I would never do that to my kid. She’s the manager at our local Panera, and I’ve never gone there while she’s working.

Oy!

Our son had had to work on his birthday so we surprised him at Outback and asked if we could bring in a small birthday cake for him and they let us. Our son was surprised and happy to see us. His boss had the whole restaurant sing Happy Birthday to him before he blew the candle.

OMG! Elly and John shopping at the grocery together??!!!! That is a problem. First Mike needs to call the Guinness Book of World Records to record the event.

Then he needs to confront his parents with this statement, “Please tell me you didn’t leave Farley to watch April, just to come and harass me on my first day of work.”

My son was lucky when he was working at the grocery store, I never shopped there.

I don’t think stores do red-stickering any more; those tags fall off too easily.

I never worked anywhere my family could drop in on me. Let’s hear it for office work! LOL! That said, every place I worked loved my mom’s cherry cheesecake and asked for her to make it every possible cake reason that came up :)

oh nice- I’d been away from checking GoComics for a bit and was wondering when we’d get to THIS era for “Michael Stories”, and here we are. I remember a whole ton of stories based around this time in his life (heck, I think it’s around this time that a certain universally-beloved person close to Elizabeth shows up, too!).

Hate that when mommy has to come on your first day at work and insists on having to take a hundred pictures of the momentous occasion! Can you spell agony?

Incorrect. You have TWO problems!

“HEY EVERYONE!! We just got done trying out all the beds at the furniture shop (tee hee hee)…. So we thought we’d come down here and put Klieg lights on our blessed first son and his new job!”

When I started my last job at a bookstore, we began by doing section counts which helped to familiarize us with the store. Actually, we did section counts, a kind of mini inventory, all throughout the job.

You just gotta shelve the problem Mike. And keep on working like a trooper.

It’s nice to see your friends and family when you’re at work but it’s hard to work when you see your friends and family while at work.

The summer after high school I was hired to unload semi’s and stock shelves at a local grocery store. 3 months later when college started I moved to days as a checker/sacker. by then, I knew where every item was, aisle number, which shelf, and how far down the aisle. That was the easy part. The hard part was the part where friends and neighbors wanted to mess with you. Thankfully, my parents shopped at a different store.

A friend of ours had a daughter who went to work at a McDonalds at their drive through. The rest of the family came through and ordered a water. When she asked if they wanted anything else the dad replied “yes, and four straws.” She wanted to kill them.

Man there sure are a lot of city folks that must read this comic since the idea of work seems so surprising to them as well as entertaining.

This was never a problem when I was growing up. You grew into various jobs as you grew in years/size/ability. A 4 year old can gather eggs and it’s nothing for a 7 year old farm kid to milk a cow or two every morning and evening. By 10 I was cutting, raking and bailing alfalfa on my own with our 1850 Oliver tractor, with a Oliver 356 mower, a Case 575 Windrower and Holland 268 baler.

Of course we were always happy when one of the folks, usually mom, showed up when we were working. It usually meant that she had our noon meal in the truck with her, which was always good and always appreciated.

I can read/understand the labels on the shelves OK. But comprehending the “funny bars” on the packages still eludes me.

stock people have to wear ties?

Yeah, WHY do parents do that?

For some reason, this strip reminded me of the “pricing stamp tool” or whatever it was called. “Cool” stock clerks carried one in a holster on their hip. They would cut open a box of cans or something, then…stamp, stamp, stamp. In a few seconds they were all priced. When I was six, I thought that was one of the coolest jobs in the world – right up there with garbage man!

How come in the 3rd panel his parents look like Frankenstein monster and his bride? (actually she looks more like something else but this is a family strip)

Ha! This was my grandson (also in black slacks, white shirts, and long ties. Guess who kept him in those white shirts and ties with a TIDE pen or two to keep them that way?) when I would show up in his department at the grocery store. He was made a manager, but now has a better job at the lake marina down the road.

Don’t just stand there,you two.Put on false beards and buy something.

Parents always show up at the wrong time.

I was lucky (?) and worked a ‘Fuller Brush’ in High School. (Yes, I’m that old). My parents couldn’t visit at work.

That is the worst to have so called “friends” and goofy family come by on the first day. . . well any day for that matter.

Pretty dorky having your parents at the place you’re working at.

When my high school friends started getting jobs, I wanted to do so as well. My parents made me a deal – if I would be available when my eight younger siblings needed to be babysat, they’d make sure I had money to buy things I might otherwise have bought if I had a job. Believe me, I got the better part of that deal! And incidentally, when I did have a “real” job elsewhere, they never showed up to embarrass or distract me.