For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 11, 2010

wndrwrthg said, 10 minutes ago “What a vapid, insipid, typical female.”

If you’d said “vapid, insipid, typical FBoFW female”, then I’d be inclined to agree, otherwise I trust that was meant to be sarcastic. FBoFW females seem to like going through life trusting that Fate will make things happen, and thought-bubbling rather than speaking their true wishes, so the men in their lives never quite understand what is really going on and then are called jerks for failing to be mind-readers.

Still, can’t fault Connie for wanting a makeover, just that her timing on this shows that she’s still being selfish and focusing entirely on her own wants and needs. Most mothers would have gone home to their injured son by this point and she could just as easily have the makeover in Milborough rather than spending a few more hours in Montreal.

In fact, she might benefit from a little more time to think about the new hairdo while she’s driving back to Milborough, since the outcome is…

spoiler alert

…hardly an improvement. Bleh. http://catalog.fborfw.com/indexpanel.php?q=what+it+cost

…well, it would be GREAT if you could really change yourself and your life by only dyeing yor hair.. Instead you need plenty of chocolate for that.

And FBoFW merges with Cathy…

Reminds me of an ad where the lady would conclude by saying that her hair coloring was going “deeper” than just her hair… as in a mental boost! Good toon.

Gotta love her scarf and purse matching sets! LOL!!!

Don’t forget the boob job. (in case you didn’t figure it out, I’m kidding.)

So wndrwrthg you think all females are this way? You’re very wrong. Most of us would’ve gone home when we found out our kid had a broken leg.

Yes, a new colour is imageing changing and will do wonders when she gets home.

you have to live up to the new colour and really, be all you can be in all the best ways!!

Hey ladies, let’s one of us hold wndrwrthg down while the rest pummel him. Connie’s self-esteem is low, but the best way to raise it up is to actually accomplish something worthy. I don’t think a dye job is going to do it. Maybe she could , I dunno, be a better mother?

one day connie may discover that it will take more than superficial changes to improver herself

I think that she should get new eye glasses first. Nice new updated frames go a long ways to improve your look. And keep them clean! They sit on your face and I can see if they are clean or not!

All of you people who want your comics to be preachy should go on over to Stone Soup instead.

Somebody posted a link to an article about a month ago about how there are as many (or more) FBOFW readers who do so in order to pick it apart as there are fans. It’s half the fun of this strip to read the comments, whether positive or negative. While I don’t agree with some, I don’t protest their right to their opinion or their position. (Unless they are vulgar or so far out there I can’t help myself.) Like I said a few days ago, I’ve made a fool of myself often enough….

Sure, Connie is a ditz. But then so many people are, in these private mirror moments.

She hasn’t actually done anything ditzy. Ok, she has. But she’s done it with poise and dignity. Ok, with poise. Ok, never mind.

Maybe she could smoke Phil’s pipe. Consolation prize.

to all the guys: It ain’t like Grecian Formula is going broke and they’re praising Emmett’s white beard on those ads. We just go on ab developers and start power lifting until our hernia is the strongest part of our body.

You just don’t get it about Connie. Before you start in on my comments think about this. Connie has extremely bad self-esteem. She clings onto men not because she’s a tramp because she believes she is unloveable and grabs what’s available. You have already mentioned how homely she looks. She must likely know that too which also makes her desperate for anyone to notice her. I’m sure with her self-esteem it also affects Lawrence as well. She’s probably happy that Lawrence is with the “perfect” mother as she more than likely sees Elly. Elly is the perfect mother with a perfect husband and great kids.

What’s she’s doing is wrong yes but I can see where it’s coming from and will give Connie a little bit of compassion.

Self confidence doesn’t come in a bottle, tramp. Neither does rational thought, self respect, morals or dedication to your human resposibility (her kid), which was produced by your lack of morals, lack of self respect, and absence of rational thought. It takes a lot of security to drive across a continent to stalk someone. Insecurity isn’t your problem.

She gives you hope that maybe she finally gets what a dope she is, and in the same sentence she proves she’s too much of a dope to get it.

Don’t blame me for pointing out what Lynn wrote. It has to be clear by now that she intended it this way, and knew what she wanted Connie to be. A stupid tramp who’s a lousy mother. Her son is the last thing on her selfish mind. Don’t shoot the messenger.

