For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 01, 2020

We saw it before last month when Elly got Michael those incredibly expensive shoes. Apparently there is a double-standard in the Patterson household over which kid gets to have the brand name clothing.

Like how else, Elly?

Fake! In real life………… she would have tossed it in the washer first. ;-)

Mommmmm! Don’t you understannnnnnnnnnnnd? If you don’t buy Liz that shirt she’d never heard of until two days ago right now she’ll be embarrassed to go to school! She’ll be so embarrassed she’ll just dieeeeeeeeeeeee!

Why does HE have one and she can’t?

Well, Liz, you think wearing BO shirt will draw friends to you…not. Not if you wear it unwashed. Time for you to learn how to do laundry, isn’t it? My boys did their own laundry at your age, Liz. And, yes, you too, Mike. I haven’t seen you do laundry and you’re 15. April takes a lot of attention from your mother and she does HER laundry on top of your dad’s and her own. And Elly, you gotta delegate household chores and have your kids do their own laundry, including bedsheets, change bedsheets, and keeping their bedrooms and bathroom clean. Don’t be such a martyr. And…John? He helps with April sometimes and does yardwork. What else can he do? Clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher. I have to admit I don’t let my hubby do the dishwasher – he does a bad job of it. Not sure if he does it on purpose….

In panel two, what does ha8 mean? Is that how they wrote hate in the nineties? And I don’t even want to ask about She’8 in panel 3. I know what it audibly sounds like.

Now that’s what I call desperate!

Why didn’t she just wash it first? I understand fitting in but most people, if not all, would fit in more if their clothes are washed.

He has one, but she’s not allowed one? Seriously?

Okay, that is above and beyond. Respect, with a pinch of disgust.

In my youth it was Pendelton shirts that the surfers wore. They were outrageously priced at around $13. Parents wouldn’t go for it.

We were like this in the 80s, but with Benetton. Ah, memories…

There’s nothing like good old peer pressure to live through when you’re a kid. Or, in some cases, even as adults!

So….. Mike has a BO (or has BO)… but Liz “doesn’t need ….”. Nice display of non- favouritism toward your kids, El..

is Elly wearing mechanics coveralls ?

All his shirts are BO shirts.

Talk about BO!

“Hey Lizzardbreath! Whatcha doing in my clothes hamper?” ……. “Candace is gonna give me $5 for a pair of your unmentionables.”

Oh no. She just want to destroy her own life!

Oooo Parent mistake: How come MIKE gets a name brand shirt, but LIZ is not good enough?

At this point, I should point out she is now quite literally wearing Michael’s BO. (Yes, the OTHER acronym.)

And why did Mike get one and she didn’t?

Poor Farley. It must smell like a city dump to his nose.

Bars and other places use to ask me to buy a shirt (jacket, cap, etc.) with their name on it. I use to tell them I did not pay them for advertising their place; they should pay me. I actually got one of them ( a bar) to give me the shirt for free. I wore it only when I went to their business.

I never borrowed my brothers’ clothes (I would have been clobbered if I had), but I borrowed a turtleneck of my dad’s once with mom’s permission. He went through the roof, making remarks like my leaving “boobie marks” in the knit. Bottom line, he gave me the shirt because he wouldn’t wear it with those imaginary stretch marks in the chest area. I, on the other hand, got a lot of use out of that shirt.

That’s a BO with B.O….

Double BO.

I love the fact that even Farley, the dog, seems to question the fashion choice/smell.

Why would he get a brand name shirt but not her?

Lots of BO in that shirt.

Meet Elly and her daughter, Smelly!

Maybe Elizabeth can one day get back to the minuate of learning, which believe it or not, actually is attempted in some public schools. Considering last year’s debacle with sleeping in geography class, do we want a rerun like this, where she is taking a test?

Test question: The capital of North Dakota is named after what famous leader of Germany?

Elizabeth’s answer: Hitler.