For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 11, 2020

have a mavelous time, Mike, with Manitoban manure

Yeah, when he’s 30 and has kids of his own!

(Spoilers) You never said any of this while Liz dated Anthony.

This comic strip is there just in case there was any doubt as to Elly’s motivation for getting Mike out to the farm.

He’s getting taller. Wait til he comes back from the farm!

Busted.

Our youngest moved out and came back so much, I nicknamed her “Boomerang.”

He’ll thank them after he meets a farmer’s daughter in Manitoba.

The last cell is one of those Wow moments in a mother’s life. If she looks over her shoulder, she’ll see right away how tall Michael is now. He’ll be gone all summer and she just got a glimpse into the future when he is not no longer a little boy.

Probably never.

To some degree that is understandable. John made an agreement with Michael and he broke it. That has damaged Michael’s trust he has in his father.

Holy CRAP!! The first panel proves that Elly is the Winter Soldier!!

Elly’s great talent: being able to fold and sort laundry with her eyes closed.

The priggish and self-righteous look on Elly’s face is perfect for the dialog. It just goes to show how really talented Lynn is.

What you don’t realize Elly is that Michael could meet some cute little country girl while he’s gone, or maybe really like it out there and not want to come back. Then what will you say????

I worked on tobacco farm two summers starting at the age of 13, for similar reasons. It gave me a lifelong dislike for tobacco and a hankering for indoor work.

I loved going to my Uncle Jim’s farm in NJ as I got to milk cows, feed the chickens, and best of all ride the horses and take care of them too. I love horses. My uncle Jim would catch me talking to them and say “Honey they are not Mr. Ed” and I said I know but I can pretend. Plus I got to ride them a lot too, which I loved also. Lots of great memories.

Now we have three liars in the strip:

Brian Enjo: Lied to his mother about spying on the girls’ shower hut at summer camp. Lied about his participation by blaming the whole thing on Michael.

Elizabeth: Lied to her mother about ruining the milk. She cried wolf by saying nonexistent robbers stole it from her.

John: Lied to his son that he did not have to go to the farm if he found a job. When Michael got a job offer, John moved the goal posts to give reasons why Michael cannot have a job close to home.

I spent a summer baling hay, when i got back home August “two a days” in football had just started. It was the easiest “two a days” I ever experienced. I lived in West Texas.

Either John wanted a Michael-free summer, or the farm couple was the highest bidder to buy Michael for unpaid labor.