Is This One of Those Days Daddy: Browse The Strips

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Part of the fun of drawing Farley is the dirt, the sound effects and the facial expressions. Humans have to be kept believably human, to some extent- especially in a strip that is supposedly realistic...but I could always push the limits when it came to pets. I doubt that a dog would see a pumpkin as a threat unless it was on fire...but in this instance, a cartoon dog has a cartoon experience - and I had a laugh drawing it.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Lynn's Comments: My son, Aaron had a great cowboy costume- right down to the vest, chaps and 6-guns. He would get into this even if it wasn't Hallowe'en, bounce around the house as if he was on a horse and shoot everything in sight. We bought the hat, gun, Sheriff's star and plaid shirt in Winnipeg. I made the chaps, vest and neck scarf. He was just another kid until the outfit was on and then he turned into the wildest of the wild. This was his costume of choice until he grew out of it. This, too, I have preserved in an old trunk, waiting for someone else to make it come to life!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The town of Lynn Lake was so small, an older kid could successfully hit every single house on Hallowe'en - as long as the frost didn't get him. Our place on Elgin Avenue was right in the middle. With a lane behind us and one of the busier streets in front, both our front and back doors were busy from about 4 in the afternoon until late at night. Some years, we might count as many as 180 trick or treaters and I remember dipping into our own kids' treat bags after we'd run out. Our favourite thing to give out was toothbrushes. One year, fearing we'd get egged for handing out something other than "treats" we decided to give the kids chocolate bars. Surprisingly, people were disappointed. Turned out the toothbrushes were something they all looked forward to! Just goes to prove- that on a night when witches, devils, and scary things roam....you never know what to expect!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Lynn's Comments: During the years when my children were very young, I did not have the option of going back to school, although I would have liked to. My life in a tiny remote mining town in northern Manitoba provided an education of another kind! The character "Elly" is not me. She is someone I MIGHT have been, given other circumstances. My real life wasn't nearly as plausible as Elly Patterson's. Putting myself in her position, I imagined what it would be like to have not accomplished my educational goals and in the soap opera of life, to be playing a minor supporting role. Aside from her identity as a loving, caring and competent mom, Elly was "Mrs. Doctor so and so"...and she wanted more.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I could have done a better job on this strip. The trick is to put an ironical twist into the dialogue which involves the reader. I missed the mark here, by not having Elly thinking in crass, basic and unacceptable terms- ie: "#@**!#*" and then ...dropping the punch line. At the time, I thought words like: "lousy, stupid, crummy" were enough to make the ending work- but they aren't basic enough! I needed some...well, garbage!! With luck I can help other writers improve their dialogue by pointing out my mistakes.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I do feel that a writer must also be an entertainer. This is why there is structure in a sentence, and cadence in dialogue. I soon discovered that poetry is an essential ingredient in writing- especially as it applies to comic strips wherein the reader has less than 30 seconds to visually ingest an idea. Any "speed bump" in the writing has to be smoothed out. If the punch line here was, for example; "Let me think, now.....when did we decide to get a dog?" the cadence would be interrupted and the last line less effective.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Few women have the luxury of combining a satisfying career with being a "stay at home mom". I have never taken this blessing for granted. I have, however always been disappointed that I never finished my education past high school. With Elly Patterson in mind, I imagined how she would feel, trying to pick up where she left off, trying to achieve her degree in English and then wondering... "What now?" What do you do with a potential career now that you've got young children to raise? Raising children is the most important career of all....but for some of us...it's just not enough.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The patient in this strip was our dear friend, George Fast. He and his wife Sigrid were our curling partners and we spent some wonderful times together. I often poked fun at friends by putting them in the strip. Sadly, George passed away far too soon. Seeing this again has brought back some great memories.