Author Archives: stripfix

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I loved the words my kids created while they were learning to speak. "Fmuffmee" was "Excuse me," "blaffoon" was "bathroom," "ice cream" was "eye-green," and so on. I wanted them to have a good vocabulary and learn the language well, but long after they grew up and spoke with clarity, I was still (to their considerable eye-rolling)--saying "fmuffmee" and "blaffoon."

Monday, June 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I remember being so into mud pies that I really expected to taste fresh baking when I bit into them. I can even recall the taste of dirt and the feeling of sand between my teeth. I also remember putting more than one into my mouth--just to make absolutely sure it was mud.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother had a day of the week for laundry. Rain or shine, she washed on Wednesday, and there was an order to the way she hung the clothes on the line. Sheets, towels, and good clothing was hung first--so it could be seen and appreciated by the neighbours. Underwear and things not meant for public scrutiny were hung closer to the house. These things were easily reached by standing on the rungs of our porch railing, and often fell prey to my brother--whose pranks with Mom's unmentionables were legendary.

After our neighbour's big dog, Teddy, died, their daughter, Tootie (our babysitter), bought a small fuzzy pup, which she called "Noby"--short for "Nobody." Noby was a sweet, easygoing little pooch who put up with just about anything the local kids would do to her. One day, Alan decided to dress her up in Mom's underwear. Noby dutifully stood still while bra and panties were administered. Al expected a wild struggle for freedom, but Noby stood still. Frustrated by the lack of action, Al lifted Noby up and placed her inside a sheet, which had been doubled so it could hang on the lower line. Noby went crazy. She squirmed and howled, and we worried that she'd tear the sheet open. Tootie soon came to her rescue. She pulled Noby out of the sheet, cuffed my brother on the side of his head, threw the bra and panties on the lawn, and went home.

I picked up the underwear and put it back on the line. The sheet was left to dry. Later, when Mom pulled in the laundry, I watched as she folded it. When she got to the underwear, she frowned, wondered why it looked unwashed, but kept on folding. Then she reached for the sheet. There in the middle was a mess of dirt and dog hair. Mom looked at me and said, "Where's your brother?" Alan, of course, was gone. I was close at hand and received the brunt of her wrath. After a thorough tongue-lashing, I was sent to my room--Al had to wait. Nothing was said when he came home, and I was furious. I thought I had taken the blame for everything! Later that evening it was clear that justice prevailed. When Al pulled the blankets back on his bed, there was the dirty sheet. Grossed out and grumbling, he slept on it for a week!

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This is another true-to-life moment--and it took cleanser and elbow grease to remove the imprint of the ball from the patio table.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Another actual quote from the man himself. He complained that I used the lines he didn't like and ignored the lines he did.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Begonias do very well here, and the blossoms can grow to an amazing size. Aaron and Katie liked to break them off and bring them in, along with the ants that infested them!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Having moved to a more southerly clime, we were able to grow real plants! I went crazy finding ornamental trees and flowering perennials to fill our garden. I dug and I trimmed. The job was bigger than I had imagined, so I hired a lady to help me. She would arrive with her young children in tow; I'd feed and water them while she did the same for the garden. Eventually, we had a beautiful place to live, surrounded by pine forests and open fields.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I got away with this drawing, perhaps because there was no Internet to give me an instant blast for inconsistency: The car isn't backing out of the garage, it hit the frame while driving in!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother didn't like me drinking out of the water faucet in the bathroom sink. She told me that there were snakes in the water pipes and they laid eggs in the water, so I had to look at the water in the glass to make sure there were no eggs in it. If I drank directly out of the faucet and swallowed the eggs, well--snakes would grow in my stomach and come wriggling out of my nose! It worked. I stopped drinking out of the faucet and looked for eggs in every glass of water I poured. I still think of this when I get a glass of water. The "power of suggestion" is power, indeed!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I actually did make two meals one for me on a diet and one for my family--who wanted more substantial grub. The hard part was cleaning up their leftovers and not swilling down the lot!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I actually thought I was overweight when I drew this. I thought the bulge I drew on my tummy was enormous. It amazes me now to think that I saw myself as unattractive. On the other hand, a little ego bruising at the time was a good thing!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Waterbeds were all the rage in the '80s, so we bought one. It was a miserable thing. The heater was defective, so the mattress was often clammy and cold. Putting the sheets on took practice. We had to pull up the edge of the mattress, then work a band of elastic under this blubbery, rolling water-filled sack while skinning our knuckles on the frame. It occurred to me that it was kind of like dressing something warm, large, and flabby!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This cartoon was done specifically as a message to my son. Word for word, grimace for groan, I expressed my outrage in the most visible and lasting way possible. When the strip appeared in the Toronto Star, I showed it to him hoping that he would be shocked into changing his evil ways. I said that millions of people had read it and now knew about the way he treated his laundry--and ME! Aaron read the dialogue thoroughly and said, "I get the gag, Ma, but what's your point?"

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lynn's Comments: For the new release of this strip, the dialogue was changed to read, "Hey, guys, what's short and round--" I knew I would still get negative mail but perhaps fewer complaints than when it was first printed. People don't want to see derogatory remarks of any kind, even if it's exactly what two little boys would say. I could have deleted the strip, but I rather liked the gag!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Not so long ago I was wandering around one of the local high schools--waiting for the robotics team to run one of their competition models (I am such a fan!) when someone opened a locker. The familiar smell sent me back in time to days of lunch bags, gym strip, foolscap and gum. They say that you don't forget smells, so test yourself: think of new Pink Pearl erasers, a doll's saran hair, pencil shavings, crayons and wax lips--do they bring back memories?

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Behind closed doors, I had a dopey, mommy-to-doggie vocabulary, which I shared with Farley alone. I even had a song I sang to him, and later, I made up a song for Willy, our small black spaniel. While openly criticizing other pooch-parents for talking baby talk to their canine family members, I was doing the very same thing. My dogs appreciated it. This was a language we shared in the privacy of my home. This Sunday page allowed readers into our secret world. I believed that the sheer stupidity of what Elly was saying would be taken as "made-up cartoon dialogue," but not so. I received several letters from readers telling me they used the exact same words of endearment!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I don't know who the Brad Luggsworth character was based on. There were always big kids in school who intimidated just because of their size. In my world, I was the bully. I felt safer if I was the one with the chip on my shoulder and the penchant for a fight. I was always ready to defend myself--or, maybe the word was "protect."

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Lynn's Comments: There had to be a bad guy in the picture, so Brad Luggsworth was introduced. His last name just popped into my head. It suited him. Brad was out to get Michael Patterson and anyone he hung out with. I don't know why he set Michael in his sights, but that's the way it was. Brad was a large kid, a slow learner with a chip on his shoulder who threw his weight around. FBorFW had become a "story strip." New characters provided great material, but they added to a growing "cast" as well.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My dad always made us cards. For birthdays and other events, he'd draw something funny, write a poem or a joke, and that was part of the gift he gave us. To this day, I like to make cards for my family--and again, it's a special part of the gift.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was in high school, I went out with a guy whose dad was a florist. I would often wait for Ken at the family flower shop, taking the opportunity to look into the big refrigerated room where the flowers were stored. I'd sneak into the back room where vases were kept and arrangements were designed. It was exciting. I loved the ambience, the colours, and the smell, and when Ken gave me a corsage, I kept it for as long as I could. Flowers are still my favourite gift--to give and to get!