So, Connie is heading back. I wonder whats going to come out of this.

still not getting it fans – is today’s strip supposed to funny? give us a chuckle about the way certain woman think?

connie is totally off the rails, and her friend elly is an enabler. actually she’s not a very good friend at all, else she would would have told connie to get her derriere home immediately, and her call her out for abandoning her child. maybe lj is trying to depict a slice of life or something, but mostly it’s just irritating.

Connie, get a life and move on!

I’m not defending or condemning Connie, but I do think a nice haircut can make you feel better when you’ve been going through a rough patch. I can’t explain it, it just does. It’s not limited to hair cuts, (or in this case, colors) either. A new dress, a pair of shoes…for me, its a pretty new nail polish. Just a little something to make you feel pretty.

It’s a nice start, Connie. Some nice awarenesses. You do deserve a new hairdo. A little reward for your awarenesses. Anyone who cannot see this as a nice start is too critical and lacks empathy. Let’s embrace the “Connie in all of us.”

mrslukeskywalker, that is only your interpretation of what the ‘toon means.

Just like other comments are other folks interpretations.

we are definitely agreeing to disagree in our descriptions of the characters

Yes, because I understand what I read.

I have got to stop reading this comic - it just plain annoys me now - I enjoyed it when it was first printed, but I think the world has really moved on now. I know I have. I am agreeing with AdamsFamily1MW on this - “typical FBoFW female”

Don’t thing I’ll bother with this comic anymore as this ‘rerun’ is actually ruining my positive memory of my original enjoyment in it.

Downundergirl: I was thinking the same thing yesterday. Who do I talk to about recieving an e-mail when and if Lynn decides to got back to Liz, and Mike grown up. I don’t understand why the reruns. If she still needs the money, she needs to come up w/ new material.

Diana, some of us did not have access to FBFW the first time around and have only read a limited number of years online. I, for one appreciate that she’s doing little changes to update the characters while still reenacting the lives of her family. I agree with her that it gets to a point where the threads would not be the best for a cartoon. Admittedly the views and mores of people (especially SOME single young ones) change greatly from one decade to another. And Susan, I checked the link (she was home and had “spoiled herself” with an expensive makeover which was not impressive)-that’s all!

What gets me is the word “tramp”. I just find it very offensive. I don’t know what it means besides “someone that I disapprove of and want to put down”. I had the same reaction when people were commenting on Toggle’s mother in Doonesbury and were throwing around the expression “trailer trash”.

Come to think of it, that’s it! People use terms like these when they don’t want to have to think about a subject, so they just pop in a stereotype.

That’s the way “communist” was used in the 1950’s. It simply meant “bad”. Few people could tell you more about the word than that.

While communists ARE bad it means a whole lot more than “bad”. This just isn’t the place to discuss it. editorials are. I can tell you in full detail about them, including the ones in the White House right now.

Tramp simply means that she is a loose woman who uses her low level self respect stupidly as related to sex, as evidenced by the number of times she stalked and threw herself at Phil with the intention of using sex to get him, which she did when she went to his first show and rented a hotel room. (Don’t tell me she didn’t. I’m getting tired of this.) Tramp shouldn’t be offensive, which is why I chose it. It’s mild. Someone else here called her a s!-t, which IS offensive, and their comment was deleted. A tramp is less than a s!-t. It’s what LMAO is to LMFAO.

To be offended by a word that you don’t know the meaning of is silly. There are lots of online dictionaries, or you just could have asked me sooner why I call her one.

Besides, with all the people here who would love to see me gone, and flag me just for the fun of it, none of my comments got deleted, which means it isn’t a bad word. I also don’t think that I ever showed that I ever say ANYTHING without knowing what I’m talking about, or without having put plenty of thought into my opinion. I didn’t draw the srtrip. I’m not alone in my assessment of the intention of the strip either.

I’ve read FBOFW through the years, however, nothing compares to on-line funnies and getting involved. If Johnston needs to do this, this way, then I say I salute her journey. However, she sitting on a gold mine. To write in her style in today’s world with all that is going on in her life and her world and OUR WORLD, would be…. well, I’m not clever enough to imagine, but I know she is AND WE NEED IT. Please read this Lynn Johnston.

i like her hair this way.

yes… Yes! YES! ……… no. no. no. back to phase one…