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I'm glad Paul wasn't around years back when I brushed my young daughter's hair. Despite the care I took with her too-sensitive scalp, her expression looked very much like Farley's.

Kathy B, Kansas

I don't know what all the fess is about. I enjoyed just looking at Farley getting brushed. At first he didn't know what was going on,then he settled down and started to enjoy it. Then he just enjoyed it. It was so cute. Then every funny. That poor lady and poor Elly. So funny. Farley probably wanted the brushing to continue.

Janie, Charleston, SC

Okay, So it seems that people will find anything to complain about. Come on people it is a comic strip. It is meant to be funny. Lynn, I just would like to say I love your comic strip and I enjoy reading it everyday. Please continue being you and doing a great job. Thank you so much for all the wonderful and meaning full ways that you show through your strip.Thanks again, :)

Noel B, Midland, MI

The Elly we're seeing currently varies greatly from strip to strip--and I don't just mean the very different Old & New drawing styles. (For example--why did Elly change from the Mom Suit in which she served dinner into a cute dress & earrings to serve apres-dinner cocktails?) On Sunday she brushed Farley with angry energy. On Tuesday, she received John's dressing down with submission. Poor dog. Poor Elly. Oh, and the 70's are calling: They want "Male Chauvinist Pig" back....

NB, Houston, TX

Hmmmm....Could John and Elly work things ouy so that on alternate weeks, John could do the housework, shopping, cooking and potty-training while Elly does all the fillings, extractions, denture fittings and "cleanings".....?

(Re Sunday's "Abuse (?)" strip -- perhaps Farley isn't really "Terrified" -- just trying to figure out why he's getting the "Brush Off" without having had a bath first! )

Anna M, Winnipeg, MB

John is such a jerk! Going back to the old strips has really been an eye-opener in this regard. The smirk on his face in the last panel is says it all: he was not only piggish but patronizing on top of it. Good for Elly for calling him out! Going back to those early times adds historical depth and perspective, especially to Elly's character and the kids' development. How suffocating and claustrophobic the situation was for her!

These strips which chronicle mundane life offer a window into the gender expectations of the time, at least for men and women of Elly and John's race and class. The dynamics reflect the social mileau and cultural expectaions then prevalent. I'm glad he changed in later years. Still, John's attitude and behaviour at this moment deserves a splash of cold coffee in the face, and a night on the coach -- of a local hotel. That marriage is in dire need of some serious recalibration! Wake up John!

S, Oakland, CA