The Lives Behind the Lines: Browse The Strips

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Uncle Phil's relationship with Connie illustrated the single side of things and Connie's having a child nicely complicated everything. Naturally, Elly was intrigued by her brother's affairs. Because he was living in her home and dating her close friend she felt it was...let's say... "her responsibility" to find out what was going on. When my brother lived with me, however, I refused to ask him his personal life. I would wait until he confided in my other room mate, Fran...and worm the information out of her!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I was a single mom, I dated a man who sent my head spinning, then stopped the carousel, saying that because I was not of the same religion, I was not "forever". His family would never accept me and he was moving on. He was a serial "shiksa" man and I was number 61! In my machinations afterwards, I fantasized his return; his begging for forgiveness and his asking for another chance (fodder for a good song). This never happened to me...but in the strip, it happens to Connie. She readily accepts Phil's apology and for awhile their relationship goes on.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember being so distraught that I could break stuff. At the end of my rope, I'd scream and cry and flop down on the floor exhausted and empty and defeated. This was last week! Seriously, when you're too young to understand and too inexperienced to deal with life's situations, collapsing in tears is the only way to respond. We've all been there and despite the fact that you look like someone to avoid...this is usually the time when you need love and understanding more than anything else in the world!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Before my folks took over Shore's Jewellers in North Vancouver, my dad worked for the main store on Hastings Street. Every morning he'd walk to the bottom of Lonsdale and take the ferry into the city. Like clockwork, he'd come back on the return ferry at 5:30 and be home on the dot of 6:00pm. We knew exactly when he'd be home. Alan and I would wait like two giddy, wagging dogs, ready to pounce on him. His arrival was a big part of the family routine. It heralded a call to dinner, then (after homework) an evening of board games or TV. We'd watch something like "Gun Smoke" or "Walt Disney Presents" before going to bed. How lucky we were. I still remember the smell of my dad's raincoat as I buried my face in it. I remember being picked up so I could look directly into his eyes and thinking it must be wonderful to be so tall. I remember him kissing me and hugging me and swinging me around when he came home. When I drew this strip, I thought about how much I loved him and how love never runs out.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Lynn's Comments: In reality, Rod and I had a very different kind of wedding. It was his first; my second, and we both wanted a small, private ceremony. Neither Rod's nor my parents could attend, so our friend, Marjorie Baskin, suggested we use the living room in her house--as her husband, Rabbi Baskin, was going to do the honours. She made us a cake. My brother and a few good friends were there. It was a beautiful service--a combination of Christian and Jewish ritual, which concluded with the breaking of a wine glass. It was a sunny afternoon and friends were looking after Aaron who, at the age of two, was not likely to sit still. After a celebratory drink and a piece of Marge's cake we went to pick him up. Aaron wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew our lives had changed. I picked him up and as he gave me a hug, he said, "I've now got a mom and a Rod!" This, as much as the ceremony, made us a family!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My father loved to dance. He would pick me up and dance with me until I fell asleep in his arms. He could sing so well and knew the words to so many songs that he never seemed to run out of waltzes or shanties or tunes from the bar. I remember the swoop of his body as he waltzed to the "Blue Danube" with theatrical panache. He could two-step and tango and polka and jive, and I melted into his shoulder with the rhythm and the warmth of his style.

Last November, my daughter, Katie, and her husband, Lane, presented me with my first grandchild. Laura is now almost two years old, and she loves to dance with me. I hold her the way my father held me. I sing the same songs, and I move with the same style. I thank him again and again for this memory and a gift that I'm now passing on.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When the Smothers Brothers did that routine: "Mom liked you more than she liked me," it was no joke. Those of us who truly felt like the family disappointment saw this skit as confirmation that inequality was a reality for many kids. In our "British" family, boys were definitely preferred!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When they first came out, answering machines were a new toy for everyone. Some folks were horrified by the thought of leaving a recorded message, while others became instant hosts of their own daily show. I loved the way folks said, "Hi, I'm not here right now." -- as if they had gone to that place on "the other side." It was hard to record it right the first time, so I found saying repeatedly that I wasn't there depressing. Kids enjoyed the anonymity and entertained themselves by irritating anyone who had this device, but eventually we all became accustomed to and dependent on the answering machine. Now we're adapting to much more sophisticated toys!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Recently at a friend's house, my son picked up an old trumpet--and could actually play! I was surprised he remembered something from the lessons he took so long ago, and he was surprised as well. Guess he didn't hate practicing as much as he said he did.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Mrs. Baird was a background character who was meant to be put aside once Farley came into the family (her hobby was breeding Old English sheepdogs). To tie in with this, I also did a few strips about her being a friendly neighbour. I guess her short appearance struck a chord with some readers who asked to see her more often. In this Sunday page, I have her working in her greenhouse and talking to Michael--in a way that enabled me to say more about her personality and her past.