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Dr. Patterson's receptionist has been based on a number of people over the years, but at this time, she was our friend, Ann-Margret Plummer. Her husband managed the mine and I think she managed everything else! Efficient, sweet natured, honest and fair, we relied on her for everything from book keeping to bringing home the bacon. Years later, we remain great friends and see each other as often as possible.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Lynn's Comments: My kids were born almost 5 years apart. When you have a little kid - one you can pick up and cart around...and one the size of a St. Bernard, the littlest always seems to get the most affection. Older kids sort of shrug off the hugs and wriggle out of cuddles, but they need them nonetheless. I guess the love wasn't being distributed evenly when Aaron asked this question and it really hit home. I put Katie down and gave him the biggest cuddle right then and there. A lesson well learned. He's almost 40, now and still not too big to hug!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Lynn's Comments: In Lynn Lake, all the kids played hockey. I was surprised when Aaron declared his interest in joining the juniors - he had never been interested in sports before. Because there were no sporting goods shops, we all relied on hand me downs and the Sears catalogue. The sports exchange happened in the church basement; you could tell it was happening as soon as you went in the door - just by the smell. Everyone was keen to get there early for the best pickings and if you were lucky, you could make a deal with a neighbor before the season began.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Lynn's Comments: My husband wasn't a hockey fan. He'd been a figure skater though and believed the exercise would be a good thing. Despite the availability of second hand gear, equipping a kid with uniform, gloves, padding and skates was expensive. I wanted to make sure my son was going to enjoy the sport and stick with it for awhile. Aaron did play for a few years - until the coaches became serious and really wanted to win. This is when the good players get to play and the kids who are there for the fun of it get to sit on the sidelines.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Here is where I switched to another storyline. In order to keep the Connie and Ted arc going, I included this strip. I guess I should have stuck with hockey, but at the time I was into the politics of the game and not too keen on drawing the boys in the arena. What had happened was; Aaron had gone on a trip to the "playoffs" in Thompson. It was a long ride in a school bus and the team had to be billeted with families there. Because he was not one of the strongest players, he and several other boys sat on the side hardly getting to skate at all. When they returned one of the chaperones called to say that her son and Aaron had only skated for 30 seconds, during the whole time they were there! I was furious. I knew there was a tournament to win - but these were such young kids and such favouritism was so unfair. Together the other mother and I went to see the coach to find out, cordially, "what could be done". It was evident that the answer was "nothing". After that, our boys left the team, gave up their gear and skated for the fun of it. Parents worry about their kids getting hurt playing hockey. Not much is said about the emotional hurt of being left out of the game!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The story of Connie and her unhappy relationships, again, is my story. When I was single (the first time) I went through a few frustrating relationships. I had a wonderful friend, however - a woman I'd met at the university when I worked there as a medical artist. She was a bit younger than my mom and became my mentor and confidante. I was sitting in her kitchen after a particularly confusing date...wondering aloud if I should see this man again when Marjorie said; "you have to decide: ...are you in love or in need?" Good question. The answer hurt. I moved on.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lynn's Comments: In order to tie up the hockey scenario, I wrote this. Game over. Subject closed. There were no sidewalks in town and my kids never did roller skate. This is when the town of Milborough began to evolve. Lynn Lake, where we actually lived, was a northern mining town of about 1200 people. The next community of Leaf Rapids was 60 miles away and Thompson Manitoba was 300 miles of dirt road south from there. We were isolated. Our small Cessna aircraft was a regular every day vehicle as much as it was a luxury. We needed it for work: Rod went into the native communities one week out of every month and my work took me out of town quite often, too. We had a good airport, but the "sked" (scheduled flight) was expensive and often inconvenient. Not many people could relate to the actual life we lived, and so houses, streets, bridges, and the business district where "John Patterson" had his dental office began to take shape in my head .... and therefore, in "the strip".

