(Strip Number 5046, Original Publication Date, 9 November 1988)
Panel 1: We find ourselves at the middle school so that we can remind ourselves that this is set in Ontario in the late eighties; this is because when Lawrence talks about having the morning off on the eleventh, Mike mutters 'Yeah' in confirmation.
Panel 2: He then reminds Mike that there's buses taking everyone to the Remembrance Day service in the park. Since Mike has been cast as the slacker who doesn't love his country and grandpa enough, he whines about having to go out in the cold.
Panel 3: As they go out into the brisk autumn day, Lawrence reminds Mike that their teacher Mr Gordon says that attendance is mandatory because they hafta remember the soldiers who fought in the war even though it was breezy and cold, Michael.
Panel 4: Lazy, Hitler-Worshiping, King-And-Country-Hating Mike moans "Can't we remember them inside?" because he doesn't realize that the march-past is a sort of military parade and thus, by definition, held outdoors no matter what the weather.
Summary: I remember that when I first saw this, I made the assumption that the Pattersons consisted of yuppie scum and their ungrateful brats because unlike Mike, I realized that in order to honour veterans, I had to accept a tame level of the discomfort they had to deal with. Time has done what it's supposed to and made me see what's actually going on: Lynn has decided that in order for her to show off her love of country, she's going to have to grab her son's avatar by the shirtfront and scream in his face about how soft and selfish he is and how little he loves his country. This is because the war on straw men is one that will never end.