Is it just me or does her hubby look like the guy from the silver minivan that kept going something like “out of my way why don’t you drive” to Yehuda? *paraphrasing
Maybe I’m wrong, but he’s not too hip on her being at the kickstand. Tells you something there, I see Fizz being pissed off at Daddy, even if it’s a result of the economy, Thistle’s solid income isn’t something to play with. (*Again Obi pats himself on the back over being back in a shop that although doesn’t pay high, is a secure job.)
Besindes, how’s he know “The Firm” even can bring her back and treat her as well as the Kickstand.
Ohh-ooohhhh-ooohhhh….Thistle will stay at the shop and in a family decision to cut back on expenses, hubby will also help out part time making frames with the Shakers or something along those lines, in addition to having to start riding and loose those extra pounds he seems to be carrying like some of us slackers.
What solid income? The Kickstand doesn’t pay her. They gave her a bicycle at one point, but that was it. Like many Shaker Heights ladies, Thistle’s job – even at the retail level – is as a volunteer.
Joe and yehuda don’t exactly take a wage either. Joe must, as he’s got to maintain his home, and they take their needs out of it but Yehuda invested everything into it and sleeps on the floor there, so we know he’s not getting paid a living wage. The kickstand is not a profitable business anymore. Fred likely only was successful in the early days when local shops were all there was. These days everything is franchised and some manufacturers won’t even sell unless you’re making large orders.
Though it hasn’t been shown in the cartoon, don’t assume Thistle has worked at the shop all this time and has never brought her husband around to introduce him to the crew.
Maybe he was laid off for slacking on the job, downloading pr0n, harrassing female staff, workplace bullying etc. Or he is the former BP CEO. That’s why he hides his face in shame.
Remember, he’s considered a “target” now. It is likely a great percentage of that will have to be spent on personal and family protection. I don’t like how that whole thing went down but his family shouldn’t be threatened over it, it wasn’t them managing things.
Maybe it’s because of my ex, but I have a bad feeling about a guy who is more quick to ask his wife to request a few hours of work at a firm for which she is no longer employed and assumes it’s up to her to pull them through than he is to get a job doing whatever it takes. Been there…left that. Not saying that Mr. Thistle is my ex…just that the very life of this comic brought me back. It’s just as much a story to me now, though, as is Yehuda’s.
It was a bit clumsily presented. Perhaps Mr. Thistle should have said ‘”we’ need to bring in more mony until I get back on my feet. Can you call the engineering…” But facts are facts, they DO need to bring in more money, she is a qualified engineer, and the Kickstand can’t pay her adaquately. It is up to THEM to pull them through, he and her together, and he may have to accept crap pay until he gets back on his feet.
Keep in mind that mr. Thistle has been supporting the family by himself while thistle volunteers at the kickstand. It’s hardly out of order for him to ask her to pitch in for a bit.
Thisle has been supporting the family by taking care of Fizz! (and getting her off to a good biking start, eh?). We’ve only seen Thistle doing dishes. If she goes back to work, I hope I see Mr. Thistle doing those things.
I wasn’t implying that Thistle doesn’t do her part, but rather that Mr. Thistle isn’t the ass that most people here want him to be. He does a job that he may or may not like so that Thistle can be happy doing something that she loves AND spend time with her daughter. And somehow people think he’s a bad guy and she deserves better?
I simply meant that this strip can be so true to life…it’s drawn so well that it immediately evoked emotions of what I had been through in a similar situation. I really don’t conjecture too far into the future with this strip…I like it as it comes, one day at a time, even when the suspense is killin’ me. Will Mr. Thistle do what it takes or become a professional freeloader? Stay tuned…
ok, thank you for posting 3 times. I said in my comment yesterday that i would say that, so it was mandated. And if i were rick, she would have to get a job, and she wouldnt be happy, but have to do it to support fizz. she and everyone at the kickstand stay good friends, until her husband gets a good job, and then she will go back to the kickstand. but i her time out, joe and yehuda hired another, more attractive helper. but thats just me
Exactly, what is unattractive about a pretty woman, who rides bikes, can fix them, has a brilliant mind, enough understanding to cope with the likes of Yehuda and Joe, is a good mother ot Fizz, a good wife to no-name and much more?
Any one thinking the quaker lady replaces her? Or rather they cut back at the kickstand because the off season approaches? Can’t ride in the winter time, well except the Yehudian Yosimtes .
