Category Archives: Uncategorized

Friday, May 8, 2015

Lynn's Comments: One of the best Mother's Day gifts I ever received was a small, round plaster "pancake" into which my son, Aaron, had pressed his hand. This was the brainchild of his kindergarten teacher. On the card that came with it was written, "This is the hand you held when I was five." It was a precious, wonderful keepsake, which was, sadly lost when we moved to North Bay from Lynn Lake. When my daughter's two children were babies, she pressed their hands and feet into similar pads of clay. I hope she keeps them in a safer spot than I did!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Although I never saw my children trying to eat from a bowl like a dog, it was something I tried to do myself. The weird thing about this confession is that I was in my twenties when I did it!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This isn't so much a scene from my son's adolescence, but my own. My parents both worked at our jewellery store and would be home around 6:00 pm. I was supposed to have the dinner on by the time they arrived--everything was set out for me and easy instructions were left on the counter. Even so, I thought it as the biggest imposition in the world; unfair, because my younger brother didn't have to do ANYTHING! Eventually, I started to have some pride in the fact that I could cook! This gave me some real confidence, since many of my friends couldn't even make a sandwich.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My mom (who was good at business and bookkeeping) tried repeatedly to explain simple math to me. I was never able to get it. Years later, my husband, who was also frustrated by my aversion to math said, "The reason you don't like numbers is because they make SENSE!!!" At the time, I was making a good living, daydreaming and making stuff up, so I took this as a compliment!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I have always loved making up names on things like cereal boxes. In art school, one of the things we had to do for commercial design was to come up with an entire cereal box--from the size to the ingredients to the illustration on the cover. This meant we had to figure out how much space we needed for type (in two official languages): brand name, logos, contents, weight, nutritional value, and directions. Packaging is a whole industry of its own, so this was a really good exercise. The cereal I came up with was "Sugar Soggs." The art showed a kid eating some gruesome candy-coated gruel. It was okay, but the best design was done by one of the guys in the class; he called his cereal "Uncle Brian's Grumpies." On the cover was a grimacing caricature of the instructor, whose name was Brian, and the ingredients he made up were hilarious. In terms of funny, he had me beat by a mile. Neither of us got a good mark because we hadn't taken the project seriously. It seemed to us that despite the prof's objections, cartoons do sell!

Later, when I worked for Standard Engravers, a packaging firm in Hamilton, Ontario, I was given the opportunity to design a giveaway on a cereal box. I thought this would be neat, until I was given a space about 2 inches square on the bottom right corner. This was a real challenge--and that's good. If you give a cartoonist or graphic artist a blank page and say "draw something," they have to think for a while. Give them a tiny, awkward space, and suddenly the ideas come out of the blue. A great example of this is Sergio Aragones' "marginals"--the tiny cartoons that tumble around the page borders in Mad magazine. When he suggested he be hired to do these, he was told that he'd run out of ideas. Some 45 years later, he's still producing them, and each one is wonderfully different.

