Author Archives: stripfix

Friday, September 16, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My friend, Anna, confessed that the elevator in her residence can be particularly challenging. As it provides an intimate space for a certain amount of time, proposals of a suggestive nature can be made quite discreetly between floors. She said it was not uncommon to see people get off the elevator on the "wrong" floor and stay there until morning.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have several friends, now, who are living in assisted care facilities. They each have small, comfortable apartments; they make their own breakfasts, but lunch and dinner is provided in a spacious, nicely decorated dining room. All three ladies admit that there is a very active social life going on around them, and it's not all provided by the entertainment committee.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Lynn's Comments: After working the bingo games, my husband and I would come home exhausted and reeking of cigarette smoke (thankfully, the bingo halls are now smoke-free). We'd immediately disrobe in the front hall, stuff our clothing into the washing machine and have a shower. We wondered how the players could survive night after night in that toxic atmosphere. Perhaps they didn't.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Dabbers and disposable cards made the game so much easier. With the new speed and efficiency, players wanted runners to be on the ball. If someone needed a new card or wanted a bag of chips, the runners had to anticipate this and literally run to the side of the player. A winning call wasn't greeted with applause (as it was in the church basements), it was a serious loss, a begrudging acceptance and a chance to start again.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is another true situation. There were times when I was so engrossed in writing or drawing the strip that I was oblivious to everything else around me. My kids could talk to me, ask for things, say stuff that didn't make sense, and I'd simply nod and smile. An entire day could go by and I'd forget to eat or even get up and walk around. It was like being in a sound sleep. There were times when people would have to distract me from my work, look me in the eye, make sure I was absolutely focused on them, and then say what they wanted me to hear!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Years later, after a divorce, remarriage and a move to North Bay, Ontario, I was ready to do my civic duty by fundraising for the local Arts Centre. This meant volunteering to work the bingo games. I learned a lot about bingo as I ran down the aisles selling dabbers, candy, and cards.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My first mom-in-law, Louise Franks, loved to play bingo. She was good at it, too, and could keep track of eight or more cards at a time. One night, she invited me to come along. Her advice to me as we entered the hall was, "Don't win. Nobody likes a first night winner." I guess her popularity, and mine, would be tarnished if I did!

Monday, September 5, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have always been fascinated by nursing homes and aging, and now that it's my turn to experience the process of my own decline, this series of strips is particularly poignant.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Here is another real life situation. My dentist husband was cornered, from time to time, outside his office and asked to give his expert opinion on someone's dental work. As a new practitioner, he would do this as a favour and I often saw him at parties, for example, with his fingers in someone's mouth! Eventually, he refused to do this and asked folks to please make an appointment. The nuisance, the intrusion, and the possibility of saying the wrong thing eventually made him realize that the clinic was the best place to do a check-up! Nothing was more convincing, however, than the above scenario! This really happened and it was fun to recreate the scene in the strip. If the culpable lawyer ever read the comics, I doubt he'd have recognized himself!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Lynn's Comments: In this strip, I was able to say hello to both Charles Schulz and my friend, Beth Scott. Surprising friends by mentioning them in the paper was great fun.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is exactly what I did! Yes, if I was determined to succeed at something, I was relentless--which is a good trait to have when it comes to a project or a career. Love, on the other hand, isn't something you can make happen!

At summer's end, I returned home, and as soon as I had some privacy, I called my silent "boyfriend" and asked why he hadn't written. He said he had but the letter must have been lost. I didn't believe him. He then said he'd written one but had been too shy to send it. I said, "show it to me." He couldn't find it. He said he would rewrite it, but by then, my jets had cooled and the relationship turned into a casual "hello" in the school cafeteria.

We graduated without anything more being said. Years later, we met in a Vancouver coffee shop. He was delighted to see me and I was more than happy to see him. We hugged and laughed about the crush and the silent summer, and bless his heart, he said he wished for all the world, that he had written.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Over the summer, I sent him several letters and received nothing in reply. My Aunt Monica suggested I look elsewhere for friendship, but I continued to mope about--wondering why I had heard nothing from the love of my life.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Lynn's Comments: As soon as I arrived in Montreal, I wrote to my "boyfriend." The relationship was pretty one sided, but that didn't keep me from thinking about him all the time and writing down my feelings.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Another true story--At about the age of 16, I went to Montreal to visit my mom's sister and her family. I was there for the summer to act as a "nanny" for my four younger cousins and to improve my French, if possible! I was happy to be going, but the crush I had on a boy in my class was pretty powerful, and although he said he'd miss me, I had my doubts.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Some Sunday strips were so true, they were painful. This was me. This was my husband. He did try to help, but I actually prevented him from doing so. In drawing this strip, I hoped other wives would see themselves. I think some did!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Nope. Phil and Georgia are still happily married. Even though the saga has ended, the characters are still alive in my imagination!

Friday, August 19, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My daughter is the one now who does all the creative cooking. I often arrive at her door just at dinnertime--not meaning to invite myself, but happy to see her set an extra place at the table.