Do not workers in Ohio have all the usual supports in redundency? Severance pay, unemployment insurance, etc, etc? I know (alas), people who have lost their jobs, but these things at least paid the bills until they were able to get work again.
Okay. I’m going to have to refer to the other Canadians here. Is the term ‘redundency’ in common usage in the Toronto area, or is this another Kevin Love ‘Pound Sterlingism?’
Redundancy is in common usage in many places around the world (certainly in Australia) – generally not in the management vocabulary however. The phraseology is generally very careful: “your position has been declared redundant, you will be retrenched”. The rest of the staff are quietly told you “will be leaving the business” and nobody EVER writes either “R-word”.
Must admit that I was retrenched many years back from a job in Aus. Took a contract in the USA. My English colleague there understood “retrenched” and “redundancy” but my American colleagues struggled until I used the term “laid off”. (There were quite a few other linguistic differences with which my UK colleague and I confused and confounded our American colleagues – the never did seem to understand that we WERE speaking English.)
I am not sure about Canada, but the term “being made redundant” is a very common British term. “Pound Sterling” is also a British Term, I assume to differentiate between a monetary pound and a weight pound.
Murray + Another Kevin, thanks, I know what redundancy means. I’m also aware of the meaning of Pound Sterling. I’m specifically directing the question to Canadians so as to ascertain whether ‘redundancy’ is in common usage in the Canadian vernacular or if this is a contrivance of one Canadian.
Murray, it isn’t North Americans fault that the Brits decided to go and change the language after it was perfected in the late 18th century. And don’t get me started on rhyming slang or the Australian tendency to give everything in the Universe a cutesy-poo nickname.
I think the truth is that all language goes through a constant process of change. Just as our day-to-day experiences bring about new words that enter the dictionary eventually, adding to the rich ‘soup’ we call a ‘language’ Born in 1950 I already have difficulty understanding modern parlance. My wife is a linguist who has English, French, Spanish, Russian, Latin, Italian, Chinese, etc to her credit. She also wonders what some modern phrases mean at times! I am not saying anything about other coments, just adding a little ‘flavour’ to the talk.
SDMSS, In Canadian English it’s normally “lay off” but we do have a number of anglophiles who would rather use British terms for everything so “make redundant” might be common in some circles.
So like <a href=”http://davidogdenstiers.com/cewiii/cew3pic.gif”>Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III</a>. Got it. We have those in the U.S. too, we just tend to mock them.
@SDMSS: It’s a Kevinism. Did you really need to ask?
Actually from his descriptions of how wonderful the cycling is, I think Kevin lives in another Toronto in a parallel universe, so maybe it’s common usage there.
Kevin, severance is not guaranteed, though it is common practice from established firms that are merely laying people off. In a normal economy it is often sufficient to last until you find a new job (2-3 months, in my experience). But severance is not guaranteed, and jobs searches take much longer in crappy economies.
There’s also unemployment, which varies from state to state, and is a fraction of your usual pay.
Oh yes. With their guaranteed income from the state they can keep their house on lollipop lane and eat moon pies every day. Trust me, it doesn’t matter what package you get,(unless you’re the CEO) the uncertainty after losing your job can be soul crushing. And it’s spelled “redundancy”.
Yes, very well indeed. Perhaps the Thistle family can move cots into the Kickstand with Yehuda. Just think of all the money they’d save on mortgage payments. I hope the Kickstand is in a good school district.
Joy of joys! Mr. T is fat and has bad posture, just like me, yet has the love of Thistle, who is drop dead gorgeous bootilicious! There may be hope for me yet!
I don’t think Geoffrey Arend is the uggo you think he is. Granted, he doesn’t look like lifeguard, but he’s what some refer to as beautiful hideous: so unusual looking that some can’t take their eyes off him, like Mick Jagger. We’ll need a slouching and pudgy example who isn’t rich and/or super famous.
Wait…. Brian Posehn! He has a hot wife, is only modestly famous and is super ugly.
sympathy??? you people and your ‘american dream’. it’s the end of the world for you if you can’t be rich by most of the world’s standards. you can support a family working at a cash register you know. you don’t need new toys and electronics every week. he’s probably gonna sit around crying for a month when he should just suck it up and get some resumes our. c’mon.