If Mrs. Baird was based on anyone at all, it would have been the ladies who lived across the street from us when I was growing up in North Vancouver. They were sisters, the "Miss Stewarts." They taught kindergarten and piano and were endlessly patient with me. I made a habit of going to their home uninvited and was rarely told that they had no time. When I needed an extra hug or another grown-up opinion, I headed for the Miss Stewarts' house and twisted the ringer on the front door to be let in.

Not long ago, I was in North Vancouver and I went for a nostalgic walk down Fifth Street. Their old wood frame house is still there, though mine is now a condo complex. A notice was on their fence to say the house and the one next door would soon be condos as well. I'm glad I got to see it one more time. There have been many unforgettable folks in my life, and these two ladies are certainly among them!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Doug and Ina Harrison lived on Trout Lake--about a mile down the road from us, close to my in-laws. Ruth and Ina were great friends. The Harrisons' dock was a favourite place for these ladies to sit and have tea, and our kids were welcome, too. Katie and Aaron spent hours on the Harrisons' dock, swimming and fishing, and enjoying the company of Doug and Ina, who became "adopted grandparents." This strip was to thank them for their kind generosity. I gave them the original.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Katie was starting grade two when we moved to North Bay. (The children in the strip were three years younger than Katie and Aaron). The little school she attended was about a mile and a half down the road, next to a hobby farm. At lunchtime she and the other children could watch the animals through the fence; a donkey, chickens, and some rabbits. On occasion, the farmer would take the kids for rides on his donkey, which I thought was charming. I said to her, "Katie isn't this a great place to have a school?! This is something you'll remember for the rest of your life!" and she replied, "Yeah, I will --'cause it stinks!"

Friday, September 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This strip received some nice mail. Folks expected to read a sarcastic punch line. Growing up in North Vancouver, we were always playing with and studying next to kids from China, Japan, and other Asian countries. In fact, it was hard to learn French as a second language when we were more familiar with Mandarin and Japanese. I wanted to draw an Asian family, and the Enjos stepped in.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The name "Enjo" was for my grade six home economics teacher. Miss Enjo was a sweet and lovely lady and must have been in her twenties at the time. My dad guessed that her last name had been longer and had been shortened when her family immigrated to Canada. The family I made up was based on the Masuda family--who had known my in-laws in Lynn Lake, Manitoba. They had also moved to North Bay, which was a nice coincidence: We had friends here to make us feel at home.

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.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This very situation brought my assisting career to an end. Dentistry is a fiddly business with many frustrating procedures. When my husband sharply asked for an instrument or for suction, I expected a polite "thanks" for my efforts, but he just carried on. His brusque manner wasn't personal--I just took it the wrong way!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Lynn's Comments: As a medical artist, I once had the privilege of working on a long and demanding project which tracked the development of the foetus. I worked with tiny, unborn bodies. I drew detailed illustrations showing how internal organs grew, expanded, displaced other organs, and eventually packed themselves neatly into the body and began to function. I learned minute details about the bowel, the heart, and the brain. I learned that each organ depended on the others to turn, close, twist, secrete or open at an exact time in an exact order, and if anything failed to do what it was supposed to do at the right time, then there might be a serious problem. Years later, when I gave birth to my first child, I couldn't believe how perfect he was. When you think about the infinite complexity of creation, it's a miracle that any of us comes through the process as "normal!"

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Lynn's Comments: If you don't have a dog, it's difficult to make jokes about stuff that dogs actually do. Little incidents like this one, taken from everyday life, inspired my imagination. Using this as material for the strip, saved my dog from woe.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I kept my father-in-law's hard hat for a long time after he died. It was so much a part of him. For many years, he was an important part of my life, and I felt it kept him close by as long as I had it. Strange how something cold, plastic, and ordinary can have so much meaning. Divorce estranged me from his sons and his daughter. I returned his hard hat to them before I moved from Ontario. This strip was to honour the memory of Tom Johnston. He was one of a kind.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When this strip ran, people all over the continent made paper hugs to send to loved ones all over the world. They sent me letters and photographs of the hugs they made and of the people who received them. This was a strip I didn't think was anything special. I never knew when a simple drawing I did might be seriously taken to heart.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When we moved to Lynn Lake, we took with us eight enormous reel-to-reel tapes of music especially chosen for the Dental clinic. The system we had was state of the art for the time, and we felt we had countless hours of enjoyable tunes, which would create a relaxing and pleasant ambience. After six months, we knew each piece by heart and could anticipate the song that would come next. Amazing what the human head can record, retain and regurgitate. Why is it that I can't remember a phone number or a password?

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My brother's anxious phone calls leading up to his wedding day, were hilarious. He wasn't unsure, he was just overwhelmed. Having been a musician all his life, he'd been a very independent guy. Marriage was going to change everything!