Keep the Home Fries Burning: Browse The Strips

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Lynn's Comments: These ornate dolls were based on a collection in Louise Masuda's house. Children in Japan often receive these lovely figures as gifts. They form a large retinue of characters with different levels of importance, so after many years, you can have a sizeable number--arranged in order of their station. They are heirlooms not toys, and eventually a showcase is needed to display them in. I thought this was a wonderful idea and so I included them here.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: After this strip ran, I had all kinds of letters from folks with similar backgrounds wondering where our family had originated and if there was any connection. I wished at the time we could have met some long-lost cousins, but sadly, that didn't happen.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I never looked forward to phys ed, and as soon as I could, I dropped it in favour of--well, anything else! This series was done for the teachers who loved to watch us tail-draggers squirm! In their defense, they kept us in the best shape we'd ever been in.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Lynn's Comments: In junior high, our teacher used to cut things so short we had no time to change before our next class. Her rule was, we HAD to shower. She'd watch us as we scrambled, slipped, and slid through the water and into our clothes--barking at those of us who tried to get away with not taking off our underwear. Some of us wondered if she was "unusual" or just plain mean!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I did get complaints about this one. People said I was stereotyping Asians as being intellectuals. Ironically, none of the complaints came from Asians.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Katie asked to have her ears pierced as soon as she saw other little girls with earrings. We said she could have pierced ears for her fifth birthday. We took her to the local jewellery store, and she was almost too excited to sit still; however, she didn't expect piercing to hurt so much and refused to get the second one done. It took a while to make a decision: Either take the one out or have the second earring put in. She decided to go ahead with the second one--as long as her brother couldn't watch!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I first started to "notice" boys when I was in 3rd grade. I had a real crush on Jimmy Thompson--he lived near me, and I'd walk home from school with him whenever I could. One day I told him a story about my grandfather (my dad's dad) and how he had been in a terrible accident at the shipyards, where he worked in Collingwood, Ontario. I said his head had been crushed and he had a metal plate put in where his skull had been removed. I said you could attach stuff to his head with magnets, and this got Jimmy's attention. He walked home with me--straight to my house where he demanded to see my mother. He said I'd been lying to him, and when he told her my story, she said, "you know, Jimmy, it's actually quite true." He was duly impressed and agreed to be my friend. I had learned that a good story was a great way to get attention--and I also learned that (for the most part) it had to be true!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Until perhaps grade 4, I believed in witches. I had seen "Sleeping Beauty," and the evil stepmother haunted my dreams. One night, I had a particularly vivid dream, in which I was being chased by a horrible witch. I climbed up a tree, but she was right behind me. As I climbed higher, the branches became thinner and thinner until I was stuck with nowhere to go. I looked down at the witch and said, "OK, do whatever you're gonna do. I don't care." As soon as I said that, she climbed back down the tree and ran off. I was never bothered by witches again! Guess you really do have to confront your demons.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Every time I did a Halloween strip, I based my ideas on what I remembered as a kid. Nobody bought costumes then--the kinds of disposable, commercial costumes just weren't available. Our get-ups were entirely original. I wonder how many folks still make their own stuff?

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The Barnstorf family lived across the street from us in Lynn Lake. Aaron and their youngest son, Roy, were great pals--always on the go, always getting into something. One would spur the other on, and although they could be troublesome, they never really got into trouble. The Barnstorfs' dog, Lady, was a wide, placid, and friendly English Springer Spaniel. She would put up with just about anything. One day, I went out to look for the boys and I heard the "Rmmmm-rummmm, neeeerooowwwww" sounds kids make when they're pretending to ride a motor bike. Around the side of the house, Aaron watched, waiting his turn--while Roy, standing astride Lady, loosely twisted her ears as if they were handles. Leaning forward like a racer, he drove Lady down an imaginary speedway, changing gears, changing lanes; you could almost see the wind whipping up their hair. Lady was expressionless, moving side to side, as if she were a hot machine and part of an improv comedy skit. I admonished both boys for teasing the dog, but inside, I laughed and looked forward to someday putting this scene into the strip.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: One of my better one-liners. When something like this hit my head, the whole week was in the bag! Coming up with a decent ending to each 4-panel strip wasn't easy, so one good one made the rest of the strips look good, too.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Here's where the "soap opera" comes into FBorFW. There had to be some romantic conflict in the story, so when Connie moved away, I enjoyed exploring some of the "what-ifs." Would people like John and Ted meet and talk like this in real life? Maybe not. Still, it was a way to answer some of the questions a sympathetic fly on the wall might ask: What if Ted felt badly? What if he realized his mistake? Exploring questions like these gave me the incentive to produce and to stay on deadline.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was a kid, my friends would come to my house to talk to my mother. She and I didn't always see eye to eye, so it surprised me when my friends considered her advice worth seeking. I accepted her relationship with them with admiration and jealousy: admiration for her, jealousy because I couldn't confide in her the way they did.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My dad made us a leaf press and we used it a lot. After we left home, my mom continued to use it for the 4-leaf clovers she found. She would place the dried leaves between two sheets of sticky acetate and laminate them; then she'd put them into cards and letters--sending a bit of luck along with her regards. To this day, I have a box of her 4-leaf clovers. They are too precious now to send.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My friend Carolyn Sadowska (a professional comedienne who's known for her comic impressions of Her Majesty the Queen) and coincidentally Aaron's Grade 1 Teacher once told me that our monarch ate bacon with her fingers, which would render this approved mealtime etiquette. I wondered, then, how she would tackle a cob of corn. Food for thought.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mom could make a casserole out of anything. In turn, I too have no fear of this classic leftover surprise. My friend Kelly once told me that her husband refused to eat leftovers. I asked if she had offered them to him in a casserole. She said, "No, because he'd find out." "What do you think quiche and stir fry and pizza and soup are made of?" I argued. "Bits of stuff from the refrigerator, cut up and fashioned into something ELSE!" She said she hadn't thought of that, and we set about making a great pot of soup out of what was left in her fridge. It was a delicious brew, and her husband ate it with relish (and buns). When he was done, he asked her how she'd made it, and she replied, "soup mix," referring to a mix of stuff from the refrigerator. "Good," he said, "as long as it's not made from leftovers."

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: One of the best costumes my folks ever made for my brother was "the mad scientist." It consisted of a lab coat, an Einstein-style wig, a black moustache, pipe, and granny glasses. In the pockets of the coat Dad had placed severed fingers, a tube of fake blood, and a stethoscope. The bag Al carried was covered in mathematical formulae--a real nod to Dad's ability to do research. I don't recall what I wore that year, so--Al was a hit and I was a miss.