Fat Mr.T has a bad attitude. Money isnt everything, happiness and health is. Suddently he cannot do anything, not search for a new job, give a call to contacts or else to prepare a new path.. No, first reaction: i’m dead, woman go back to work for us… I dont like the man and the way he’s trying to remove what make’s his wife and kid so happy and healthy for his own comfort. He should go on a journey to find out what will make him so happy and healthy as the rest of his familly.
Jeez, I hope whoever you end up with, or have ended up with, never gets laid off. If happiness and health are everything why do you expect him to bring home the bacon so his wife can pursue her own unprofitable joy? Never mind that the importance of health is dependent on health insurance in the states, and I doubt the Kickstand has a good policy.
Perhaps it’s because I come from a background where both parents are expected to provide income that I don’t understand the reaction that he is somehow a failure because he is unable to provide, temporarily, an environment for Thistle where she can choose whether or not she is going to provide needed income for the family. If he has stumbled, and can no longer provide the healthy income to which Thistle has become accustomed, they both need to man up. I think this could have been presented better, but why are commenters presuming that he is going to sit around watching soaps all day while Thistle works?
Let’s see……sole breadwinner loses his job (which many psychologists equate to the death of a loved one), and he’s not allowed to feel temporarily down? What medication do you take, that puts you in a positive frame of mind 24/7/52? His own comfort……..like a roof over the family’s head and food on the table. And how is he going to pay for his “journey”? With the severance cheque of indeterminate size? OK Pollyanna.
Thistle should bring home from the Kickstand a really nice bicycle for her husband and encourage him to begin cycling! A whole new attitude and approach to life. What better time to start than early autumn. But What kind of bike for this guy?. . .
this is what happens – open house turns out to be a mega success. there is a huge demand for more of sprocket’s “things” and the kickstands needs to hire another full time mechanic to build the frames into finished masterpieces. problem solved. thistle’s husband turns to crack so she dumps him (had to throw that in cause i have a crush on her).
If he has a college degree, he can get a substitute teacher’s license; most districts don’t have enough subs. (I’d guess math, that’s why he has a pi on the back of his shirt.)
Why can’t he get another job? Is he only skilled in one area? Versatility is the key to success. The “poor me, I only have one set of skills” BS attitude is a huge part of USA’s economy problem.
Yeah, right, the problem with the U.S. economy right now is not enough get-up-and-go. He’s only been unemployed for an hour or so. I think what we’re seeing in this comic is a couple trying to work out a short term solution. I really don’t know what he does for a living, or how easily or quickly he can turn his skills into new employment, but the indication seems to be that Thistle’s engineering skills can be depended upon to perhaps bring fast income in the short term.
Bullshit! The problem with the US econonomy is extreme capitalism—corruption on Wall Street and in the banking system—no ethics, no values in the corporate world, just maximize profits by any means for upper level management. And everything is for sale in Washington. When the government is run by corporations and motivated by corporate greed the entire system is poisoned. The people—those with no corporate power—are inevitably the losers. You can’t have an eonomy based solely on credit banking instruments; we don’t make anything in this country anymore.
After I ‘returned’ from my heart-attack I began to see things I hadn’t seen before.
Since Jan 2007 I have recovered my skills as a skilled fitter/cycle mechanic, My driving skills, and a bit of my Electronics has come back. I have a long way to go before I get the rest of my skills. I was building an Electric Guitar but can’t remember how to play anymore!
Todays comments have helped me appreciate what I have now and not mourn that which I have lost. As far as jobs go, I am fortunate – I turned 60 on August 11th and can start collecting some of my pension, if I want. I am lucky to have a younger wife who is still employed and getting a good salary (in return for long hours at the keyboard, programming)
I say this to make the point that I am happy for what I have, not sad about what I have lost.
Thistle has a Family, friends, a job. She is appreciated and admired and in control. All are admirable. Mr Thistle also has all those things in her/through her. He should take a deep breath and start again. What are his skills? So what can he offer to make a living? Does he need retraining? If so, in what will he enjoy enough to make the work worth the effort?
Turning 60 definitly changes your perspective on life. Me too, this August. But I keep on pedaling, and stop along the way to breathe the sweet air, feel the breeze and sunshine on my skin, gaze into the sky, and listen to the birdsong. And when I arrive home after a long ride I smile to see my wife’s beautiful face.
geez, theres alot of hate on here for thistle’s husband. maybe because we haven’t seen alot of their marital interaction its easy to draw the conclusion that he is distant and uncaring, but we don’t really know if that is the case.
