Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for April 11, 2020

Mom was tempted but she remembered that Calvin is an only child.

Hobbes would be more interested in beeping the horn than actually driving.

you’re quite the daredevil, Calvin

For the young folks: that machine she is using is called a “typewriter”. Google it.

If she did oblige him, he wouldn’t ask her for that favor ever again.

Probably ruin the bearings in the skates, not to mention the kid.

Mothers have no appreciation for fun.

Mom’s expression in the third panel. She’s like “Wow this kid is insane.”

As tempting as it is Mom doesn’t want the hassle from C.P.S.

We used to do something similar back when I was a kid. Whenever it snowed, we’d form a chain with our sleds, hook up to the bumper of a neighbor’s car and get towed (slowly) around the streets. It was fun and nobody ever got hurt but would NEVER be allowed now.

More dangerous than jumping off the garage roof with an umbrella.

It sounds good in theory, but physics will soon teach you how that is a bad idea. Physics is the cruellest of all B*****’s.

Mum typing on a typewriter in 2020? How old is this strip?

I still like to “patch out” once in awhile.

Calvin, someday you’ll be a big wheel and you can live out his fantasy… :D

The authorities would take a dim view of any parent attempting this with any kid (no matter the age.). :P

What an oldfashioned type-writer!!

Help a non native speaker, please :-) What does to patch out mean? To pull away making your tires skid? Thanks.

Calvin, start a fight between your parents! When Dad’s in the next room, say, ‘Dad would do it!’

He has an airtight plan… until the hairpin curve. Result: Calvin 50 feet above the ground in the top branches of an oak tree with the rope who-knows-where.

When I was a kid in Brooklyn, on snowy/icy days some kids would grab the bumpers of the city buses and get taken down the street. We called it skitching. They could do it for blocks if the street was icy/snowy enough. (I never had a great sense of balance so it was not my thing.) But it was fun to watch, although sometimes a kid would hit a dry spot in the street and tumble around when he stopped suddenly. Yikes!

You’ll have to leave that experience in your fantasy world, Calvin!

Mom in Panel 3— weighing the pro’s and con’s of the plan. Final decision- use a ski rope, not a hemp one.

Must be old cause she is using a typewriter! :/

The Jackass® franchise could have used a few ideas from Calvin.

I’d prefer to go faster but, you know, speed limits…

For a moment there she was really, really tempted.

So close. 50 MPH was her limit.

Back to the Future Marty’s fav way to travel was by his skateboard and holding onto a car bumper with one hand.

Mom, this is your chance. Say yes.

in about 10 years Calvin becomes a YouTube Twitter sensational heartthrob with viral videos and Darwin Awards galore!

There is a clue in the strip that dates it as 30 years (or more) old. Kids – can you spot it?

Mom-crushed dreams, Calvin? Get USED to it until you leave the house.

“I’m not going to just hold on to the rope. I’m going to tie it to my waist!” Classic.

Calvin is going to grow up to be one of those guys who say “Hold my beer and watch this.”

What could possibly go wrong? nothing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6l63-AdU6Y

I recall in the late 60’s we had home made skate boards made from disassembled skates and a 1X6 and you could grip the rear bumper and really get going. Sewers were a pain though.

Calvin’s a natural born social media animal.

Should do a strip in the future where Calvin is the dad and his kid comes up with ideas like this. What would he do? Go for it?

We used to do this when the streets iced up in OKC. True story.

Once I actually did see some guy (not a kid at least) on roller blades being towed by a car. It was downtown in the middle of the day.

wow, as far as I’m aware this was a whole decade or so before Jackass would be a thing.

If Hobbes could drive, he wouldn’t.

Lucky for you, Calvin, there will one day be self-driving cars.

Don’t feel bad. My mom wouldn’t go along with that idea, either. And the one time I tried, she saw me in the rear-view mirror as she was pulling out of the driveway!

Why is mom using a typewriter? Letters? Work?

Back in those days we still knew what script was – for letters. Kids today can’t read script, much less write it. My 26 y/o signs his name in block letters.

My son’s friend tried something similar. He caught on to the bumper of a car going down the road while on a skateboard. When the car made a turn he ended up going into a fence. His folks had to take him to the ER for a broken arm and scrapes.

Car surfing used to be a thing. After several deaths and lots and lots of road rash, it died out. So to speak.

Clearly, an out-of-the-box thinker

Just like Y. T. hitching a ride on Hiro’s pizza delivery car in Snow Crash.

Both mother and Hobbes seem to be too relaxed to bother with the adventure.

That’s not a typewriter. It’s a component from a TARDIS. :D