Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for October 25, 2024

Five isn’t enough but it’s a start.

Rosalyn should up the ante even more…..

That promise is broken since Calvin continues to cause trouble in the next Rosalyn strip

Stolen test notes and being locked out of the house in back-to-back visits. Ouch.

Wow, Mom actually got through to him. And Calvin seems genuinely sorry. We don’t see that every day.

As usual, he got away with it!!!

The crucible of fond memories

Five?? Five HUNDRED couldn’t guarantee a next time!! BTW, why does Mom always dress like such a frump whenever she goes out with Dad?

In panel 3, the difference in size is extreme. He’s the height of her knee. Is that a design choice?

It’s things like this that make raising kids so expensive.

Just as I predicted (except for a copy of a key to the front door) ! !

Only $5.00? You got off lucky, Mr. Calvin’s Dad. If I were Rosalyn I’d have asked for $50 and still never babysat for this kid again.

Today’s strip is very good. As I remembered earlier this week, Mom expresses her anger in a way which shows her concern for Calvin. She stresses the point that Rosalyn is supposed to be there to protect Calvin.

Of course, Rosalyn often gives Calvin the opposite impression. At their first meeting, Calvin told her, “You’re not my Mom. I don’t have to do what you say.” Rosalyn sweetly asked Calvin to look by the phone and tell her what he found there. Calvin said, “A list of numbers to call in an emergency.” Rosalyn grabbed Calvin by the lapels and said, “You wouldn’t want me to have to call any of those numbers, would you?” Calvin decided to go to bed early.

In the arc where Calvin stole Rosalyn’s study notes, Rosalyn was pounding on the bathroom door and saying, “Let me in or your parents will never find your remains.” Hobbes commented to Calvin, “Boy! Some babysitter!” It’s hardly surprising that Calvin and Hobbes felt safer with Rosalyn locked outside.

Thus Rosyln becomes a shrewd businesswoman because of her experiences babysitting Calvin.

“It was all a misunderstanding! An innocent mistake!”

That reminds me of one of my favourite episodes of the Canadian animated series Total Dramarama which is called “Stingin’ In The Rain”. I think that I described the episode this summer when something reminded me of it but I will do so again now due to a similar quote.

Courtney is upset that she cannot find the coin which she is sure that she brought to school for Show & Tell. She questions her classmates about it and then searches their cupboards and then questions them again while shining a torch in their faces. She is then persuaded that none of her classmates stole her coin so it must have been a burglar.

A storm comes and the window is broken. The teacher, Chef Hatchet, goes outside to mend the window but gets the idea of using his drill to steal honey from a bees nest. The bees all sting him during the rainstorm hence the title “Stingin’ In The Rain.” Meanwhile, a plumber whom Chef has called arrives and the kids think she is the burglar. They set a series of Home Alone-style traps for her. They also call the military base down the road – which features in many episodes – and tell them a burglar is breaking into the school.

The military come and break into the school through another window. They arrest the plumber, handcuff her and search her. They do not find Courtney’s coin but a business card which identifies the woman as a plumber. A bee-stung Chef comes into the school and confirms that she is the plumber he called. Then Courtney’s Mom arrives.

“Mom! What are you doing here?”

“I hope I’m in time, dear. You forgot your coin for Show & Tell.”

In the final scene, it is Courtney who is being taken away in handcuffs. Her words are very similar to Calvin’s in today’s strip.

“Please! It was just a misunderstanding! Mom!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear! Don’t worry. We’ll visit you.”

Courtney’s parents wouldn’t have to pay many visits. She was back at school two episodes later.

Money talks, some girls will do anything for money.

Love the drawing of Mum in the first panel. And kudos for getting through to Calvin. It won’t last off course. But, nice try.

Only five?

Amazing! He looks contrite!

It’s rare for Calvin to feel guilty about something he did

$5 in 1994 is $10.64 today. She deserves a LOT more than that!

You had a great time, Calvin. Great memories to look back on some day. I’ll bet her boyfriend is still laughing.

They should offer more than a $5, like $500!