January 2013

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Read older Coffee Talk Entries.

The Final Entry.....

I just wanted to say Thank You for all of the pleasure I have been getting from reading Coffee Talk every morning. While I will miss this forum, its demise won't stop me from reading and enjoying FBoFW! There are so many still timely comments and reminders in this strip, even if it is 29 years old. Again, Thank You to all the commenters and to the staff for making this a very enjoyable way to start my day.

Jan C, Henderson, NV

Thank you for the beautiful strip on Dec.23 in the Chicago Tribune. The last picture that states "Happy Birthday Jesus" made my day. Thank you for putting in the real meaning of Christmas. It put a big smile on my face. Thank you. Have a healthy and happy new year to you all.

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) :D

Lara 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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Friday December 28, 2012

I agree with Lynn that little girls can be quite conniving when it comes to getting attention from their mother. My daughter did the same thing with her big brother to get my attention. While Lynn's daughter Katie was pretending to be interested in her big brother Aaron's bombs and light sabers in order to get mommy time; my daughter pretended to be interested in her big brother's Pokemon cards and Harry Potter books. Can you imagine? Lynn was so right. Little girls are very tricky.

Denise S., Tucson, Arizona

Please do more strips about Elly being so overweight. A bunch of my neighbors and I are struggling with an end of Christmas' fat deposits and are encouraging each other to walk more for exercise. We need the laughs!

Rachel L., Ledyard, Connecticut

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!" :-P

Emmy 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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Wednesday December 26, 2012

As I sit relaxing after Church service yesterday, reading the comics, I was so blessed that your comic recognized the true meaning of Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS and thank you.

Rhonda, North Carolina

I just wanted to say how much I've loved this strip over the years. I started reading it as a child when it came out in the local papers here in Michigan. The fact that the characters grew and aged, and that we could keep up with their progression through life, it was as if the Pattersons were part our family. I remember laughing at their joys, remarking at their accomplishments, and crying over their losses. I now find myself blessed to have found your web page here, and that I can reread the entire series. A Merry Christmas, indeed! Thank you for an amazing story!

Jen C

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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Monday December 24, 2012

I have to get in my last comments with the impending demise of 'Coffee Talk'. I loved the gift-wrap scene. Wrapped gifts under our Christmas tree always took on a unique specialness. Beautiful paper and shiny bows certainly increased the receiver's curiosity and hope that something beyond wonderful was in that package. After the unveiling, I often thought some gifts would have been better left wrapped!

Diane Siracusa - Hollister, MO

Thanks you for having the true meaning of Christmas in your strip today.

Doris

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. Thanks

Jared 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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Friday December 21, 2012

My father was like Lynn Johnston's father. He did magic tricks too. My husband also does magic tricks for my kids, but no one ever seems to give him credit for it.

Denise S., Tucson, Arizona

Thanks so much to all for this wonderful way to connect with all of you. I do appreciate the background we get with each strip, Lynn. You are a wonderful artist and person. Happy Holidays!

Kay, Chicago

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Thursday December 20, 2012

Yaaaaaaaay! Its the happy ending that I was hoping for! Thank you Lynn for a lovely story :)

Bonnie Stokesdale, NC

I am very touched by the 12/19/12 storyline, and the image of the broken angel. The world has been captivated by the tragedy in Connecticut, and my first thoughts went to those left behind. Those treasured little gifts - with perhaps no real monetary value - will be so treasured for years to come. My dad bought my mother a little musical angel over thirty years ago. She holds a candle that "blinks" to the beat of the music. The volume doesn't work well anymore, but that little angel comes out every Christmas. While my dad is no longer around, that angel means the world to my mom. Thank you, Lynn, for the flood of memories.

Jim Inman, Bloomington, IN

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! <3

Beverly Ann Fournier

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Wednesday December 19, 2012

My mom was a master of repair with her "super Nana glue." Your recent strips have reminded me her, thanks, and also of the Japanese belief that a broken object carries the memory of the moment of breaking and is more precious. We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. ~Luciano de Crescenzo I have an angel with a broken wing and now a cow (jumping over the moon) with a broken wing ... reminders of our dependence on each other.

Storyteller Mary, St. Peters, MO

Love the glass angel story line. My first thought - the dad should have turned the car around and replaced the broken gift, with a promise from Michael to eventually repay him. But, this is so much better.

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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