For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 01, 2020

Fiona has already outstayed her welcome.

John is the one who will wind up in the doghouse for letting her come.

some year ago when a cousin of mine with her husband and kids came to visit (because the husband was on some business trip), my parents, brother, and I had to accommodate them by trying to rid fur and other cat stuff due to the guests’ allergies

Mike’s room?!! Has she seen that room? Admittedly Mike’s bed is probably better than an old, thin mattress on the sleeper sofa downstairs; but Fiona has to walk through giant piles of garbage to get there. The last time we saw Michael’s room, it was about a foot deep in trash. If I were Mike, and there was a baby crying through the night every night in the room next to mine, I would be jumping at the chance to sleep downstairs away from all that noise.

out she goes !

THE DOG STAYS! DEAL WITH IT!

I didn’t think I’d see a character in a strip who was less likeable than Baleen Beluga in “Gasoline Alley,” but I may have to rethink that.

I’d put her and Beaumont outside.

In other words, the Pattersons are to be civil to Auntie but she is isn’t required to return the favor. :/

She’s claustrophobic and allergic to dust? Oh GOOD. :-)

Come on, Farley! It’s a CAT! Do your job as a dog and give chase! His snarling hides a scared cat.

Why do I get the feeling she isn’t going to be much (i.e., any) help with the baby?

I would take her bags and put them on the front steps and call her a cab…….!

Cat rules!!!

Fiona is an uninvited guest. The family owe her little or no consideration. She showed none to them; I would also put her baggage on the steps and tell her to find a hotel or a boarding house. John can visit her there.

As to panel three: she should be telling that to Fiona!!!

MOTEL!!!!!

This is now past the ridiculous stage!

Now we see how far politeness goes.

Bedrooms also, if not more, DUST. And Beaumont should be restricted to the basement.

She needs to go to a hotel!

Yeesh. This has gone on too long already. Why can’t they skip this arc?

Actually, if that were me Aunt Fiona would be outside.

“You can choose your friends, and you can choose your enemies, but family, that’s in the stars.” -O’Brian on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation

This is the dog’s house. Corral your cat or there is this nice little motel down the road. Deal with it.

I’ve read on forum’s of horror stories just like this for real. So I guess maybe Lynn had this happen to her!!

It’s just for a little while Farley. Blame the cat buddy.

Let me guess, she also smokes? Can anyone tell me how long this arc is so I know when to start reading this strip again?

I don’t like the Fiona storyline, regardless of the humour. It’s just too uncomfortable, because it’s too familiar. :(

Throw that animal out and that stupid cat too!

Lynn’s Comments:

I tried to make Aunt Fiona one of those insidious characters who tests the limits of one’s hospitality to the max.

Dad needs to step up for his family and not his cousin.

Y’know, Fiona, I think we’ll bring the whole family, with pets, to stay with you next year. You’ll have to sleep in your car, though. I have a bad back, so we’ll need your bed.

Fiona HAS to go. John has to put his foot down and say “This is OUR house. You are a guest. If you do not like the way things are, you have the option to leave.”. BUT…we all know John will give Fiona whatever she wants.

Sorry, but the guest should not tell the host to put the family dog outside. Fiona and her cat should stay elsewhere if she really wants to help out with baby April.

Here’s a solution. Fiona stays in the doghouse with Beaumont. That way Michael keeps his room, Farley gets to stay inside, and the guest gets a lesson.

Just leave the screen door open for a little bit when ‘Beaumont’ is hangin’ around…“…gosh Fiona! no, I haven’t seen him…”

We all know that NO one in this house would be OK with this. Farley? No, I don’t think so.

She’s ticking all the boxes of “Crazy Cat Lady”.

Solution…the Pattersons give Fiona the house, and go to the hotel.

We once had the experience of a relative coming to visit – with a large, unexpected dog. Might be OK except we had an indoor cat and a small child at home. Not safe.

A question for claustrophobics here: is a room that is large enough to put a bed in small enough to get the reaction going? (I have to ask because I am not claustrophobic at all.)

This is the pet’s house, not yours, Fiona. My know-it-all stepson, who’s allergic to cats, came to stay, so I thoroughly vacuumed the bedroom for him, told him to keep the door shut so the cat wouldn’t go in. So he comes to me and says “the cat’s been in my room.” “Did you close the door to keep him out?” “Well, no . . .” “Then don’t blame the cat, blame yourself.”

I’ve called a cab, Fiona. Your ride to the airport will be here in twenty minutes… since you were only here to freeload anyway.

Last nerve….

Easy solution – stay in the room we gave you and keep the cat in it or you both can leave.

Wonder at what point John will put his foot down?

Bye Fiona.

Michael, look at the benefits of being in the basement! Think, dude, there’s more privacy, you’re less likely to be pestered by younger sibs, and you won’t be bothered by April waking everyone in the middle of the night! This opportunity is a sweet deal!

She just got there and she’s awful bossy! Let the cat out of the house, accidentally. Maybe he’ll go to the pound. We all know Fiona is going to wear out her welcome long before they plan for her to leave. Stick her @$$ in the basement and let her deal with it!!!

If Fiona was coming to help she can help from the motel a mile away.

“Here’s your ticket back home!”

Send Fiona back to Flin Flon.

Beaumont can go hide in a corner. Farley was there first.

The dog is family more than some distant relative who shows up pretty much unannounced and then demands her way. She doesn’t like the dog, she should get a hotel room.

I don’t see the problem. The Pattersons are not accustomed to the basics of hospitality, but I understand there are philosophical differences.

When we had older relatives visit, it was not uncommon for us to put the kids in sleeping bags and give the more comfortable beds to them. It sounds like Fiona has a legitimate reason not to want to sleep in a basement and putting her in the bedroom next to Elizabeth’s where the baby sleeps seems like a good choice in logistics for helping out.

As for Farley, he’s out of the house roaming the neighborhood most nights, so keeping him outside to avoid a fight between him and the cat sounds like a good idea.

You know, between Grandma and Grandpa Patterson (see arc in December 9-27 of 2017) and Auntie Fiona in this one, I’d hazard a guess that John doesn’t have very likable people on his side of the family at all.

“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” Benjamin Franklin.

Nope – I have a better idea – you (Fiona) and your cat leave and the dog stays. And don’t let the screen hit you in the butt on the way out.

P 4: “…geez, Fiona, if you really didn’t want to come here, why did you agree to it?…”

Aw Gee, Let’s see if we can catch that taxi you came in

John is getting used to his new family name; the Cattersons!

Time to dis-own that old bag!

GET OUT!

Cat – outside!

Michael does not have to stay. With that squinting in the second and third panels he looks like he belongs to the Asian family next door.

Fionas got to go!!!!

No decent person moves in with a family that has a brand new baby.

Dog lives here, you don’t.

This is the point where we find a nice pet-accepting motel.

Boy, does this ever take me back, and in my case she WASN’T family.