I’m hoping that thistle takes the “thing” viral and online sales for the kickstand blow up crazy large. They’ll have to start paying her for her work as mechanic and webmaster. they hire on chunk and crew to help in shipping/receiving and thistle starts building custom wheelsets for the shop.
=v= Well, if you’ve been paying attention, Thistle’s husband really isn’t a bad guy. Some big changes took place in his family and he took it in stride. When his car got hit, his #1 priority was Fizz.
I was predisposed to hate him for marrying my dream girl, but I find that I simpl cannot.
Smells like a ploy to me.Thistles hubby wasn’t exactly overjoyed when she took up cycling and if he is like 90% of John Q. Public who perfer conformity over being “Different” he’ll find a way to reign in his wife.
To SDMSS: Been there 2 times over the last 5yrs. First time: crashed and burned, felt depressed for a while. Second time i’ve decided that it would be different, that i did not have to be sad JUST because of a job, that there were a lot more than money in life.
2 days later i was enjoying myself as a barista in a local cafe (i’m an engineer, dont forget that). That was someting that made me feel so good, meeting people all day long, opening my view on life. I found out that working should be as fun as playing, if not, then the job is not right for you. I’ve had many regular client, asking for me to have their coffee done, building a good reputation. Every day, going to work was a delight.
Eventually, someone who knows about my backgroung in engineering sent one of his friend at the cafe. I did not know about that, he started to talk to me and got into a very interesting conversation about life, motivations and coffee of course. At the end he told me about his job and said he was looking for someone. After that conversation, he said he was ready to hire me on the spot, saying that was probably the best interview he had done with a candidate ever. He hired me and told me to never loose that ability to have fun at work and that he would do everything to make his employee feeling that way for now on.
It’s always up to you to decide how good your day will be, whatever the situation.
@Mongo – Why? I used to think like that but have watched many kids grow-up healthy and happy after Dad left. My Nephew is now a Manager and has a great future lined-up, Wife and kid-on-the-way. Everyone who meets him are impressed and go away with something to help them. He was brought up by his Mum, His Aunt and his Gran. After leaving school his Mum married and has a great family-life now with another Boy and a Girl. Most of it was his Mum’s doing. (My Wife’s Younger Sister.) Just saying that with the right support and encouragement, a single-parent family can be just as happy. or even happier. than a married one.
to Mongo: my kids have a wonderful dad and they are very close to him. And yes, there is more than money, there is LIFE and real life doenst cost a penny…. once you understand what’s real life.
Called it!
no offense, but that was rather easy to call…if you want to impress the likes of us, you’ll have to call what happens next.
Rick is pretty good at putting a different spin on the usual happenings.
(to Rick: now that I’ve built you up don’t miss don’t miss this one… ;-P )
This is a great time of opportunity for Thistle’s fluffy hubby, and potentially Sprocket to the rescue of the Kickstand.
I knew this wasn’t going to be good… Joe! Yehuda! Do Something!
Is it just me or does her hubby look like the guy from the silver minivan that kept going something like “out of my way why don’t you drive” to Yehuda? *paraphrasing
Maybe I’m wrong, but he’s not too hip on her being at the kickstand. Tells you something there, I see Fizz being pissed off at Daddy, even if it’s a result of the economy, Thistle’s solid income isn’t something to play with. (*Again Obi pats himself on the back over being back in a shop that although doesn’t pay high, is a secure job.)
Besindes, how’s he know “The Firm” even can bring her back and treat her as well as the Kickstand.
Ohh-ooohhhh-ooohhhh….Thistle will stay at the shop and in a family decision to cut back on expenses, hubby will also help out part time making frames with the Shakers or something along those lines, in addition to having to start riding and loose those extra pounds he seems to be carrying like some of us slackers.
Double Bonus?
What solid income? The Kickstand doesn’t pay her. They gave her a bicycle at one point, but that was it. Like many Shaker Heights ladies, Thistle’s job – even at the retail level – is as a volunteer.
Joe and yehuda don’t exactly take a wage either. Joe must, as he’s got to maintain his home, and they take their needs out of it but Yehuda invested everything into it and sleeps on the floor there, so we know he’s not getting paid a living wage. The kickstand is not a profitable business anymore. Fred likely only was successful in the early days when local shops were all there was. These days everything is franchised and some manufacturers won’t even sell unless you’re making large orders.
