Maryjo
Thank you for Coffee Talk...It was fun reading and responding to some of the issues covered in the chatter. Happy New Year... Thanks for the memories...(Bob Hope song) :DLara B.
I absolutely love the 'Happy Holidays' Christmas Memory Matching game this season! The format is large and the pictures are just beautiful! Well done! I do them all every day, including the crossword, word roundup, etc. Thanks for everything.Jody from Courtenay BC
Today's Saturday comic strip was very... Painful for me. I love this strip and I truly love the way true at-home life is depicted. This particular strip was especially poignant because it strikes at the very heart of my heart. Our little kids are getting introduced to sexual images younger and younger. It is a constant fight we battle and the look on Elly's face when she hears that he has already seen it twice..... Hurt! Keep speaking up!! It would be great to see Elly fight to keep her kids safe. That is what I am doing. We have to fight to get suggestive magazines covered in the check out line at our stores. We have to fight to have filters on the school computers. We have to write letters to our local stations about programming. If we don't fight, our kids will pay a heavy price. All of my family is paying that price right now....Holly from Sugar City
I think your comment on today's strip is more than a little rediculous. If you are complaining about explicit content on HBO, you have no grounds for doing so. HBO isn't by any means a family channel. The shows are all geared towards adults. If you don't want your children exposed to that sort of content, you don't allow them to watch HBO. And even besides this, it's not right to just shelter our children completely on the subject of how exactly we reproduce. We have such a high rate of teen pregnancies in the US mainly because of our demonizing something that isn't a matter of not doing, but doing when you are mature enough. A lack of education is the issue, not too much.Tom F.
I found the strip!I love the archive. Thanks for the challenge!Amy D. Vienna, Va
I see that the Dec. 31 strip has been updated so that John announces that it's 2013, instead of 1984. I'm afraid changes like this are just going to create anachronisms in the future. It's going to be strange to see Elly and other characters being uncomfortable using e-mail in later strips when she's living in the 2020s instead of the 1990s. And the references to Grandpa Jim serving in World War II won't make sense -- because the war will be 29 years further in the past than it was the first time the strips ran, and he'd have to be much older. I'd rather assume that the strips being run nowadays took place in 1983/1984, when they were drawn, rather than trying to force them into the context of the present day.Joshua, Chicago
Hurray! I saw "2013" in today's strip - Lynn, I am happy you are going to be bringing the Pattersons up-to-date, so my kids can enjoy them as I did, and see Mike and Lizzie, as friends they could meet! I am looking forward to seeing how you (or whoever you hire) will "tweak" the text and art to make certain things in the strip look modern. Retro-70's fashions may be "in" again, but we live in such a different gadget-and-tech world today than when this was first published! (My kids have never even seen those big old phones with the twisty cords, or a typewriter except in old movies; and you can't even buy a "fat TV" anymore instead of a flat-panel!) Happy New Year, everyone!Candice
I wish a very happy & blessed 2013 to all! I will miss this forum. There were times some did not get along and / or were a bit hard minded about some of the strips and I hope those things haven't driven coffee talk to come to an end. For the most part this has been a great forum with lots of awesome people. Thank's for all of the great coffee talk times!Beverly Ann Fournier
I'm not sure if/when the FBoFW studio shuts down for the holidays, but I wanted to send a quick "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" to everyone up north, and all the regular posters on Coffee Talk. This is one of the first sites I visit in the morning (and pretty much the only comic I ever read any more). I appreciate the dedication to the strip, and the "rewind" back to the beginning. All these strips are new to me, so it's great to see the kids growing up again - and, in a sense, reliving good memories of my own. All the best to the FBoFW team!Rachel L., Ledyard, Connecticut
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Thank you for all the years of perfect entertainment and especially for reminding us that Dec 25 is a special birthday, not a day of material gain.Geri C
Mom having a fat day--boy did that hit home for me! Would you believe the same exact thing happened in my house, years ago? I remember my boy Mitchell saying that very thing when he was little. And I haven't lived that down since! Reading the strips is so much like reading my own diaries that sometimes I could swear that Lynn got her stories by stealing them! And you would think that my husband might have some sympathy for me every January, when I vowed to take off ten pounds, but no! Instead, he'd have something snarky to say. And if I didn't grumble and GROWL at him, you better believe I was thinking, "HATE!" :-PEmmy Y., Dundas, ON
I would like to complament you for your Christmas strip where in the last pictute you had April saying "Happy Birthday Jesus". This is what Christmas is about but so many people do not remember "the reason for the season". Thank you and may God be with you.Shawn Dougherty, Oriental, NC
Thank you for being supportive of teachers. Teachers spend a lot of time trying to do the right things. I appreciate that you have done this time and time again. Your life lessons have taught us well and brought us shared daily joy for decades. With much respect,Julie, Florida
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Thank you for the privilege of having posted here on Coffee Talk, and I bid adieu to the regulars posters too. "For Better or For Worse" was my mom's favorite strip while I was still living at home. Every day she had a comment about it, usually "That's exactly how I feel." I wish you and your family the best of the new year and the new opportunities that await you!Barb B.
