It Must Be Nice to Be Little: Browse The Strips

Friday, September 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I did not feel guilty for leaving Aaron at the Dundas daycare centre. Not until he was sick! Nothing makes you feel negligent and helpless like a call from the daycare to say your child is sick and calling for you. I was lucky to have an understanding boss. Looking at my reflection in the rear view mirror, I remember thinking- "To heck with all the powers they come up with in the comic books- a REAL superhero would be someone who could be in two places at once!"

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Dundas is a small suburb of Hamilton, Ontario where I lived for about 4 years. I would go to the Dundas Valley Journal and see if they needed any cartoons and, eventually, they bought a weekly panel from me for $10.00 apiece. Elly and her quest for a column in her local paper was based on this.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The Dundas Valley Journal was in a building on Main Street in Dundas Ontario. It consisted of a few cubicles, a couple of offices and a receptionist at the entrance. The receptionist had so many duties, you had to find her before you could ask to be allowed in!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This was a small town newspaper in every way; a great place to begin if you wanted to know- and to work in each facet of the business! The DVJ was a popular weekly rag, but despite strong local support, the publisher had a hard time staying in the black and white!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Having Elly do a regular column posed the question: "about what should she write?" Since she was an avid reader (with little time to read) a column about books and local library news would be right up her alley. This was also something I could easily research. I looked forward to talking to our library staff and finding out what THEIR jobs were like.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron was very much at home at the Dundas daycare center. As I said, I was grateful to what was then called "welfare" for helping me to keep my several jobs and be a mom at the same time. He was happy with the routine and when I came to get him, he often had to do "one more fing" before he was ready to go.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When The Dundas Valley Journal accepted my first cartoons, I was thrilled. To see my work in print in a local paper was wonderful. For a while, I did this for free and it was one of the best learning experiences. I was working at a packaging company in town, freelancing for McMaster University as well as doing cartoons for the DVJ. As far as an education in graphic arts goes, this was a course well worth taking.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I don't know where this idea came from. Sometimes things just happened without a real memory or situation behind it. As Elly Patterson, I just supposed this would be a natural neighborly gesture and allowed my imagination to go from there.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My friend, Audrey, was as nonchalant as could be when it came to delivering her baby. It was her husband who panicked! When she said she thought it might be time to leave for the hospital, Mack ran out to the car with her overnight bag and almost forgot her. Then he backed into a post on the way out of the driveway. Audrey ended up driving to the hospital and checking herself in. We laughed when she said she'd told the orderly to put Mack in the wheelchair for the ride to the room!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Here is where my imagination took me for a ride. Running out of gas on the way to the hospital appealed to me. Typically, I had no idea what the outcome of my contrived situations would be, so this was like living through the real incident: "What happens now?"

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My first ex husband always wanted a Porsche. Although we never bought one (a house came first) we went often to look at them. It occurred to me at the time that this was not the kind of vehicle in which one could fit groceries, nor would I fit if I were 9 months pregnant. I was being practical... and Porsche and practical aren't usually found in the same sentence!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We didn't get a Porsche, but we did buy a second hand Volkswagen. This is an image reminiscent of a time when we crammed three chums in the back seat and went for a drive. Needless to say, it was a short one.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I was about to have Katie, it was important to spend as much time as I could with Aaron to reassure him that even though a new baby was coming, he was still the first, and was very special. I told him he would be a big brother, that he'd be the older one and be able to teach his new brother and sister all kinds of things. What he remembered most, however was that his friends said he might get presents!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I was introduced to the Lamaze method of childbirth when I worked at McMaster Medical Center. Dr. Murray Enkin was head of Obstetrics. He initiated practices which at the time were considered far too innovative! Murray believed childbirth was not an illness, that fathers should be allowed in the birthing room, and that midwives were a practical and welcome addition to his team. What was he thinking?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Star Wars (one of my all time favourite films) was a phenomenon when this strip was done. Every store carried something relating to this wonderful fantasy and Aaron was caught up in it, too. What he wanted was a pet and he said if we got one, he'd call it Luke Skywalker. To me, it sounded like a good name for a housefly!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When Katie was born, Aaron did ask why she was so small. Having just pushed her out of my nether regions and with walking and sitting still a quivering thought, I told him it was extremely good engineering and that was that. I don't think I gave a full explanation until he was much older!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Lynn's Comments: No matter what, your baby is the most beautiful thing on the planet. I remember looking at mine as soon as they were out of the chute and thinking "miracle!" Red, blotchy and crying, they are the culmination of 9 months of concern, protection, discomfort, worry and joy. They are also a grunt to produce. I often thought that if it was an easy process, we might not love them and want them as much as we do!

