Author Archives: Shannon Menu

Monday January 4, 2021

Lynn's Comments: I clearly remember sucking my thumb. I think I did this until I was in grade one. I remember the feel and the taste and the comfort. The good thing about thumbs (I thought at the time) is that they are permanently attached and always available.

Sunday January 3, 2021

Lynn's Comments: This punchline comes from my own childhood. My dad was a great pal to my brother and I when we were young. He'd play outside, letting us ride on his back, swinging us around and showing us how to make horns out of dandelion stems. Inside, he'd play board games and sing children's songs, strumming the chords on his guitar. He was a big kid at heart! When we grew too old for these things, he was a bit lost—he couldn't quite believe we had outgrown the things he so enjoyed. I remember the little kids in the neighbourhood coming to the front door and asking, "Can Mr. Ridgway come out to play?"

Friday January 1, 2021

Lynn's Comments: Every Christmas I write a newsletter to my friends and family about stuff we've done over the past 12 months. For this I rely heavily on my old paper calendars, and I've kept them for years. Each one is like a diary—a record of our lives.

Tuesday December 29, 2020

Lynn's Comments: I couldn't resist this punch line. Word play made my strip almost impossible to translate into other languages. Foreign papers either had to make a direct translation or change the dialogue completely! The best translators were often cartoonists themselves!

Wednesday December 23, 2020

Lynn's Comments: Friends of mine, who had little girls, would give me the fancy dresses their kids had grown out of. I'd look after them and pass them on. These lovely dresses never wore out they just went to the next baby who fit into them. Some of these fancy duds must still be in circulation!

Sunday December 13, 2020

Lynn's Comments: My mother-in-law had an enormous freezer. When the family moved from Manitoba to Ontario, we had to defrost many years worth of baking and fish and frozen leftovers. Some of the pies had dates on them from 10 years past or more. It was like an archaeological dig! After this funny experience, I decided I'd never have a big freezer of my own.