34. What is a visual of something you had heard about all your life and finally saw for the first time?
Laurel: I remember seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains and the prairies in Canada.
Lynn: Seeing Niagara Falls for the first time was breathtaking. I had only seen it in photos and in the Marilyn Monroe movie.
35. What do you remember about a piece of clothing you have loved?
Laurel: I remember my blue velvet dress from university and my first Danier black leather jacket. I remember my first mini-skirt and my elephant pants in the 70s at university. Cashmere sweaters.
Lynn: My favourite dress was hand crocheted, white and had a purple ribbon running around the bodice. I cried when I grew out of it. I think I was three. In my teens, I purchased a dark orange leather mini skirt and matching jacket. I thought I was ready for “Vogue.”
36. Have you ever met someone you admired or someone famous?
Laurel: I took my class to watch Princess Diana drive by during Expo 86 and she waved right at us.
Lynn: I met and got to know Phyllis Diller. What a lovely lady—funny, kind and very, very smart!
My friend, Laurel, and I have known each other since high school. We were biology partners—and we both had a crush on the same teacher! We live on the same street now, and enjoy getting together to catch up. Tuesday evening was hot and humid. As we sat on her back porch with a cold drink, Laurel mentioned a list she had written—something to cheer friends up. With COVID still a threat, climate change and political stuff going on, Laurel said we all tend to think about the negative when there are so many positive memories we can find—memories that are just a “clue” away.
She told me about her list of 100 clues; questions that might spark a fond or funny memory—and I asked if I could fill it in. Laurel was right. Sometimes all you have to do to cheer yourself up is to delve into your own treasure chest of good memories.
I wanted to share her list with everyone and hope it brings some smiles and even some great stories. Here then is Laurel’s list with answers from both of us—along with a photo of her and myself as kids. I hope you enjoy this exercise as much as I did!
Lynn J.
Lynn
Laurel
Snapshots and Images
We are all made up, at any age, of zillions of tiny moments…visual, experiential, touch, smell, taste…and it’s sometimes amazing how some trigger in the ‘now’ can bring back all sorts of ‘snapshots’ of memories from our lifetime. I have a friend who is just 22 and doing this…already saying “Oh, my gosh…I remember that…” The snapshots can be big things, or just fun things, simple things like remembering a squirrel running across the road, twitching its tail or the smell of lavender in the garden. See if some of these prompts can trigger some of your memory snapshots. Just remember this is about happy memories.
1. Do you remember seeing your spouse or a friend for the first time?
Laurel: I remember first seeing my husband Colin on a ski trip, in his red ski jacket. Putting on his skis.
Lynn: I remember seeing my partner Paul in elementary school. He will deny that he wore glasses, but that’s how I remember him! He had thick dark hair and a big smile. We were in grade 5.
2. What are your memories of the coldest you’ve ever been?
Laurel: I remember the cold on that ski trip…the air twinkled with ice crystals.
Lynn: The coldest I have ever been is in Lynn Lake Manitoba. It was a reported -50 Celsius and with a wind, it was said to be -70. It was too dangerous to go outside.
3. Do you have a sport you like? Doing it or watching it? What are the senses you associate with that sport?
Laurel: I remember the swishing sound of cross-country skis…the crunchy squeak of the snow under my skis.
Lynn: My favourite sport to watch is basketball. I love to see fast minds working against fast opponents—and time.
4. What memories do you associate with sounds?
Laurel: I remember listening to Gregorian Chants at the Cloisters in New York City and the church bells in Positano, in Italy. Horses whinnying when I took riding lessons. Ukuleles in the dark in Bora Bora. Hearing a kookaburra laugh for the first time in Australia.
Lynn: The first memory of sound that comes to mind is my dad singing a lullaby as he carried me up the stairs to bed.
5. How about a memory or many, associated with smell?
Laurel: I remember the smell of wet seaweed at the beach, hot pine needles on a camping trip, beeswax candles in a Catholic church.
Lynn: The smell of Fleer Fortune bubble gum brings back the clearest childhood memories! And my dad frying bacon and eggs!
Doug Raven, president of the Farley Foundation, received the honorary “Dr. Jim Hysen Friend of Farley Award” on July 14th, 2022 in honour of his work with the FF and its 20 year anniversary.
The OVMA conference was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto, from July 14-16. The FF reception on the Thursday night, July 14th, celebrated the 20th year of the Farley Foundation and included a surprise tribute to Doug, with his retirement reception being held the night after.
Congratulations on your retirement, Doug!
Dr. Jim Hysen was President of OVMA in 2009, and a strong supporter of the Farley Foundation. He participated in the Ride for Farley from its early days in Northern Ontario, and supported the Ride not only financially, but through his enthusiasm, camaraderie, and willingness to assist others.
Dr. Hysen passed away in June 2012, following a long battle with lymphoma. Given his past involvement with the foundation, the Board created the “Dr. Jim Hysen Friend of Farley Award” which is to be given to an individual or organization which has demonstrated the qualities associated with Dr. Hysen (generosity, enthusiasm, camaraderie, and a willingness to assist others) and made an outstanding contribution to the Farley Foundation.
Talented caricaturist, illustrator, and art director (recently retired) for Mad Magazine, Sam Viviano is one of my favourite cartoonists and New York friends. When Paul and I go to the city to enjoy jazz and the shows, we love to include Sam and his wife, Diane Bloomfield.
After knowing each other for over 40 years, Sam and I realized we had never exchanged original art! Exchanging originals is a great thing to do and over the years, I’ve traded with Charles Schulz, Bil Keane, Jim Davis, Will Eisner….but I hadn’t traded with Sam! When he suggested we make the long overdue exchange, I looked through my most recent work—all “spot art” for the website—and chose something I thought he might like. In return, I did not expect Sam to send me a caricature of Paul and myself—playing tunes at the Eagle’s Pub! A caricature, done by a Mad Magazine alum? That is gold, my friends! That is better than wonderful!!!
Watch the video that inspired Sam!
Sam has just sent me the pencil rough, which I love! He said he had planned to ink it in when he got back from holiday…but I like the rough! A pencil rough often has more life and depth than the finished art, which can be too tight and polished. So, here is a gift from a good friend—an image worth sharing. This is something I’ll treasure and frame. It’s us!
Sequential Tart is a Web Zine about the comics industry, published by an eclectic band of women, dedicated to providing exclusive interviews, in-depth articles and news, while working towards raising the awareness of women’s influence in the comics industry and other realms.
The beloved nationally syndicated newspaper comic strip, For Better or For Worse, chronicles the daily lives of the middle-class suburbanite Patterson family – Elly and John and their children, Michael, Elizabeth, and April — in real time over three decades. It ran every day for almost 30 years, and now reprints of these strips continue to run in newspapers across the country. The current storyline is from 1993, which includes Lawrence’s coming-out story; that storyline created a lot of controversy at the time, but saw Johnston nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994.
We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to talk with her over Zoom.