Friday, September 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did ask why we didn't have another baby and my explanation was that we had sold the crib. In a way it's true. If you have even the slightest positive thought about having another, you store the stuff. With this in mind, however, I have friends who kept everything "just in case" and are now offering cribs and jolly jumpers to their married, adult children!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It amazes me still to think that after the hard work and "discomfort" of giving birth, we go back and do it again! My friends and I supported each other afterwards. We discussed episiotomies, backaches, lack of sleep, lactation, depression and so forth. One topic was brought up again and again: would there be more children in the world if the men produced the babies and the women puffed cigars?!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: In the 80's there was still an "attitude" about women working. "The little lady" was a secretary or receptionist and the more responsible positions went to the "tough broads." Even though attitudes had relaxed and most men accepted and encouraged women in the workforce it was not uncommon to find serious discrimination. We're still fighting this. Despite a change in the "fibre of society", we're not out of the woods yet!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I was so excited when I first saw my work in print I didn't know how to channel my energy. I danced around the house. I read my work in the paper over and over again. It was hard to believe what I was seeing, even though I had worked so hard to get there.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Some of my childhood friends were only children. They often told me how lucky I was to have a brother. From my standpoint, I'd have gladly traded places with them - or exchanged my brother for something more practical, like a bike or a movie projector. The only time Alan and I really got along was in the face of a common enemy. We might have belted each other about, but we always came to each other's defence.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My kids regularly invited friends in for dinner- and THEN told me we were having guests. My lectures about proper household etiquette included the rule: "Ask first before inviting someone for dinner" but they knew I would always have enough food to serve and an extra kid at the table was always welcome.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is an example of how to fill the audience in on a lot of information with one strip. If I didn't have time to show the audience what had transpired, I could trust one of the characters to "tell all" in a sequence like this.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The MaGoon family did live on McVeigh Avenue in Lynn Lake. The funny part of this strip was that their dog was the size of a chipmunk and sounded like a squeaky toy, no matter how furious he was!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: One of my childhood neighbours had a dog that was specifically trained to defend his owners. The result was that their young daughter would march down the road, dog in tow, and insult us all - knowing that we'd be unable to touch her. She was particularly mean and so was the dog. Eventually this family moved, but even with them gone, we kids were very nervous around large dogs for a long time to come.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As a new single mother, with nobody around to give me advice, I often turned to the one instruction manual I was familiar with: "How to Train Your Puppy". This booklet got us through much of Aaron's toddlerhood and I don't think it warped his psyche too much. He grew up to be a fairly normal adult... he still does, however, stop and point when he sees ducks.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron seemed to roll in dirt. I would send him out clean and tidy and in seconds, he would return with sand in his hair, stains on his shirt and knees the colour of swamp crud. We didn't have a dog at the time, but with a son who brought in as much dust as Aaron did, we didn't NEED one!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: ET was the best thing to happen to the movies. Kids loved this fantasy character. Everything about this story was wholesome and positive and with the new technology of video tape, my kids watched it over and over again.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Katie learned how to press Aaron's buttons long before she could speak. With subtle looks, sarcastic expressions and covert sabotage, she kept him on his toes. One thing she could do was cry on demand. This gave her a distinct advantage. Who could resist the tears of a sweet innocent when a fight broke out? Aaron's friends were his greatest allies. Nobody can figure out little kids... like another little kid!