Though it hasn’t been shown in the cartoon, don’t assume Thistle has worked at the shop all this time and has never brought her husband around to introduce him to the crew.
Dude should have demanded a severence package!
Maybe he was laid off for slacking on the job, downloading pr0n, harrassing female staff, workplace bullying etc. Or he is the former BP CEO. That’s why he hides his face in shame.
The former BP CEO walked off with a $25 million package to help him deal with his shame.
@RichardMW – I could totally see Tony Hayward walking off with $25 million and still telling a wife and kids to get jobs.
ONLY 25,000,000!!!!! How will they make ends meet?
poor guy…
Remember, he’s considered a “target” now. It is likely a great percentage of that will have to be spent on personal and family protection. I don’t like how that whole thing went down but his family shouldn’t be threatened over it, it wasn’t them managing things.
Back pay for Thistle should tie them over for a while.
Moon has plenty of cash according to Sister sprocket.
Maybe it’s because of my ex, but I have a bad feeling about a guy who is more quick to ask his wife to request a few hours of work at a firm for which she is no longer employed and assumes it’s up to her to pull them through than he is to get a job doing whatever it takes. Been there…left that. Not saying that Mr. Thistle is my ex…just that the very life of this comic brought me back. It’s just as much a story to me now, though, as is Yehuda’s.
It was a bit clumsily presented. Perhaps Mr. Thistle should have said ‘”we’ need to bring in more mony until I get back on my feet. Can you call the engineering…” But facts are facts, they DO need to bring in more money, she is a qualified engineer, and the Kickstand can’t pay her adaquately. It is up to THEM to pull them through, he and her together, and he may have to accept crap pay until he gets back on his feet.
Adequately??? Read AT ALL!
Keep in mind that mr. Thistle has been supporting the family by himself while thistle volunteers at the kickstand. It’s hardly out of order for him to ask her to pitch in for a bit.
Thisle has been supporting the family by taking care of Fizz! (and getting her off to a good biking start, eh?). We’ve only seen Thistle doing dishes. If she goes back to work, I hope I see Mr. Thistle doing those things.
I wasn’t implying that Thistle doesn’t do her part, but rather that Mr. Thistle isn’t the ass that most people here want him to be. He does a job that he may or may not like so that Thistle can be happy doing something that she loves AND spend time with her daughter. And somehow people think he’s a bad guy and she deserves better?
I simply meant that this strip can be so true to life…it’s drawn so well that it immediately evoked emotions of what I had been through in a similar situation. I really don’t conjecture too far into the future with this strip…I like it as it comes, one day at a time, even when the suspense is killin’ me. Will Mr. Thistle do what it takes or become a professional freeloader? Stay tuned…
Mr. Thistle looks depressed, not conniving. The outcome can be the same, in terms of who pays the bills next month.
ok, thank you for posting 3 times. I said in my comment yesterday that i would say that, so it was mandated. And if i were rick, she would have to get a job, and she wouldnt be happy, but have to do it to support fizz. she and everyone at the kickstand stay good friends, until her husband gets a good job, and then she will go back to the kickstand. but i her time out, joe and yehuda hired another, more attractive helper. but thats just me
Exactly, what is unattractive about a pretty woman, who rides bikes, can fix them, has a brilliant mind, enough understanding to cope with the likes of Yehuda and Joe, is a good mother ot Fizz, a good wife to no-name and much more?
*FWIW that would possibly be a server or uplink hiccup Pat..there are more duplicated posts in the thread.
k, thanks
that would be correct. I never posted more than once, but my computer froze up in the middle of it. oops.
Any one thinking the quaker lady replaces her? Or rather they cut back at the kickstand because the off season approaches? Can’t ride in the winter time, well except the Yehudian Yosimtes
.
Off season? What off season? My employer has this funny idea about me arriving at work every day.
Because attractiveness it totally the most important quality when hiring new employees/volunteers. Fuck.
Do not workers in Ohio have all the usual supports in redundency? Severance pay, unemployment insurance, etc, etc? I know (alas), people who have lost their jobs, but these things at least paid the bills until they were able to get work again.
