Lynn's Comments: This strip became the title of one of the annual collection books. Finding a title was often the hardest part of putting a book together. I always tried to find the title in the text of the strips that appeared in that book.
Lynn's Comments: Baby April was so much fun to work with. I have always thanked my friend Cathy Guisewite for suggesting that I create her! That sounds strange, doesn't it.
Lynn's Comments: This reminds me of a story. My friend Mike Peters, who does the wonderful comic strip "Mother Goose and Grimm," told me that his daughter once left her lunch at home and he decided to take it to the school himself. Knowing she'd be thoroughly embarrassed to see him at the door of her classroom with her lunch in hand...he dressed as Superman. He burst into her class holding out the lunch, cape flying, and shouting, "Superman to the rescue!!" She was speechless...and will tell you today that it was one of the craziest things that had ever happened to her. Needless to say, his daughter never forgot her lunch again!
Lynn's Comments: I loved working with Miss Edwards. She allowed me to pontificate on issues I thought were important...without everyone thinking it was me!
Lynn's Comments: I clearly remember sucking my thumb. I think I did this until I was in grade one. I remember the feel and the taste and the comfort. The good thing about thumbs (I thought at the time) is that they are permanently attached and always available.
Lynn's Comments: This punchline comes from my own childhood. My dad was a great pal to my brother and I when we were young. He'd play outside, letting us ride on his back, swinging us around and showing us how to make horns out of dandelion stems. Inside, he'd play board games and sing children's songs, strumming the chords on his guitar. He was a big kid at heart! When we grew too old for these things, he was a bit lost—he couldn't quite believe we had outgrown the things he so enjoyed. I remember the little kids in the neighbourhood coming to the front door and asking, "Can Mr. Ridgway come out to play?"
Lynn's Comments: Every Christmas I write a newsletter to my friends and family about stuff we've done over the past 12 months. For this I rely heavily on my old paper calendars, and I've kept them for years. Each one is like a diary—a record of our lives.
Lynn's Comments: I couldn't resist this punch line. Word play made my strip almost impossible to translate into other languages. Foreign papers either had to make a direct translation or change the dialogue completely! The best translators were often cartoonists themselves!
Lynn's Comments: Friends of mine, who had little girls, would give me the fancy dresses their kids had grown out of. I'd look after them and pass them on. These lovely dresses never wore out they just went to the next baby who fit into them. Some of these fancy duds must still be in circulation!