Author Archives: stripfix

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Lynn's Comments: The guys at the rock radio stations were often the most insecure. Having become minor heartthrobs and mini celebs, they were constantly trying to live up to their own hype. Some were manic, some were smarmy, and some were completely down to earth. The ones who were themselves, who didn't take their rock-radio job too seriously, inevitably moved on to bigger and better things.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Over the years, I met all kinds of television and radio personalities. Some were wonderful and got the best out of me. Others were arrogant, obnoxious, and didn't know how to communicate. This made two of us. I was beginning to think I was God's gift to the airwaves as well!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Around this time in my career, I was doing a lot of media. Aside from book tours and speaking engagements, I was often asked to comment on something I had put in the strip, and I was always keen to do so.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Lynn's Comments: The first time I ever gave a presentation, it was to a group of doctors who had just come from a meeting that had not gone well. Many of the delegates had gone away angry leaving a few disgruntled people hoping for a talk that would lift their spirits. At the time, I was being shadowed by the National Film Board of Canada, which was doing a documentary on For Better or For Worse. The director asked the "crowd" (assembled in the auditorium of the Winnipeg Art Gallery) to move up to the front and fill the empty seats so it would look like there was a bigger crowd. Nobody moved. I was so nervous I was almost sick. The cameraman, who always had a flask in his jacket, offered me a stiff drink, which I took thinking--it would calm my nerves. I rarely drink, so the effect was horrible. I stammered, apologized, forgot what I was going to say, and made a fool of myself. Later, I was found sitting on the floor beside a table of half finished sandwiches singing to myself. It was a good lesson: booze and public speaking don't mix. It also helps to have no distractions, and a friendly audience!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Over the years, I have signed petitions based on the information given by the person who asked me to sign. I confess I didn't always read the paper I was signing and could have been adding my name to a petition for, well--just about anything!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Every time I moved to a new town, I got involved in projects which would improve things: flowers and signs to welcome visitors, painting an eyesore building on a main street corner, fixing up a church, cleaning up the cenotaph. Some of these things were successful and some were not, but along with other like-minded volunteers, I worked hard. After a few years, I stopped trying to improve things and became as complacent as everyone else. It seems to me that it's the newcomers to town who see the flaws around their city and try to fix them. Long time residents just accept things the way they are and don't seem to care any more. Hooray for the newcomers!

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This was a scenario from home. My daughter, Katie, had, at the age of four, learned how to use a screwdriver, and had gone about my mother-in-law's house unscrewing things. Ruth tried to open a kitchen cupboard door and it came off in her hands along with the handle. We were both perplexed. How in the world had all the screws come loose? We looked about for Katie and found her outside in the driveway trying to take the license plates off my car!

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Lynn's Comments: The punch line in this strip isn't original. "Jocks vs Smocks" was a kvetch invented when I was in high school. All the grant money seemed to go towards sports with the arts left sadly behind. Sports always seemed to be highlighted and I don't think anything's changed! I'm as supportive as anyone when it comes to seeing our young people exercise, learn to work with a team, and enjoy competition, but what about the artists and actors, dancers, writers, and musicians out there? If you don't believe these essential skills and creative abilities are as important as sports, you're not thinking. Come on, Jocks! Look at it this way: you're leaving the people who create the arenas, the lighting, the seating, the music, and the half time entertainment behind!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Lynn's Comments: When I first started to do public speaking I was so scared, I was physically ill. But I wanted to learn, so I accepted all kinds of invitations and I did my talks for free. I got to feel confident and decided to ask for an honorarium but I had no idea how much to ask for. I did talks for charity and talks for the price of the airfare and a hotel. Eventually, when I was happy with my presentations, well compensated, and able to enjoy the sight of a huge audience--I didn't want to do it anymore!

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Any time I have done a presentation and felt that I had screwed up terribly, I think about the times when I have had to cover for someone else. After I leave the stage, my head spinning with "Why did I say that?" or "How could I have forgotten such an important point?," I simply say to myself, "Well, at least I showed up!"