Okay. I’m going to have to refer to the other Canadians here. Is the term ‘redundency’ in common usage in the Toronto area, or is this another Kevin Love ‘Pound Sterlingism?’
Redundancy is in common usage in many places around the world (certainly in Australia) – generally not in the management vocabulary however. The phraseology is generally very careful: “your position has been declared redundant, you will be retrenched”. The rest of the staff are quietly told you “will be leaving the business” and nobody EVER writes either “R-word”.
Must admit that I was retrenched many years back from a job in Aus. Took a contract in the USA. My English colleague there understood “retrenched” and “redundancy” but my American colleagues struggled until I used the term “laid off”. (There were quite a few other linguistic differences with which my UK colleague and I confused and confounded our American colleagues – the never did seem to understand that we WERE speaking English.)
I am not sure about Canada, but the term “being made redundant” is a very common British term. “Pound Sterling” is also a British Term, I assume to differentiate between a monetary pound and a weight pound.
Murray + Another Kevin, thanks, I know what redundancy means. I’m also aware of the meaning of Pound Sterling. I’m specifically directing the question to Canadians so as to ascertain whether ‘redundancy’ is in common usage in the Canadian vernacular or if this is a contrivance of one Canadian.
Murray, it isn’t North Americans fault that the Brits decided to go and change the language after it was perfected in the late 18th century. And don’t get me started on rhyming slang or the Australian tendency to give everything in the Universe a cutesy-poo nickname.
I think the truth is that all language goes through a constant process of change. Just as our day-to-day experiences bring about new words that enter the dictionary eventually, adding to the rich ‘soup’ we call a ‘language’ Born in 1950 I already have difficulty understanding modern parlance. My wife is a linguist who has English, French, Spanish, Russian, Latin, Italian, Chinese, etc to her credit. She also wonders what some modern phrases mean at times! I am not saying anything about other coments, just adding a little ‘flavour’ to the talk.
SDMSS, In Canadian English it’s normally “lay off” but we do have a number of anglophiles who would rather use British terms for everything so “make redundant” might be common in some circles.
So like <a href=”http://davidogdenstiers.com/cewiii/cew3pic.gif”>Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III</a>. Got it. We have those in the U.S. too, we just tend to mock them.
@SDMSS: It’s a Kevinism. Did you really need to ask?
Actually from his descriptions of how wonderful the cycling is, I think Kevin lives in another Toronto in a parallel universe, so maybe it’s common usage there.
Kevin, severance is not guaranteed, though it is common practice from established firms that are merely laying people off. In a normal economy it is often sufficient to last until you find a new job (2-3 months, in my experience). But severance is not guaranteed, and jobs searches take much longer in crappy economies.
There’s also unemployment, which varies from state to state, and is a fraction of your usual pay.
Oh yes. With their guaranteed income from the state they can keep their house on lollipop lane and eat moon pies every day. Trust me, it doesn’t matter what package you get,(unless you’re the CEO) the uncertainty after losing your job can be soul crushing. And it’s spelled “redundancy”.
My guess: Joe and Yehuda will offer a partnership to Thistle, the shop is running very well lately, thanks to Sprocket…
Yes, very well indeed. Perhaps the Thistle family can move cots into the Kickstand with Yehuda. Just think of all the money they’d save on mortgage payments. I hope the Kickstand is in a good school district.
The kickstand is in Shaker Heights. Check out the Ohio Report Card for schools:
Joy of joys! Mr. T is fat and has bad posture, just like me, yet has the love of Thistle, who is drop dead gorgeous bootilicious! There may be hope for me yet!
Only if you’re a cartoon. If you’re a real person you’re screwed.
Happens in real life, too. Check Christina Hendricks and his husband!
I don’t think Geoffrey Arend is the uggo you think he is. Granted, he doesn’t look like lifeguard, but he’s what some refer to as beautiful hideous: so unusual looking that some can’t take their eyes off him, like Mick Jagger. We’ll need a slouching and pudgy example who isn’t rich and/or super famous.
Wait…. Brian Posehn! He has a hot wife, is only modestly famous and is super ugly.
If I was married to Christina Hendricks I would have carpal tunnel in both hands!
Poor dude … Show some sympathy, guys.
Hunched over … He’s whipped.
sympathy??? you people and your ‘american dream’. it’s the end of the world for you if you can’t be rich by most of the world’s standards. you can support a family working at a cash register you know. you don’t need new toys and electronics every week. he’s probably gonna sit around crying for a month when he should just suck it up and get some resumes our. c’mon.
