For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 26, 2013

wow!

If look’s could kill Phil’s a goner

I love the death glare! :D

And Phil won’t be so enthusiastic when it comes to teaching Michael how to play the thing, either!

I don’t think that day will be anytime soon. I can’t imagine John, Elizabeth, Farley or the neighbors will thank him anytime soon either. My kids have learned the violin and the piano. The piano is nice to listen too, but the violin was nowhere near as bad as a trumpet.

I have had 3 grandsons play the trumpet, only one of them actutally stuck with it, but two families and neighborhoods had to deal with months and months of practice. OUCH.

Could have been worse. Could have been bagpipes!!

lol, obviously Phil hates his sister, and enjoys torturing her, must be American after all.

It drove me crazy when people would give my kids a noisy toy but learning to play an instrument is a very nice skill to have. If I were Ellie I would take Michael over there a few days a week to practice. As a matter of fact, Michael could leave it at Phil’s.

My husband decided one year that he was going to give drums to our grandson who lives up north. Took the wind out of his sails when he found out the other grandma already did that. Also, our sil was already planning on teaching him to play.

“Someday” will be when Michael plays “Taps” at Phil’s funeral.

Looks like Elly’s going to need a pair of noiseless headphones.

I do not blame Elly for the evil look.

I think Phil is a good uncle for giving a real instrument that the kid can learn on. I understand the aggravation of the noise, but seriously, learning to play an instrument is a wonderful thing.

jpirad, it’s not that we’re music haters, it’s just we remember the practicing all to well. Please lighten up… one of the great things about hindsight is the ability to laugh about experiences later in life.

that’s why we save eggs cartons for the basement music room!! great sound buffer ….win win!!!

YAY! Good for Uncle Phil :) I play trumpet as my Dad did. Still playing even as an adult. Music teaches discipline, teamwork, builds character and all kinds of life skills and it it fun!

Phil should have included a mute.

obviously a lot of music HATERS here. IT takes time to learn the skills to play an instrument. It takes patience and support from your parents and family to get GOOD at it. Apparently that is TOO much of most of you. Ironically, if your kids had professional success you’d all be stage mothers.

Learning how to play a musical instrument of ANY kind is all well and good but you’re completely missing the point here. It’s NOT that anyone here is necessarily a music hater. It’s just that a trumpet for Michael wasn’t a decision that John, Elly and Michael were able to sit down, discuss, and then come to an agreement on as a FAMILY. Judging by the expression on Elly’s face, this was obviously a spur-of-the-moment decision made by a clueless (although well-meaning, I’m sure) Phil all on his own without talking to his sister first, and that just isn’t right.

The noise created by that trumpet isn’t going to just affect the home’s inhabitants — it’s also going to affect the neighbors too. And what if Phil doesn’t want, or have the time, to give Michael lessons? Then Elly and John are going to have to come up with the extra money needed to hire someone to give Michael private lessons for however long it takes for him to either become good — or quit (whichever one comes first). And what if Michael doesn’t want lessons at all . . . and just wants to go around simply blowing it and pretending he’s actually playing it? YIKES!

All these reasons and more is why something like this should have been discussed in advance with everyone involved BEFORE this purchase took place rather than the unpleasant surprise birthday gift it turned out to be afterwards (for the parents, that is!).

The worst thing about music is that you have to play it so badly for so long in order to play it well.

Could have been worse, it could be drums!

why isn’t there such a thing as a musical pillow?

I don’t thionk so u idiot. Ur sister is not pleased.

@ lightenup – Having raised one kid who became a professional violinist I can recall another parent who once said of the violin, either you learn to play it well or don’t play it at all. He kid was friends with our daughter. Out kid learned to play it well, hers didn’t.

Didn’t Elly’s parents give Michael a trumpet for Christmas earlier though? Might have been a few years ago.