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Lynn's Comments: If Katie had a tricycle, I don't remember it. The town was so small, there were few sidewalks and I wouldn't have let her go too far on her own. This is really an image from my own childhood. My brother had a tricycle to which he was welded. He was on it constantly and because we didn't own a car, mom trundled us to the corner store - she and I on foot with Alan on his trike. I remember having to wait for him as he sat and watched bugs on the sidewalk or stopped to check out a parked car. It was maddening. Likewise, he would pedal like crazy down the hills and we'd have to run after him. Balancing groceries and hollering at the top of her lungs, Mom would fly at breakneck speed down to the stop sign where she'd put herself between Alan and the busy intersection ahead. It wasn't until I had kids of my own that I realized how many times we'd put Mom's life in danger as she tried to protect ours!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Farley the dog - in real life - had come from champion stock and had a list of names a yard long (aside from the names I called him). For a while, my first spouse and I belonged to the Old English Sheepdog Owner's Association. We attended shows, meetings and picnics and I did the heading for the monthly newsletter. We thought about breeding Farley and happily chatted to members about all the caveats involved. He was a beauty. Unfortunately it was discovered that he had mild hip dysplasia and we had to make other plans. I often wonder how life would have changed had we become more involved with the serious business side of dog ownership!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Michael needed a love interest and so Deanna Sobinski appeared. She was blonde, sweet, slender and smart and not too interested in his goofy attempts to get her attention. Her first name came from my friend Nancy Lawn's daughter, Deanna - a playmate of Kate's... and the name Sobinski was from an art school friend - whose first name, sadly, I forget! I liked the sound of these two names together. It was never my intention to have this relationship be rekindled in later years!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I well remember how horrifying it was to reveal an elementary school crush. We would, of course, tell our best friends - who would then prove their loyalty (or not) by passing on the news. I don't think I was too upset when others found out who I liked...but I was always aware of those whose faces would go crimson, should the object of their affection be announced to a crowd. This was powerful ammo and could be used against an enemy just as easily as it was whispered to a friend. "I'll tell them you love GARRRRRYYYYY!!!!" could send a rival for the best seat in the theatre into a panic. The response of "NOOOOOO!" was like the winning chime on a slot machine and I'd wind up in the first row. I wasn't a mean kid, really ....just an observant one.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Lynn's Comments: We did have detentions in elementary school, although they weren't for long. Usually it was a talking to and perhaps a note to take home to Mom. We also got homework. It was never much more than to read ahead in our "reader" - and, yes, I'm talking about "Dick and Jane" (which was a painful bore to those of us who were into The Wizard of Oz and other more challenging books!) Being born a kid was something I thought about a lot. Adults often treated us as if we didn't understand or were "too young" for things like...good explanations to good questions. We quickly separated the dismissive grownups from the cool ones and for these, we'd do our best. Always. Many years later, when I had kids of my own, remembering what it was like to wish I was grown up helped me as a cartoonist - and made me a much better Mom.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Across the lane from us lived the Klotz family. Liz was one of the neighbors I often had coffee with. She and her husband Tony had 3 adopted kids and fostered others, so their house was a busy, welcome retreat from the studio. When I put their name on Mike's hockey jersey, I waited for them to see it in the paper - but others saw it first and called to tell Liz. She was delighted, but wondered if this meant that her husband's small auto repair shop now had to sponsor a local team! From Liz I leaned how to let the small stuff go, to let kids enjoy the freedom to play without noticing the mess of toys and clutter. When it was -40 degrees outside, our homes became playgrounds and trying to keep up with the chaos was nearly impossible. Every mom became a block parent as we took turns being hostess to visiting kids and a support system for each other.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Because we lived in such a bitter climate, warm clothing was a necessity. Gloves in particular had to be worn and accounted for. It didn't take long for hands and faces to freeze as kids forgot the temperature when they played outside. My mom-in-law, Ruth, kept a supply of extra gloves and I did too. Kids who were not wearing gloves, for some reason, would go home with a warm pair from our house. We lived halfway between the school and the end of town, so ours was the bathroom and the warming post for kids who needed to stop on the way home. I well remember trying to stuff rubbery, limp little fingers into tight gloves and from this I think the mitten was invented!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Watching junior hockey was fun. These little players went as fast as they could with as much determination and energy as an NHL champ, undeterred by their wobbly legs and restricting gear. Close to the ice, they fell and landed in furious heaps, unscathed and ready to go for a goal. All around us, parents who were bent on winning shouted advice and admonishments in a roar that would wake the dead. The rink was a frigid metal building. The small row of heating elements above the bleachers did little more than keep us from freezing to our seats, but the energy kept us cheering for all the kids. Being a team would have to wait until they could manage to get from one end of the rink to the other without falling or forgetting what position they were meant to play. This is when hockey was fun and the kids came home exhausted and filled with pride for having done their very best.