@rocjothe – Now there’s someone who’s hep to the stark realities of 21st century America. Not.
Fat Mr.T has a bad attitude. Money isnt everything, happiness and health is. Suddently he cannot do anything, not search for a new job, give a call to contacts or else to prepare a new path.. No, first reaction: i’m dead, woman go back to work for us… I dont like the man and the way he’s trying to remove what make’s his wife and kid so happy and healthy for his own comfort. He should go on a journey to find out what will make him so happy and healthy as the rest of his familly.
Jeez, I hope whoever you end up with, or have ended up with, never gets laid off. If happiness and health are everything why do you expect him to bring home the bacon so his wife can pursue her own unprofitable joy? Never mind that the importance of health is dependent on health insurance in the states, and I doubt the Kickstand has a good policy.
Perhaps it’s because I come from a background where both parents are expected to provide income that I don’t understand the reaction that he is somehow a failure because he is unable to provide, temporarily, an environment for Thistle where she can choose whether or not she is going to provide needed income for the family. If he has stumbled, and can no longer provide the healthy income to which Thistle has become accustomed, they both need to man up. I think this could have been presented better, but why are commenters presuming that he is going to sit around watching soaps all day while Thistle works?
Let’s see……sole breadwinner loses his job (which many psychologists equate to the death of a loved one), and he’s not allowed to feel temporarily down? What medication do you take, that puts you in a positive frame of mind 24/7/52? His own comfort……..like a roof over the family’s head and food on the table. And how is he going to pay for his “journey”? With the severance cheque of indeterminate size? OK Pollyanna.
Thistle should bring home from the Kickstand a really nice bicycle for her husband and encourage him to begin cycling! A whole new attitude and approach to life. What better time to start than early autumn. But What kind of bike for this guy?. . .
Maybe another Bakfeits so he can carry the sorrow around until he thins-out and feels better again?
this is what happens – open house turns out to be a mega success. there is a huge demand for more of sprocket’s “things” and the kickstands needs to hire another full time mechanic to build the frames into finished masterpieces. problem solved. thistle’s husband turns to crack so she dumps him (had to throw that in cause i have a crush on her).
If he has a college degree, he can get a substitute teacher’s license; most districts don’t have enough subs. (I’d guess math, that’s why he has a pi on the back of his shirt.)
That isn’t pi, it’s a small pleat just below the seam on the back of his shirt. Dress shirts often have them in that position.
Perhaps in WV but not so in Ohio. Just having any college degree (Bachelors) is not enough. Soon you will be required to have a Masters as well.
Dress shirts have pleats in that position in Ohio too.
Why can’t he get another job? Is he only skilled in one area? Versatility is the key to success. The “poor me, I only have one set of skills” BS attitude is a huge part of USA’s economy problem.
Yeah, right, the problem with the U.S. economy right now is not enough get-up-and-go. He’s only been unemployed for an hour or so. I think what we’re seeing in this comic is a couple trying to work out a short term solution. I really don’t know what he does for a living, or how easily or quickly he can turn his skills into new employment, but the indication seems to be that Thistle’s engineering skills can be depended upon to perhaps bring fast income in the short term.
Bullshit! The problem with the US econonomy is extreme capitalism—corruption on Wall Street and in the banking system—no ethics, no values in the corporate world, just maximize profits by any means for upper level management. And everything is for sale in Washington. When the government is run by corporations and motivated by corporate greed the entire system is poisoned. The people—those with no corporate power—are inevitably the losers. You can’t have an eonomy based solely on credit banking instruments; we don’t make anything in this country anymore.
Oops – inflamed political opinions – didn’t mean to do that. Don’t need more politics here.
Maybe Thistle can support the family, while her husband works at the Kickstand. He looks like some biking wouldn’t hurt.
Until the flying monkeys attack
Pretty harsh comments about a guy who just lost his job and is looking for a way to get his family through it until he can get back on his feet.
????get back on his feet???? he should just stand up.
Nice comment, genius.
After I ‘returned’ from my heart-attack I began to see things I hadn’t seen before.
Since Jan 2007 I have recovered my skills as a skilled fitter/cycle mechanic, My driving skills, and a bit of my Electronics has come back. I have a long way to go before I get the rest of my skills. I was building an Electric Guitar but can’t remember how to play anymore!
