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Post by lovelylemontree on Jun 27, 2006 1:37:56 GMT -5
Laughing at other people is my favorite part of any vacation.
And yet, he freaked out when Kristy and Claudia wanted to eat the candy in the mini-fridge. Like a two-dollar bag of M&Ms was going to blow the entire vacation budget.
I think she does chores for the other Thomas-Brewers to earn the money. So, it's basically Nannie, Charlie, and Sam buying half of Karen's bike so Watson can "teach" her a lesson about responsibility.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Jun 27, 2006 1:57:40 GMT -5
^ didn't she also decorate some paper and sell her "homemade writing paper"? I don't know why that's so familiar. Either way, it's still basically the family members paying for half the bike.
FFS. When I was seven, my parents would've bought me a bike if I legitimately needed one and they were far from millionaires. Who the hell expects a seven yr old to pay for half of it? Fair enough, the kid shouldn't get everything she wants, but come on. It's a BIKE. Bikes are pretty important to kids, right?
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ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on Jun 27, 2006 2:14:06 GMT -5
What does she need a bike for anyway? She can just ride her full sized TRAIN.
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Post by hitzpink on Jun 27, 2006 18:37:40 GMT -5
ITA, macca. Making Karen pay for half of the bike - especially when she was actually outgrowing her old bike - was completely ridiculous! Plus, he was basically just putting the burden on the rest of the family to buy the crap she made/pay her to do their chores. Watson was such a cheap-skate.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Jul 3, 2006 14:29:27 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, lovelylemontree, I totally forgot about Watson telling them not to eat the candy in their minifridge. Good point, there. The stuff in those minifridges is way overpriced, but still -- millionaire, taking giant family plus two of stepdaughter's friends on a cruise -- why the hell not? If there's any situation (apart from being a rock star or movie star) where you might as well get into the minifridge, this is the one.
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Post by baseballchica03 on Sept 6, 2006 16:30:52 GMT -5
Seriously? I bought my own bike with my First Communion money when I was 7 or 8.
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Post by sotypical42483 on Sept 7, 2006 13:38:44 GMT -5
I'm re-reading this and I'm not sure if this has been touched on (I didn't feel like reading all 4 pages), but did Watson pay for Claudia and Dawn to go on the vacation? I mean he's already paying for his whole family to go and they say Claud and Dawn were invited as "guests" so that sort of implies he paid, in my mind.
And I assume the Pikes paid for Mary Anne and Stacey to go, but why on earth wouldn't they just "rough it" w/o mother's helpers?! I mean money's gotta be tight in a family of a zillion, why would they pay for those two to go? Especially when, as soon as they got on the ship, half of their children were deemed old enough to entertain themselves, sans sitters. WTF.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
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Post by starrynight on Sept 7, 2006 15:30:30 GMT -5
You know, I wondered from the very first time I read this about Claudia and Dawn. At first, I thought maybe that bringing a certain number of people allowed you to bring a couple for free.
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inge
Junior Sitter
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Post by inge on Sept 7, 2006 15:50:12 GMT -5
I agree that part of the plot was totalle weak. 'He invited Dawn and Claudia as guests because he didn't want any member of the BSC to stay behind'? Wha--?? If I were Sam, for example, I'd complain until my friends could go too! Only Kristy's is not fair. And why is it so impossible for the Pike parents to spend time with their kids, ever???
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Sept 8, 2006 10:52:02 GMT -5
And I assume the Pikes paid for Mary Anne and Stacey to go, but why on earth wouldn't they just "rough it" w/o mother's helpers?! I mean money's gotta be tight in a family of a zillion, why would they pay for those two to go? Especially when, as soon as they got on the ship, half of their children were deemed old enough to entertain themselves, sans sitters. WTF. Haha, I just made a comment to the BSC blog saying the exact same thing: I mean, it might be bizarre that Watson drags the BSC on every vacation, but at least he can presumably afford it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2006 12:29:12 GMT -5
I agree that part of the plot was totalle weak. 'He invited Dawn and Claudia as guests because he didn't want any member of the BSC to stay behind'? Wha--?? If I were Sam, for example, I'd complain until my friends could go too! Only Kristy's is not fair. And why is it so impossible for the Pike parents to spend time with their kids, ever??? Not trying to imply anything But, am I the only one who thinks that Watson Brewer was a bit obsessed with the BSC girls? Of course, to be fair, the entire town's life seemed to revolve around the girls. I mean, because God forbid the BSC girls might be seperated for a week. Or, God forbid, you might have to spend an hour with your own children! ITA about Sam. Did he ever even complain about not having any of his friends on the trip with him? Since Watson IS a "REAL LIVE MILLIONAIRE!!!!" You'd think he could also splurge to have at least one of Sam and Charlie's friends, and maybe even DM and Karen's friends on the trip too.
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ktag
Junior Sitter
Posts: 694
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Post by ktag on Sept 8, 2006 17:41:38 GMT -5
Charlie and Sam probably wouldn't want to invite their friends with a bunch of 8th grade girls around. Sam would have too much competition.
Mr. and Mrs. Pike want alone time. But yes, it's crazy that they always get two babysitters when half of the kids don't really need one. In a family like that, you'd think they'd learn to take care of themselves a little more. I wonder if they paid Stacey and Mary Anne in addition to paying for the trip.
A normal parent would just have been like "Look, two of your friends are already going on the trip. Why do you need more?" But nooo, Watson actually invites more. It'd be one thing if they asked if they could tag along and pay for themselves, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
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lisa
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 201
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Post by lisa on Sept 11, 2006 6:12:03 GMT -5
I just read this one again, and I really really hate Karen. There was a bit where she was saying "Daddy took us to New York and I ordered lobster legs in a cafe, but I didn't want to eat them" and asking "Is Margo sick? Can I go watch?" that made me want to kill her. And that birthday thing.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Sept 11, 2006 14:57:19 GMT -5
I just reread this yesterday, and I thought the "Is Margo sick again? Can I go watch?" thing was hysterically funny. I can even understand the birthday thing, although I'm glad that Watson was angry about it. The only thing about this book that gives me Karen-hatred is when she gets the manicure and charges it to her cabin. I can't believe Kristy thought that was cute.
Other thoughts: so did Timothy not bother telling Claudia his last name? Because if she knew his last name was Carmody, one would assume she'd think he might be related to Alex. Then again, we all know Claudia's a bit slow.
Okay, so it's funny that what the boys think is a treasure map is actually a Dutch diagram of the insides of a photocopier. But it's awfully convenient that while they're looking at it on a plane from Florida to Connecticut, someone who works for a company in the Netherlands that manfacturers copiers just happens to walk down the aisle and see it.
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lisa
New To Stoneybrook
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Post by lisa on Sept 12, 2006 1:50:57 GMT -5
^ Yes, that was pretty coincidental.
Wonder what R-rated movie Jeff saw when he accidently watched one. Were they pretty tame in the 80s?
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