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The Hudson's Bay store in Lynn Lake carried everything. In order to get to the grocery section, you had to go past the clothing and the toys - which were a magnet. Standing at the same height as the display shelves, Aaron would be nose to nose with a car or an action figure and his pleadings encouraged Kate to whine for a present as well. It was therefore a planned purchase dependent on the behavior of the supplicants and, much as I hate to admit it - a genuine bribe. "If you're not good, then, no toy!" Fortunately, at this age the value of the reward was not as important as the acquisition of something new and I could get away with something small, cheap and disposable. I often wonder what bribes cost today!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Lynn's Comments: My parents-in-law lived an easy 10 minute walk away and were the reason I was willing to move to a remote mining town in Northern Manitoba. We shared Christmas, Ruth and I, by dividing up the chores and helping each other clean up afterwards. (Christmas is always fun for the family - as long as "SOMEONE" does all the work!) This vignette was a "Patterson" situation. In the strip, the two sets of grandparents lived far from the family so their visits meant juggling bed space and were a welcome adjustment. Having them come to stay meant I could focus on them and show the readers who they were and what their personalities were like. I was lucky. I dearly loved my in-laws and I miss them both very much.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Lynn's Comments: For children, the coming of Christmas is an endless wait. The ads, the lights and the music make them plead for the time to go faster. For mothers, there are never enough hours in the day. Living in a small, isolated community meant that we all knew and relied on each other for everything from babysitting to compassion to the proverbial cup of sugar. Without speaking, moms of toddlers knew from the angle of a smile or the nod of a head, how another mom's day was going. We shared, laughed with and supported each other as pageants, bake sales and community center events kept us thoroughly immersed in the holiday spirit. Christmas in Lynn Lake was as rich as any I have known - mostly because we were all so close. There was little class distinction here. Nobody was better than anybody else and if they thought they were, they became lonely pretty fast! Many of the down-to-earth punch lines in the strip came directly from the down-to-earth friends I had in Lynn Lake.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember my own Christmas pageants, but my kids remember theirs. Anything that required a script and stage was taken seriously in Lynn Lake, where entertainment was all home made. Costume sessions and rehearsals took place in private homes and the community centre would be packed as friends and family vied for the best seats in the house. Aaron played the part of a shepherd one year, dressed in his bathrobe and striped pajamas, and a reindeer the next. Being in front of an audience never fazed him and even without lines, he played his roles to the hilt. The elementary school teachers were full of ideas and had the courage to pull them off. Music was provided by Mr. Bergan's music group and the community choir. It's amazing to me now, to think about how the town would come together as one for these things, and the talent within our own crowd was amazing.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Again, the material that appeared in the strip was mostly made up. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to have a large, busy class of kids, all involved in putting on a play and one harried teacher in charge of everything. I could play the role of the teacher and also the kids and I tried to put myself into every possible scenario. Aaron's teachers were, again, part of our circle of friends. If I needed the inside scoop on anything, all I had to do was ask! If I wanted to know anything about pharmacy, I'd ask Bob at the drugstore. If I wanted to know anything about the workings of the corner store, "Fergy" Ferguson would be glad to oblige. I talked to the RCMP and to the pilots and to anyone whose career might possibly appear in the strip. Living in a small town meant ready access to wonderful resources, long before the internet made research so easy.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Aaron's remark that his teacher had "no sense of human" became the punch line for this strip. In reality, his teachers were the best, but like his mother, I'm afraid, he managed to push them to their limit. The thing about Aaron was that he was funny. Even if he was completely in the wrong he retained a certain aura of acceptance, and tales of what he had done lately were part of the staff room chatter. He enjoyed school and did well in the things he was interested in, but otherwise he daydreamed, fooled around and got into trouble. I could understand. This was the way I drifted through elementary school, too. The class clown who was constantly told how well I could do if I could only settle down and learn!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Knowing the teachers personally made parent-teacher interviews less stressful. Still, I always prepared myself for the same admonishments: Aaron was too easily distracted, he was too much of an entertainer, and in order to learn he had to be part of the audience. Math was never his favorite subject and I could sympathize there. His grandfather tried to give him remedial lessons, as did his grandma, who had been an elementary school teacher. Still, he found it hard to concentrate and would rebel. This had been my problem, too. At parent-teacher interviews, I knew that every time his teachers explained their concerns, it could easily have been my own teachers talking to my parents about me!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I had some wonderful, insightful and compassionate teachers. The dialogue you see here is almost word for word from a conversation I had with Mr. Stibbs in grade four. He told me that yes, he did pick on me and yes, he did single me out in the class - and that he did so because he knew I could do better. He explained that it took a lot of his time and energy to put me in my place and he did so because I was worth it. I think he was the first to put a harness on the unruly kid that I was and he did so by letting me know - in a strict but very fair way, that he had respect for my intelligence and therefore so should I.