Pickles by Brian Crane for November 23, 2021

What’s good for the gander is good for the goose

Where is Nelson getting this “dude/babe” hoo-hah?

… It’s not ME you’re looking for, babe…

I think the proper term is “Dudette.”

Young man has some ‘splainin to do.

When one of my sons was about six years old, our whole family went to clean up the job site of a house my husband had built. At the end of the day I was so beat I said, “I am one tired babe.” And my son said, “Yeah, and you a lovely one, too!”

What is good for the goose IS NOT good for the gander.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. How does it feel, Opal.

“Aw … Isn’t that cute?”

That Babe has got some attitude!

It can be both cute and disrespectful.

Is it better to ignore it (the first time) or to say something about it right away?

When talking to a child about something like this (even if you think that it’s kind of cute), it’s better to convey to him or her that it is not.

Is Earl smirking?

Why did I find Nelson calling Earl Dude not quite as bad as calling Opal Babe?

Nelson it’s " Grandma Babe " ;-)

Not so cute when it’s YOU that he’s disrespecting, is it, Opal?

What grandma doesn’t like being called babe?

Wait until he puts his hand up her skirt : )

Opal has a lavender shirt under her painter’s smock…

A very rare Opal out of purple polka dots sighting!

LOL for real.

Ha! Opals hipocracy slays me!

Oh……. NOW it’s different…????

He should’a called her “Hottie”.

Saw that coming. When does this kid go home?

He may be a dude, but she is NO babe!

What goes around comes around

You have to wonder where little kids pick up this stuff. Sometimes you want to strangle them but you can’t because you’re laughing so hard…

When oldest grandson was about the age Nelson’s supposed to be, he came out with an expression I know he didn’t learn at home. My dear daughter, his mother, was prattling on, ninety-words-per-second, about something and he looked at her, then looked at me and asked seriously, “Can’t somebody turn off the Yappo-matic?”

Earl’s mustache reminds me of a Milk bone-shaped Nylabone. They come in white.

Once again, it’s not a problem… until it’s a problem for Opal.

My second wife, who grew up in the 40s, enjoyed being called “Babe”. After all, Lauren Bacall was called “Babe”. I grew up in the 60s and she called me “Honey”. If we had both grown up in the 60s, she might well have called me “Dude”. :)

This is a normal part of child development, right? I would think that there are any important milestones in the category of learning to understand different relationships and how terms of endearment and respect fit in there seems.

I love the look on Earl’s face in the last panel.

I think it is cute, maybe a phase he’s going through.

It’s not to cute when the shoe is on the other foot!

Okay Karen. Okay boomer. And so forth.

Note the smile on Earl’s face in last panel.

See! He is now on the road to spanking or whatever is done now days.

Major difference between dude/babe, Grandma will get that stopped.

Earl’s mustache is smiling!

I call a lot of people Babe, including our dog.

Came up with the F word when I was a grade schooler. Had no idea what it meant but heard some kids say it at school. Dad was horrified and I quickly learned not to say that again.

She got a compliment on her painting. That should count for something.

Well, there is another “B” word.

Love the way Earl’s moustache smiles..

My late Husband ALWAYS called me Babe. It only bothered me when the movie “Babe” came out.

And the “S” hits the fan!

Shoe, try other foot.

I remember telling my Mother that Dad was acting like an “old geezer” back in the day. She replied with “So what does that make me?” Never heard the end of that one for years…..

If Nelson thinks his grandma is a babe, he needs to get his eyes checked.

That would have sent me to my room if I spoke to my grandparents that way.

A grandma is NEVER a “babe”.