Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 23, 2010

I like this ending a lot.

make sure the important thing is assured before taking the risk of giving up your position. well done Calvin.

“I love you, you idiot. Now climb down!”

I like this ending too. The consensus of unconditional forgiveness is powerful indeed. But who’s to say it ain’t just a ‘come-on’ into the lion’s mouth?

awww thats so cute!

Hobbes always becomes a stuffed animal when there is a critical situation! I love you are the most wonderful words, they cure everything!

When the chips are down, Calvin knows the right words to say!

“I love you” are words that we all need to hear often. It therefore follows that we ought to say them each day to those whom we love.Too often we simply assume that, having told them once that they are loved, we don’t have to say it again.

LX013, Hobbes isn’t real. He becomes stuffed when another person comes around, this is to emphasize that.

Imagination is always stranger than reality. Good Morning to All

deepfrieddrippingrag,

i hear ya! Shes sweet till she gets her hands on him! good effort though calvin!

Priceless!! I love it!

Good Morning All.

Calvin you sure are sharp…. good thinking ole chum..ask your mom a few more Q’s before you surrender…

I lost my mom at a young age so I make sure when i leave the house or end a call that i let my loved one that i love you you never know if you will get to say it agin

Yeah mom! Be encouraging.

And once again the worry is worse than the reality.

Don’t push your luck, Calvin!

It only takes three little words to make everything alright!

Calvin should know well his Mom by now. He has been up to his antics every day and the fact that he still is alive (I remember Mom once told him that she could have left him to wolves) he should know the ending of all of his evil doings. :)

love u calvin :)

love u calvin :)

This was one of my favorite ones that I read when I was younger. I bought all the books now I hope to get the ultimate one :)

Yukoner and Octobermourn, I once read a story in a Chicken soup for the Soul book, that fits what your saying. Forgive me, I can’t remember it’s title. ‘Say it now. You may never have a chance again!’

You can see she has nothing in her hands, Calvin….now make her turn her pockets inside out.

What Mom actually said: I(‘d) love (to kill) you, Calvin!

What Calvin heard: I love you, Calvin!

Father never said I love you. He showed it in his deeds. Unfortunately, I leaned too well. It sounds so fake those three words. “Do I love you? I shoveled your car out didn’t I?”

I love you! This ending is realy fine!

The title might be “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom”, but there are numerous other titles. You can find them all at www.chickensoup.com.

That must’ve been one soft, cushy ditch.

Although I’ve haven’t read all the story arcs in Calvin and Hobbes way back when, like Lonewolf said, this one was priceless.

I bet its not going to make one bit of a difference making her say it now Calvin!!!

my son grew his milkteeth on calvin and hobbes (and tintin). he’s read all of them. i love this mom. this IS a great ending. unconditional love. and they DO love him..

‘I love you, Calvin’.

That’s about the sweetest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Sometimes he really shines.

Hobbes may be just a stuffed animal to some but to Calvin he’s as real as they get! Way to go Cal!!!

All children need to know they are loved. Calvin’s mom took the right track by not screaming at him.

This one is also realistic - I remember that fear. And I try to tell my own kids regularly that I love them. Even though they’re bigger than me now, they don’t seem to object.

**Good morning Marg! Good morning Fran and Kizzzy! Good Morning L’Wolf! Good Morning Grog!** Climb down, Calvin Climb down!!!!

Love is what keeps the human race from dying in a single generation. Having kids is a constant trial of love, patience, tolerance, blood pressure and sanity. Without love - bye bye the next generation.

No damage to the car… but what about the cost of the tow truck? Calvin could be paying for that for a very long time.

Ah- but Calvin may have made a mistake. In panel 2 she wants to find out what happened, and he admits to pushing the car- woops

“…perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment…

We all need to occasionally hear from those near and dear to us that they, in turn, love us.

My theory is that Hobbes is real, but has the ability to transform into appearing to be a stuffed tiger as a defense mechanism. In this capacity no blame can be directed in his direction. Of course this is just a theory. :-)

I agree that mom’s unconditional love is important, but no consequences for what Calvin did is why he does the things he does. If a child never has consequences, he never learns what’s right and wrong.

There were consequences. I don’t think he wants to go through that again. And there may yet be subtle ones to come.

That boy has a good Mom!

Calvin’s imagination must have exaggerated the angle at which the car was slanting into the ditch. It LOOKED like it was pointed straight down.

when I did that the car crashed through the side of a garage.

cleokaya…..I think you’re right!

Pretty understanding mom I say.

cute comic -

just a hint for those of us who live in the real world -

finding your kid takes priority over calling the tow truck…

Ok - I called this wrong (as usual), but I really like this ending.

Cleo - I agree with your theory on Hobbes.

G’Morning Mike and Loki.

Cleokaya, I agree with that theory. Actually both of them … that Hobbes is real and play naked. Have a fun day.

I cant believe how many readers think mom is mean and uncaring she loves Calvin and she even loves Hobbes.

The car rolling into the ditch produced NO DAMAGE?!?!? Either she’s lying or the car was made back in the 1950 when there was substantial structural integrity and sheet metal thickness.