God Bless you Lynn, for having the courage to bring Jesus back in to Christmas (12/23/12 strip)! It was VERY heartwarming!!!!Val
Thank you. Hope you had a blessed Christmas, wishing you a very Happy New Year!Gypsy, Columbus, Ohio
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Thank you for reminding us this morning of what CHRISTMAS is all about !! God Bless !!!Tom Clune
I just finished reading the Sunday Comics and yours was the only one that mentioned Jesus's birthday. Thank you for that.Jayne Cage Sarasot, FL
It was nice to see little Lizzie realize that all of the get-togethers and hooplah around Christmas are, in essence, a birthday party. Thanks for the reminder, Lynn.Jan C, Henderson, NV
Sunday Dec 23, 2012 Strip: Thank you, Lynn, for today's strip. Your sensitivity, charm and thoughtfulness was truly revealed once more. In the late 90s I was looking for a copy of The Bestest Present and you made a VHS copy for me. I was delighted to receive that envelope with all the Canadian stamps on it! I still have it, along with a copy of the newer DVD format. I never forget a kindness extended. Merry Christmas form Ohio!Barbara Cooper, Springfield OH
Simply loved your Christmas message in today's paper 12/23/12. What a great message! I always look forward to reading your comic strips because it is one of my favorites, but today was inspiring and a great delight. Thank you so very much and Have a blessed Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Keep up the great work.Phyllis
I just wanted to thank you for your Sunday strip reminding us all that the real meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, our most precious Gift! Thank you!gravec, Dayton OH
With all the commercialism of Christmas and the "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" attitude that kids have always had, the so-called emotional blackmail is about the only thing parents have to keep some kind of control over their kids. You can't reason with a 2-year-old, so you say what you do to make them understand. Kids grow up thinking they will never say to their kids what their parents said to them. But they do. Then they realize the reason they do is because it works. So, if you can't find a star in the sky to illustrate the point about the Star in the East, maybe a moon will do. The point is that you have to get the point of Jesus' birthday across somehow and clearly someone did that with little Lizzie. Right on, Lynn!Rachel L., Ledyard, Connecticut
I came across the comic strip in about 2001 maybe anyway It struck me as so different but yet so real and genuine now everytime I pick up the daily local paper I immediatley go to the comic section to read For Better or For worse. ThanksJared NB
The For Better Or For Worse comic published on December, 23, 2012 just made me go wow. I read the comics once in a while but today this one just stood out to me. I don't know if you're religious or not, but as a Christian, those 3 words "Happy Birthday Jesus" just gave me a really warm feeling inside. I saw the your note about the three kinds of mail you're expecting to get for the religion you put inside today's comic and I realized that I'm none of them. I'm just a Christian teen who'd like to say thanks for the shout out to Jesus on his special day and that it really made my day.clark, california
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I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, A belated Happy Hanukah, And a very happy New Year 2013...Lara B.