For the small corner space on the cereal box, I designed finger puppets, pencil toppers, decals, and "spinners" (a top made from paper). It was fun. I thought this could be a surprisingly satisfying career, but things went in other directions. I still get to work on cereal boxes but in a different way!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I wanted Brian to be someone who felt a bit alienated by his intelligence. He would rather work on a school project than join in team sports or hang out at the corner with"the guys." Gordon was on the "outside"because he was mechanical. Academic subjects were a waste of time for someone who preferred to be under a car or taking apart a machine in his mother's kitchen. Michael was frustrated by his inability to concentrate. Even though he was a bright kid, he never achieved top marks in class--he was a dreamer! These three boys all felt inadequate for different reasons, and yet, they all had something in common: they lived in the same neighbourhood, and they got along with each other. Friendship ultimately overshadowed their differences.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I was so happy while drawing this. A good gag gave me great expressions to work with as I built up to the punch line. Not only did I enjoy the process here, but I was getting back at my mother and all the teachers who told me to "get down to business and hit the books." This strip was a cleansing experience.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Around this time, we did have a ceiling redone, and I marvelled at the artistry our man of the plaster was capable of. He had been doing this for over 30 years, and it was wonderful to watch him work. I have often admired the ease by which people pour cement, for example, or frame a window: cutting the wood to perfect lengths and fitting it into place with precision. So often we dismiss talent like this, but just try to do it yourself! It won't take long before you're wishing you'd made the right decision and called the guy with the skill!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Aaron once actually climbed into a suitcase and asked my mom to take him to Vancouver with her. It was funny, and became a kind of game. Old suitcases, destined for the "nuisance grounds," were perfect to play with. He and his friends would slug each other around in a suitcase until the handles broke. This was before the advent of wheels--an excellent addition to unwieldy bags. Another example of obvious inventions--Why didn't I think of that?!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I am someone who procrastinates until stuff HAS to be done. In order to force myself to do ironing, say, I give myself a deadline--I have learned from the strip that deadlines provide the pressure I need to produce. I'll invite friends for dinner at 6:00 on Saturday, for example, so I'll definitely have the kitchen clean by the time they get here. I'll promise someone an article of clothing, and then I HAVE to go through my closet. I'll have a garden party to force myself to weed my garden, and on it goes. This strip was done when I was in a panic. I had procrastinated for so long that I was late; my editor expected to get this strip several days beforehand, and if I didn't get it done ASAP, I'd be fined for missing my deadline. I wondered what in the world I would do for this Sunday page--and it hit me! Why not write about procrastination!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I never went shopping with my husband; having a man wait patiently, or impatiently, while I peruse a dress shop would be horrible! I would have to rush, which would take away from the true shopping experience. Whenever I see some sad chap sitting uncomfortably outside the change room in some frou-frou boutique, my heart goes out to him. I want to say, "Get off your duff, go do something YOU want to do, and meet her somewhere else!" This strip was done in solidarity with those who shop and those who wait.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Having someone new come into a family is an enormous adjustment. Aaron and I had been a team before I married Rod--and even though Rod adopted Aaron and gave him his last name, their personalities were never really compatible. I wanted Lawrence and Connie's story to be a happy one--one in which everyone adapted and the relationships worked. Having this kind of control over their lives was like playing God!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This is something that didn't happen but should have. Brought up in the Anglican Church, I endured countless hours sitting through painfully dull sermons and kneeling as the litany droned on. I would have given anything to see a kid launch a toy down the aisle--and I'm sure the adults would have appreciated it, too!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My dad always had beautiful window displays in his jewellery shop. The front windows were small, so we could really go to town--especially at Christmas. We couldn't afford new things, so we made do with wedding dresses from the Salvation Army for the snow, last year's Christmas cards for sparkles, and tinsel from our own tree. Mom found and painted tiny branches. She cut elaborate snowflakes from tissue paper saved from gifts and shoe boxes--and I have to say those windows were spectacular. Eaton's and the Hudson Bay stores in Vancouver had nothing on us. Folks would bring their kids by dad's shop windows just to see what we'd done that year, and if we were lucky, they'd come in and buy a gift or two. Interestingly, that wasn't the goal. We all loved the challenge of making that display the best it could possibly be.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Nope. Nobody in our family ever made a talking head on a table as a Halloween costume. This was another descent into the "writer's mind" where silly ideas lie. The prospect of sustaining such a monstrosity made me think about how a small group of boys would treat their experimental pal; whatever they did, it would be messy!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm) tells a story about how upset his girls would get if he embarrassed them in public. Now, Mike just can't help himself--he's a wonderfully theatrical guy with a prankster's edge. When one of his girls left her school lunch at home, he delivered it in person by leaping into her classroom dressed as Superman. This strip reminds me of that day, and how Marci still winces when she thinks of her dad in that costume.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When my brother was moved to his new bedroom in the basement, I thought I'd love having a room to myself. My mother replaced the kiddie curtains with flowered drapes and made a bedspread to match. I had a new dressing table and a white headboard for my bed. It was a room to be proud of. Still, when the trees outside whistled in the wind and their branches made stark, skeletal patterns on the walls, I'd lie there, terrified. Now that I was alone, spooks, goblins, and other imaginary evils were coming nightly to "get me." During one very bad storm, my mother got out of bed to see if I was all right. As she opened the door to my room, lightning shook the house, and the flash turned my mother into a silhouette shrouded in a glowing, transparent gown. I screamed as hard as I could! She never did understand why I was so frightened by her--I couldn't explain what I'd seen. It was something I couldn't describe. This is the way I remember that evening.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Lynn's Comments: One of my husband's favourite sayings--when he was facing a seemingly impossible task was, "Details! details!"--meaning that anything can be done. This was a family inside joke, which the kids really enjoyed.

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.