“Let’s hear you say you love me” - Rather, let’s have you notarize a legal statement that you won’t kill me, cause bodily injury or subject me to cruel & unusual punishment.

Love it!

Calvin… don’t push your luck!

The reason why I pick this timeless strip back up is because (like I said) I missed a lot of the story arcs from years gone by. The other is that I dumped Doonesbury yesterday. I’m also adding Fox Trot back to the line up also today.

cleokaya, good theory. some people are just too grounded in reality.

in calvin’s world hobbes is totally real because hobbes is calvin and calvin is hobbes.

and no fair crossing your fingers when you say it mom…

octobermourn :

i’m with you on that, i lost my dad when i was 14, i even say that when i talk to my in laws (i have known them since i was 10 years old)

“i love you and this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me….i mean will hurt me more than it will hurt you.”

In Muslim “Honor” killings, the mother will plead with the child to come home, and promise reconciliation. If they do, she holds them down for the beheading, or helps bury them for the stoning.

http://www.stophonourkillings.com/

http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2010/07/05/potential-honor-killing-victim-wants-charges-dropped-against-brother-father/

Johanan Rakkav said: That must’ve been one soft, cushy ditch.

treBsdrawkcaB said: The car rolling into the ditch produced NO DAMAGE?!?!? Either she’s lying or the car was made back in the 1950 when there was substantial structural integrity and sheet metal thickness.

I’m no expert at this since I don’t know much about cars and also because this has never happened to me but my theory is this: maybe the car wasn’t rolling fast enough down a steep enough driveway to hit a deep enough ditch to do any real damage to it???

jiriji & JanCinVV: You’re both right about that! Calvin needs to know and understand that there are consequences to foolish, dangerous actions even if (in this instance) there wasn’t any damage as a result of them. I think in this instance, a good butt swatting is in order and if Calvin’s getting an allowance, he needs to pay for the “damage” he did cause … to mom and dad’s wallet for the cost of the tow truck!

zev.farkas said: cute comic - just a hint for those of us who live in the real world - finding your kid takes priority over calling the tow truck…

I know Calvin can be a handful at times but the car’s in a ditch and her son is missing. If that had been me, my first priority would have been my child – finding him and making sure he was okay and not hurt … then calling a tow truck for the car. As Suze Orman says: “People first, then money, then things.”

Perhaps a neighbour or a friend will help pulling out the car and so it will cost nothing, or not so much!

now THERE’S an ending I’m sure none of us expected…

It’s a trap Calvin

This is the outcome I expected, except for one thing. Mom is more serene that I thought. I thought she would be grateful that he wasn’t hurt, but would be a little frazzled.

Cleo, I like the way you put that. I would only add…reality doesn’t know what it’s missing!

Calvin, the lawyer/negotiator to the last……no doubt about it….

I know no one will read this late post, but for those who don’t know this strip: Hobbes IS a stuffed tiger toy. He is only real in Calvin’s imagination! He does not become “stuffed” to avoid anything, he IS stuffed. He is “alive” only in Calvin’s super-hyper boyhood imagination. To Calvin, Hobbes IS a real tiger. That’s why whenever anyone else is pressent, Hobbes is a stuffed toy. Get it?

Hey Calvin, we forgot Mom is a AAA club member. No one hit no problem. Hobbes is lying low acting like he’s some kind of stuffed animal letting Calvin take the rap once again.Oh well,… he did warn you Calvin.

I thought that there would be a number of people that would agree with me. It is such a nice thought to have friends that are only imaginary to others. As a young lad I had two, Dirty and Bear, both Teddy Bears and they were very real and such a rich source to develop my imagination.

Slinam, the only quibble I have with your explanation is this (pardon the caps; they’re not for you): THIS IS A CARTOON! Hobbes AND Calvin only exist in BILL WATTERSON’S imagination. And ours. Regardless of how you want to understand it.

And, yes, you probably would look for the boy before calling the tow truck, but since THIS IS FICTION, Bill had to give mom a way to reassure Calvin. Not to mention that (in the real world) someone else might have called the tow truck - like the police.

But if you want to continue in criticizing, you might also consider that Calvin and Hobbes have not had enough dialogue to support a timeframe long enough for a tow truck (called by mom) to arrive, much less get the car out of the ditch and conclude there was no damage.

OK. Maybe I need a good night’s rest.

Wow. Mom took this better than I thought! I love how this arc ended!

Cartoon physics applies to all aspects of real physics. And that includes time.

For people who look back at the previous day’s comments: Fer Lefer said, “I love when Hobbes plays this “stuffed toy” role so he can’t be blamed or punished.”

Didn’t anyone notice that this Fer Lefer post was before cleokaya’s similar comment? Several people credited cleokaya (perhaps because of more detail).

Tell him you love him, Mom.

He’ll be listening for the tone and not so much the words… LOL! Kids can tell!

“Cartoon physics applies to all aspects of real physics” Which physics class did they teach the transmogrifier?

awwwww!