Monday, May 25, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I always enjoyed the opportunity to pop a bit of rhyme into the text of FBFW. I love to read and write poetry, and am partial to poetry that rhymes. A comic strip, like the dialogue in a play, has to have a cadence: a rhythm so as to move the audience smoothly along. Excessive commentary, even a single word out of place, can take you out of the moment and weaken the punch line. ie:

"What do you call a dog with no legs? --. It doesn't matter. He won't come anyway."
(This works.)

"What would you call a dog if it didn't have any legs" --It doesn't matter because he wouldn't come if you called him anyway!"
(This one you stumble over.)

It takes time to learn how to write with an economy of words; to be able to engage your audience thoroughly and not waste precious seconds on "roadblocks." More after dinner speeches should be written this way!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Counting to three is a joke. Really. When kids hear you count to three, they, naturally, watch to see what comes afterwards. DUHHHH--We bozo adults are then left to find some nebulous consequence. This is such a dumb thing to instigate. So, why is it that we all do it? --All of us! All the time!!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This was based on our neighbours in Lynn Lake, who had an elaborate train set in their basement. When I saw it, I thought it belonged to their eldest son, but was surprised to discover that it was the dad who had set it up. This was long before my husband built a model train you could actually ride on! What is it with trains, anyway?

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I had fun showing a family of Japanese descent serving Tacos for dinner. This is part of the fun of living in a country where culture and cuisine are shared easily and often.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I once asked a friend to stay for dinner without asking my mother first. I didn't know that we only had enough food for the four in our family. Not wanting to be rude to my friend, Mom agreed to set another place at the table, but she had to fry bread with the potatoes, then cut the meat up into small pieces and mix it with the gravy in order to accommodate an extra person. Later, she explained to me that we weren't always able to feed others, and I was never to ask if I could stay at someone else's house for dinner. Even if I was invited, she cautioned me to be aware that the other family might have not have as much as we had.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Lynn's Comments: During the 50s, bubble gum cost two cents a piece. Two pieces would fill your mouth with a perfect wad--the best for blowing bubbles. We kids would go to the corner store, pool our money, and buy the two pieces. Then, we would share the gum! The wad had to go from mouth to mouth in good time so that the flavour was enjoyed by all. Sometimes, as many as four kids would share. We'd all see who could blow the biggest bubble. It got in our hair, on our clothes, and our mouths would sport a dirty, sticky circle of gunge as we blew and popped and blew again.

AAAAUGH! I can't believe I told you that!

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I will soon be going to my high school reunion. We were a close-knit bunch, and several dedicated organizers make it possible for us to have a reunion every five years. It's great to see everyone once more. We all talk openly about how we teased each other, and how mean we sometimes were.

As kids growing up in "wartime housing" during the 50s, we all thought other families were better off than we were. Last reunion, in a moment of wine-fuelled honesty, I told my friend Ruby that I had been especially nice to her when I discovered she had a television set. At the time, few families could afford to buy a television and I told her how jealous I was. I said, "You were the envy of every kid from Fifth Street to Eighth!" Ruby smiled and said, "Lynn, my dad worked in a furniture store and the owner allowed him to borrow a television from time to time because he was such a good employee. We didn't own a television either!"

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Living in North Vancouver meant putting up with wet and cloudy weather. As soon as a sunny day arrived, Mom would shove us outside and leave us there. Sometimes we found amazing things to do and didn't want to go back inside until the sun went down. And, sometimes we felt as though we had been banished forever. If I send myself back in time and imagine that I'm six years old sitting on our front porch waiting to be allowed back in, I feel--hungry. In order to keep us out of her hair, maybe Mom should have fed us first.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Lynn's Comments: For years, the lot next door to our house on Fifth Street was empty. Then it was sold and the new house seemed to take forever to be built. During the time of construction, my mom railed at the dirt, the plaster, and all the dangerous materials that were left lying about on the property. We kids had a wonderful time playing in the sand, jumping on the plywood and piling up the bricks. I clearly remember sitting on my knees shaping plaster and dirt into patties, and then tasting them to see if they had turned into cookies. I was convinced they were the real thing!