Dear Lynn Johnston: I would like to commend you on your comic strip of 11/25/2012. It has a child getting dressed up and ends with O.K., GOD. YOU CAN MAKE IT SNOW NOW! I found the humor in it and appreciate the thought. We live near a levy that you can sled down with enough snow. I have with my daughter and enjoy it. It is a gift from God that all people can enjoy. Part of a Bible verse at Romans 1:20 says his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world's creation onward. He allows Christians, Jews, Muslims and others to enjoy his handiwork. Thanks again for your thoughts and time. Sincerely,Ben Howells
I have a golden cherub fridge magnet with a missing wing that "flew into a different dimension" (never COULD find the wing) when it fell off the fridge and I cherish it even more now. I will miss coffee talk terribly and wish it could somehow stay. Love to all! <3Beverly Ann Fournier
]]>Diane Siracusa - Hollister, MO
Lynn, I cannot tell you how much pleasure you bring into my life (as well as others) with your column. You deal w/the daily parts of life that we all have, and you do it w/a sense of humor and warmth. Thank you again and again for that. Keep at it. We all need, and enjoy your gift. Merry Christmas, and the best in the New Year.Mary Lou La Com
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I read today's strip and I say "Brava" to Lynn and her standing up for Christmas. I hope everyone who reads this takes an hour to consider the last several strips. I am totally behind you. Bless you for your constant courage, bravery and the intestinal fortitude for a lot of what you do. That is one of the reasons that yours is the only fix I have to have every day. May the Light continue to shine upon you and yours, keep you healthy and constantly growing. You go girl!! Thanks again, really!!!Rachel L., Ledyard, Connecticut
I am sure most of you have heard about the horrible shooting in Newtown CT. It is a crazy world we are living in. We need people like you Lynn to put humor and family values in our lives. Everyone, please give all your love ones hugs and kisses everyday. You don't know if they will come home after school or work.Fran Stratford CT
Poor Michael, a little fellow after my own heart. I can picture my sons (even though they are now grown) in this "accident". Hoping for a happy ending :)Bonnie Stokesdale, NC
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Skiprope in a custom made box made by father... Very good Lynn. .. Now all of your readers know where you got both your inventiveness and your great sense of humor! I join the multitude of readers, now sad at the decision to close down "BEANS". It is part of my morning brightness program that I will miss. Since this is my last message, let me thank you for the great moments of pleasure your talents have given this old man.Bill Borgers, Laguna Woods ,Ca
I was very disturbed by the "For Better or For Worse" cartoon that appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. This display of children playing with guns and shooting at each other - especially that picture that showed 1 boy pointing a gun directly in the face of another really upset me. We just had a 2-year-old boy shot and killed by his 4-year-old brother in St. Paul. If children are exposed to toy guns, how are they to know the difference between that and a real one? Please be a little more sensitive in the future. Until now, I have been a fan of this cartoon and have enjoyed it very much. Thank you.Margaret Seibert, St. Paul, MN
You'll never stop boys from "playing war". When I was young, even kids whose Moms forbade them to own a pair of "Roy Rogers" six-guns made themselves pistols from wood scraps and rubber bands, broadswords from yardsticks, and "war bows" from caragana branches and kite string. I remember all too well what Lynn is alluding to in Mondays final panel: The "Global Warming" we all feared back then would have seen the Earth's Temperatures rising to OVER TEN MILLION DEGREES!Anna M., Winnipeg
My sister-in-law reupholstered her mom's couch in the most horrible wild print. I was there when it was delivered. My mother-in-law gushed about its beauty, then turned to me so only I could see, she mouthed, "The ugliest thing I've ever seen." She never changed it. Unlike her & others, I would have 'accidentally' spilled ink on it--I can be really baaaaad! P.S. That's when every home had a bottle of ink!Bettyhere, Los Angeles CA USA
I think Margaret has it backwards. If you give a child toy guns to play with, he learns very quickly which ones are toys and which ones aren't. It is ignorance that kills, and teaching a child the difference a toy gun and a real one can save a life. If a child isn't taught the difference, then he is a lot more tempted to play with the real thing.Jan C, Henderson, NV
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In the Sunday paper, your strip showed children playing war games. The last comments were, "That's why I don't believe we'll ever have a nuclear war, Elizabeth. It wouldn't be any fun." I'm not sure how to respond to that statement. She clearly is making the leap from backyard make-believe games to the reality of nuclear war. I personally have not experienced war. However, I don't think it would be incorrect to say that there isn't any kind of war that is fun.rt in florida
I was shocked and appalled by the comic on Sunday, Dec 9. War is never 'fun'. And a picture of children with guns chasing other children brings to mind the horrors of the school massacres that have occurred. I am surprised at this insensitivity.Kathleen-New Jersey
I got the calendar today and I love it as usual! As soon as I got it I read the whole year. I could so identify with two of Elly's incidents---e.g. dinner's wrong night-- 1) I remember the morning a few years ago when I woke up and looked at the alarm clock, which I hadn't heard, and in panic realized it was only 20 minutes till I was due at work which was a half-hour drive away! I rushed into my clothes and splashed some water on my face and only as I was hooking the leashes to my dogs to let them out before leaving for work that I realized----it was my day off!!! 2) Back in the 70's I got home from work to discover a big split in the rear seam of my pants! The jacket might have hidden some of it while standing, but I had a lot of filing to do bending over. I felt so humiliated I never wanted to go back to the office!!! If only some kind-hearted female co-worker had told me!Lora, Maine
Since when is war fun???Melissa
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Actually there has been news stories of people, stationary bikes, and tv.Rene Manuel Lake Charles, LA USA
Having twin boys and seeing today's cartoon brought back memories of toy shopping. So true, although they settled in on Legos and Domino Rallies which are deadly on bare feet - worse then toy guns!Linda, Lancaster PA
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