Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 28, 2022

This is when you give the boy 2 pieces of wood and tell him to hammer away.

What are two young carpenters to do?…..

Who would actually want Calvin’s help???

As a certain Canadian named Red Green said, “if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.” Not in Calvin’s case either way anyway.

It’s already a lot of asking for permission.

Does she need anything screwed?

You try to help, and get rebuffed. Then they complain that you never do anything about the place.

So, what about the things that I already pounded some nails into? Can Dad help me get them out if you don’t like them?

A few years ago gifted a “tool kit” to my g-kids.(plastic) The 4yr old “knew” how to put the nut and bolt together, what the screwdriver was for and the wrench to hold it while he was……well, you get the idea. His parents were the furthest from being mechanically inclined. I know grandpa isn’t a’sposed to have a favorite but, well…..guilty as charged! Tru story!

Bravo for asking first, Calvin

They could buy an 8 foot 2×4 and an 8 foot 1 × 4 and ask the guy at the store to cut it into pieces so it fits in the car. The Calvin could build something. Then Calvin would discover splinters.

Calvin, give up. You’re never gonna be the next Trent Reznor.

All the stuff she has. And Mom still wants it “as is”.

Quiet please. Mom is rereading the refund policy.

“Nailed” it, Bill! I SAW what you did there!

As it turns out, who can blame her if she did ??

You would think that after Monday’s little escapade (https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2022/12/26?ct=v&cti=2208697), that they wouldn’t allow tools anywhere near Calvin!

Boys aren’t the only ones who should know how to use tools. When my girls were younger we would take them to Lowe’s every Saturday where they made little wooden toys. While saws weren’t involved, hammers, nails and screws were. We still have some of those toys hanging around.

I used to be able to hammer in nails without bending them over.

Mom, if you don’t give Calvin a project to work on, he’ll come up with his own…

LOL!

If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. Ergo, Calvin needs more tools!

To be honest, I don’t think Calvin would be much different if he were a girl…

Calvin’s not wrong https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/12/29

Calvin, mom wanted a normal human child, which she unfortunately did not have. But then if you were normal, this comic strip would be boring.

Tools? Maybe he could fix that old table with the wonky leg?

You’re supposed to ask dad, kiddo.

Go work on your GROSS tree fort Calvin.

When I was about 12, my parents hired my soccer coach (who was also a contractor) to install a ceramic floor in our large kitchen and hallway. He walked in with his son (who was my age), several sheets of plywood, several buckets of nails, and three hammers. He covered the floor with the plywood, gave his son and I each a bucket of nails and hammer, and said, “I want a nail every inch around the perimeter of each sheet.” I learned to drive a nail really well that day.

Girls like to build things, too. Maybe that’s why Calvin doesn’t understand Susie.

No, Cal. It was only after you turned 2 that she began to think of the alternative.

When you’re holding a hammer everything starts to look like a nail.

I know a kid like that. Has to be incessantly sawing, pounding, reshaping the universe.

The difference between getting hammered and getting nailed is significant, but I’ve noticed that when we use a hammer, we usually say we’re nailing something.

This is where you take his enthusiasm and direct it to something productive. With a little bit of carpentry you might actually be able to help him raise his math grade in school too.

My 4 year old granddaughter loves helping her mom assemble small furniture. I gave her a mallet for leatherwork because an adult size claw hammer looks too heavy for her tiny hands.

Don’t come crying to Calvin when you want that room extension on your house and can’t afford carpenters

I suspect that somewhere inside of her Fruedian sub-consciousness, mom is really wanting Calvin to pull out a router or a chainsaw. “Go the distance, young Calvin. Live in the now.”

OK, now imagine an “adult” Calvin with hypersonic missiles.

Hobbes is precious…Calvin got a hammer for Christmas??

Wonder where his enthusiasm would be if he was told to do it.

I’m reminded of the time the Mom DID want a girl, but the Dad wanted to get a dog rather than have a kid. (“It’s YOUR fault we didn’t have a sweet little girl! YOUR stupid chromosome! Not mine!”)

He could nail down the TV so it doesn’t jump around when he watches it.

Time for a father and son project. Building birdhouses, step stools for mom to stand on to reach the top shelf in the kitchen, etc….

Calvin: …“Mom,….. I dissected a frog!!!”

Mom: “Wow, they’re teaching biology really early in school, these days”.

Calvin: …………………………………. “School?”

Hammers take too long. Maybe next year he’ll get a pneumatic nail gun.

At least he’s showing interest in a trade.

Better go back and ask