« Monday February 25, 2008 | Main | Wednesday February 27, 2008 »

I really enjoy the strip,I have read it for years. It is real life with humor, honesty and realism. There is nothing wrong with the way the strip is being written. I loved todays topic, finding their grandmothers wedding dress, this opens up a new avenue to explore.
I would like to see Elizabeth find happiness and love, and start her own family.
Thank you for writing this wonderful strip. I really would not like to see it end.

Linda C, Dayton Ohio

A lot of readers are cheering the union of Liz and Anthony. They claim that Liz and Anthony were meant to be, on the grounds that Anthony never stopped loving Liz, nor she him, even when he was married to Therese. Yet they also claim that Therese was jealous and insecure for no good reason. Can no one see the contradiction? Some readers also refer to the past 'Liz/Anthony/Therese love triangle.' Excuse me, but it was not a triangle, not with two of the three characters married to each other. The third person, Liz, was irrelevant. Or should have been.

Likewise, many readers think that April is too focused on what she wants because she grumbled a bit about having to move to a smaller house. Well, Liz abandoned Mtigwaki because she wanted to move back home. Anthony emotionally neglected Therese because he wanted to reunite with Liz. Mike ran back into a burning house for the laptop he wanted. And John moved to a smaller house because he wanted room for his trains. Does anyone find fault with those actions? They did cause a lot of hurt. (Remember, Paul did not get involved with Susan until after Liz was long gone.) I don't remember April doing anything to sabotage the house-switching. She just wasn't wild about the idea. Yet she's the only person who gets called selfish. I sometimes wonder if I'm reading the same strip as everyone else.

Lorna, LA

Maybe I'm just a sucker for the corny, sentimental side of things, but I really do enjoy reading the older strips. I like seeing the flashes back to the early days of Jim and Elly's life together and finding out what happened as the family grew. I think Lynn's idea to run the old with the new is great. Not being a cartoonist myself, I can't begin to imagine the time and energy it must take to put out something new and entertaining for such a widespread audience every single day. Thank you, Lynn, for taking the time to make a comic strip that has touched so many lives. I look forward to reading what happens next.

Cait L, Denmark

Oh no, let this wedding dress find not be foreshadowing for the dreaded Liz and Anthony nuptials.
And why is Mike so emotionally cold? He and Dee didn't buy the house from some strangers or some people, they bought it from his Mom and Dad. On that note, Dee could be a little nicer to her parents, too. They're not that bad, no worse than Mike's parents, or Dee and Mike as parents.
Also, Dee does need to grow out her hair. The atomic mushroom cloud just isn't flattering.
One more thing, Liz and Anthony shouldn't get married and in fact should just break up already. Maybe Liz could then become interesting again because Anthony's aura just destroys anything that is remotely interesting.
Maybe that dress should get shoved back into the crawlspace.

Stori, San Francisco

Today while sorting through newspaper memorabilia from 1984 I found on the back of an article, a FB & FW comic strip. It was about Ellie cleaning out the crawl space for a yard sale & Elizabeth wanting to keep something. Today's comic strip (Feb. 25) is about Deanna cleaning out the same crawl space, finding baby clothes of 20 years ago and Michael saying his folks had had a yard sale. It looks like not too much got to the yard sale back in 1984. What a coincidence to find this old comic strip on the same day as the 2008 cleanout.

Delia C, Cobourg ON

Lynn,
Many years ago you signed a collection for me (The Last Straw) at an American Booksellers conference. I wasn't married then, and didn't have children yet, and loved your strips anyway. But I didn't get a newspaper every day either, and didn't see the earlier strips very often.

Now, I am married, with 3 young kids, and the old strips are fun to see, because I missed them the first time around. I personally don't think it will be a bad thing to let another generation of families laugh when they recognize themselves. Tweeking the strips might be a good thing, since some things have changed, but looking back at the old strips that I have makes me less critical of myself as a mother. I really appreciate the message I get from your work, then and now, that being parents is hard work, and it's OK as a mom not to be perfect. Our family is fun, and loving, and happy even though not one of us is perfect!

Thanks for all these years of thoughtful stories and artwork. It's been wonderful.

Jane P, Halifax NS

I really enjoy the span of generations in your strip. It's nearly the first thing I read daily. My beloved is 85 and the similarities to Grandpa are amazing. Thankfully he hasn't had a stroke.
I, too, am a Grandma and relate to the newly retired, young families, Liz and Anthony--they are all part of my family.
Thank you for all the hard work and the pleasure you give us.

Judith R, Ansonia CT

You know what's even more boring than cleaning out a crawlspace? Reading about people cleaning out a crawlspace.

Danny, Lubbock TX

I always get such a chuckle when you hit my family right on the bullseye!!! The latest, Michael & Dee find the boxes in the crawl space. I have 2 daughters in college and our basement has become their storage units. We call them packrats but they learned it from someone!!! Guess who!

Sharon, Michigan