For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 07, 2019

Michael Thomas Patterson, you’re learning the biggest word in your life: responsibility.

Good for you, Mike!

Friends don’t take advantage of friends.

A real friend would never do this to you.

Well done, Michael! Tell him if he thinks some of it will be trashed at closing time to come back then and ask the owner if he can have it. But you’re not giving him anything.

With great power comes great responsibility

This might be more of a dilemma for Mike if the “friend” David asking for the free food had ever been seen in the comic strip before yesterday. If it were Lawrence or Gordon or Brian, Mike (and the reader) might have been more sympathetic to the idea of giving him free food. It would have been a tougher choice for him.

Lead us not into temptation.

Listen, Mike’s loser friend, you ARE taking something – the owner’s livelihood and Mike’s wages. The less money the owner makes, the less he will pay Mike. You are a taker. A freeloader. A hustler. Get lost. Mike, good for you! You stood up to that loser.

Looks like Mike is maturing a little bit and becoming gasp responsible!

Good for Mike. Statistically 1 in 4 employees steal from their employers and when caught will only admit to 1/4.of what they took. 30+ years in retail I sent more employees to jail than shoplifters. Learned not to trust 100% after being taken a few times by people I “knew” I could trust.

Every time I have purchased a hot dog from a stand, the money is in the vendor’s hands before a wiener is in mine…………….Wait! …………….That didn’t come out right……….

Just pay up Dave!

I love that Mike was responsible and made the right choice. First time in a while that I approved of his choices,

I love it! Perfect answer, Michael!

This guy’s not much of a friend, is he?

Dave, you must pay up! Sorry but your friend Mike is in employment and cannot allow you to have that hot dog for free when Mike is in a business.

And then there’s the rationalization used by people who share software with their friends: I’m doing the software producer a favor by advertising his or her software for them.

Never mind that their friend is then encouraged to do the same thing, etc., etc.

And who gave them permission to make decisions for the software producer in the first place?

Tough situation. Good response, but irritating that a ‘friend’ would put you in such a position. I suppose that is why it is hard to get rich, or even well off, and stay in the same neighborhood. Mutual support is only good until there is only one supporter.

Proud of you Mike!

Friends who try to take advantage of their friends aren’t really friends.

Well done, Michael. And as for the leftovers at the end of the day, they can either go to a food bank or, for things that are no longer edible, a compost bin. Ending food waste will make for a happier planet.

That Freeloader-in-Training was not ready for Mike’s reply.

Uncommon maturity in someone his age. Good for you, Mike!

Dave has a great future … in Washington, D.C.!

Gotta love the attempt at rationalization. It would seem that the more in the wrong someone is, the more words they use to justify their theft.

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

― J.K. Rowling,

Now to collect.

Good for you, Mike!

the guy’s a freeloader!

I was taught, and firmly believe, that if a friend tries to get you to do something wrong, they are not a friend and probably never was.

I’ve been blessed with friends who not only didn’t try to get me to compromise my values, they have supported me and always had my back, even when their standards were/are different from mine….sometimes radically so!

I am very, very proud of Michael. I also hope that he has learned to no hand over the food until you have the money in hand! (Especially with this guy.)

To Michael! Don’t let anyone pull anything over on you! If so, they’ll do it for the rest of your life!