Todays comments have helped me appreciate what I have now and not mourn that which I have lost. As far as jobs go, I am fortunate – I turned 60 on August 11th and can start collecting some of my pension, if I want. I am lucky to have a younger wife who is still employed and getting a good salary (in return for long hours at the keyboard, programming)
I say this to make the point that I am happy for what I have, not sad about what I have lost.
Thistle has a Family, friends, a job. She is appreciated and admired and in control. All are admirable. Mr Thistle also has all those things in her/through her. He should take a deep breath and start again. What are his skills? So what can he offer to make a living? Does he need retraining? If so, in what will he enjoy enough to make the work worth the effort?
Turning 60 definitly changes your perspective on life. Me too, this August. But I keep on pedaling, and stop along the way to breathe the sweet air, feel the breeze and sunshine on my skin, gaze into the sky, and listen to the birdsong. And when I arrive home after a long ride I smile to see my wife’s beautiful face.
geez, theres alot of hate on here for thistle’s husband. maybe because we haven’t seen alot of their marital interaction its easy to draw the conclusion that he is distant and uncaring, but we don’t really know if that is the case.
I’m hoping that thistle takes the “thing” viral and online sales for the kickstand blow up crazy large. They’ll have to start paying her for her work as mechanic and webmaster. they hire on chunk and crew to help in shipping/receiving and thistle starts building custom wheelsets for the shop.
that dude who lost his job needs to harden the f*** up….yikes…
Hope and change. Lotta that goung around.
*going
=v= Well, if you’ve been paying attention, Thistle’s husband really isn’t a bad guy. Some big changes took place in his family and he took it in stride. When his car got hit, his #1 priority was Fizz.
I was predisposed to hate him for marrying my dream girl, but I find that I simpl cannot.
Is it just me or are those UFO’s above their house… maybe they come in peace and have jobs for people. just sayin
Smells like a ploy to me.Thistles hubby wasn’t exactly overjoyed when she took up cycling and if he is like 90% of John Q. Public who perfer conformity over being “Different” he’ll find a way to reign in his wife.
To SDMSS: Been there 2 times over the last 5yrs. First time: crashed and burned, felt depressed for a while. Second time i’ve decided that it would be different, that i did not have to be sad JUST because of a job, that there were a lot more than money in life.
2 days later i was enjoying myself as a barista in a local cafe (i’m an engineer, dont forget that). That was someting that made me feel so good, meeting people all day long, opening my view on life. I found out that working should be as fun as playing, if not, then the job is not right for you. I’ve had many regular client, asking for me to have their coffee done, building a good reputation. Every day, going to work was a delight.
Eventually, someone who knows about my backgroung in engineering sent one of his friend at the cafe. I did not know about that, he started to talk to me and got into a very interesting conversation about life, motivations and coffee of course. At the end he told me about his job and said he was looking for someone. After that conversation, he said he was ready to hire me on the spot, saying that was probably the best interview he had done with a candidate ever. He hired me and told me to never loose that ability to have fun at work and that he would do everything to make his employee feeling that way for now on.
It’s always up to you to decide how good your day will be, whatever the situation.
To SDMSS: i forgot t say that i’m a single mother of 2, and does not need to be supported bu a hubby
How sad for all of you, Martina. There’s more to life than money. A kid needs a dad.
@Mongo – Why? I used to think like that but have watched many kids grow-up healthy and happy after Dad left. My Nephew is now a Manager and has a great future lined-up, Wife and kid-on-the-way. Everyone who meets him are impressed and go away with something to help them. He was brought up by his Mum, His Aunt and his Gran. After leaving school his Mum married and has a great family-life now with another Boy and a Girl. Most of it was his Mum’s doing. (My Wife’s Younger Sister.) Just saying that with the right support and encouragement, a single-parent family can be just as happy. or even happier. than a married one.
to Mongo: my kids have a wonderful dad and they are very close to him. And yes, there is more than money, there is LIFE and real life doenst cost a penny…. once you understand what’s real life.
Martina, don’t worry yourself about anything spewed by mongo. His postings are those of a complete ass.
maybe the lack of job/money can inspire him to save money by maybe… riding a bike!
Yeesh. Guy gets fired and get little or no sympathy. Tough crowd.