Category Archives: Uncategorized

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Lynn's Comments: People in rural areas watched this series closely--to see if I'd "get it right". I soon got letters telling me that the bailing twine was going the wrong way in this illustration! No matter what you THINK you know, it's best to check your references!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Two prominent features of the prairies are the endless flat spaces and long, straight roads. A city person might wonder why cars and trucks cruise these roads at a snail's pace, but it's all part of the job. Farmers like to drive slowly and do their "crop-watching," while searching the horizon for rain. It often seemed that crop watching was more important than getting to where you were actually planning to go!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes a friend would tell me something that was so perfect for a comic strip that I couldn't wait to go home and draw it up. My friend, Loretta, was a wonderful cook. She often had friends over for dinner and was always well prepared ahead of time. In our small northern town, certain fruits and vegetables were hard to come by, so when a shipment of fresh food arrived, we all got into cooking mode.

Loretta had filled her fridge in preparation for a neighbourhood get-together but had forgotten to remind her family that the food was for company. By the time she discovered their scavenging, it was too late to replace the groceries. When she told me what had happened, I remember laughing so hard that I couldn't catch my breath. A few weeks later ... the same thing happened at MY place!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When this strip was released, I received a number of letters from women, mostly, saying that they too wanted bathtub faucets you could turn off with your feet. Whenever I travelled, people would comment on strips like this one and they would immediately start to tell me some intimate truth, some personal thing you would never tell a stranger! I heard about people's sleep habits, their food preferences, their parenting tips, their illnesses. They told me other things, too; about their fears and failures, their marriages, divorces, and family backgrounds. It was as if I had become a familiar friend who would always listen, be supportive, caring, and discreet. This kind of trust is something I will always cherish--it's the best part of having done a family's story with a bitter-sweet style.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Lynn's Comments: My dad built a go-kart for my brother and me out of roller skates, a long board, and a butter box. It was more like a scooter, but it went fast and we were the envy of the neighbourhood.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Lynn's Comments: After Aaron was "taken" by big kids on the school bus who promised to pay him later, we ended up buying all of the chocolate bars ourselves. I put them in the freezer, I gave them away and I ate them. The next time there was a drive, I asked if we could just contribute directly to the school.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The number of times we were faced with the daunting task of selling chocolate bars door-to-door was absurd. This subject brought in a lot of mail. Some folks sold them at work, but for us a dental clinic was not the place to fundraise with candy!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This strip has a bit of a story behind it. I was travelling quite a bit for work and was often waiting to board a plane somewhere. I was en route to New York and sitting in the lounge were all kinds of folks heading to meetings and events and so on. Our flight had been delayed. Some were late for connecting flights, some were unable to contact people who were meeting them. We were all getting frustrated and anxious. An hour went by with no information. Then another hour passed. Eventually we were all furious. The tension was awful ... but then a miracle occurred.

A man went completely berserk--he stood up, cursing the airline, and the attendants at the gate. He threw down his briefcase and stomped on it, shouting and waving his arms. He threatened to sue. He screamed obscenities. At that point, the rest of us relaxed. We all watched as someone else acted out our frustrations perfectly. As he ranted, we said to ourselves, "Yeah, that's right. That's exactly how I feel."

By the time the authorities came, the lounge was a quiet place full of calm people. It was instant stress relief. It occurred to me that I performed this same service for my family; the more irate I became about something, the less they cared about it!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Lynn's Comments: To end a dispute between Kate and Aaron, I did divide the kitchen table so that each child had their own side. I then divided the couch and Aaron himself divided the living room. This bit of biblical rectitude resulted in a deep interest in equality. Both kids then wanted to divide the house, the hallways, and the stairwell into "what's yours" and "what's mine".

The task was not a small one, but they were determined. It gave them something to do together and the price of a roll of masking tape was a small price to pay for silence. I decided to use this in a Sunday strip. The thought that they might even have tried to divide the dog had me smiling for days!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Atari and Pong were the two big video games of the day and my son, Aaron, played them endlessly. The beep, bop, zap sounds drove me crazy...but compared to the earth-shattering sound effects of today's offerings, these were musical interludes!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As a teenager, I often worked at Woodwards - a big department store in Vancouver. Every Christmas, at the last possible moment, anxious men would come into the store, desperately looking for "the right thing" for wives and girlfriends. Because my dad was a jeweller, I was most comfortable in the watch and jewellery department- which was the first place these crazed gents would go. Being a "shopper", I always looked around the store to see what perfect gifts I could find- for a mom or a girlfriend. I could always suggest something better than the fast "OK, that gew-gah looks good- I'll take it!" I was often given "time out" to take people to other departments where I'd point out a beautiful purse, glove and scarf set or unique linens or cookware. So many times, these men would return after Christmas and thank me for the ideas and it made me feel great! Who knew that in a few more decades, "professional shopper" would become a career!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is another glimpse from my childhood. My dad was the kind of guy who loved to build go-karts and tree houses and water slides on the lawn. Even though it wasn't cool to do stuff with your parents, a day with Dad always ended with a trophy of some kind: something built or found or eaten. When we weren't building stuff, we were hitting the dump or scrounging in the workshop and after that, we'd go to the Dairy Queen. The BIG cone cost a quarter and was almost too big to eat. It was when we had grown up a bit that we stopped hanging out with Dad. We'd give him excuses for why we weren't into making stuff or going out and it hurt him to see us change. I do remember him taking the neighbour's kid out for an ice cream cone and wondering, "Why isn't he taking me?" - knowing full well that I'd cut him out of my circle of friends. I just wanted him to be a dad. What I didn't know was that he was being a dad and - he was exceptional!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Kate and Aaron both slept with one stuffed toy. It was me who filled my bed with stuffed animals and slept around them when I was a kid. My favourite was a koala bear that my grandmother brought back from Tasmania for me. It was real kangaroo hide and I loved him until his fur was almost gone. My brother stole him away from me once, insisted on sleeping with him, and then wet his bed. Mom couldn't wash my koala because he was leather, so her advice was to let him sit on the windowsill and air out: "In time he will be less 'whiffy'" she said. But he stank for years, so "Whiffy" was what I called him. I still have old "Whiff" in my china cabinet. He's sweeter smelling, now, and still well loved.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We tried to prepare Aaron for the arrival of his new sibling by telling him his position in the family would be elevated to "Big Brother" status. This didn't go down nearly as well as the promise that when the new kid arrived, there'd be gifts for him, too!

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.

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.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Having Uncle Phil stay in the house while the Pattersons left for Vancouver meant that I didn't have to find a kennel for Farley (even cartoon dogs have to be taken care of) and I could place Phil and Connie in a much more compromising space. My readers smelled a rat. They were onto me; there was methane in the madness.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Every time my brother went off to do a show or escort a lady to dinner, I was a bit jealous, and very curious. If I had rented my garage to a stranger, I would have left well enough alone – but because this was my brother, I had to know what was going on and with whom he was going! He was pretty good-natured about my prying. I believed I was the one with no life and all the responsibility and there were times that he thought so, too.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My friend Adrienne went back to school when she was 30. She finished her grade 12 and went on to become a lab technician in the blood lab at McMaster University. She was a single mom with more courage and determination than most. She made me realize that you can do anything - at any age, if you really want to. With "Andie" in mind, I had Elly go back to school and take some of the courses she had missed.

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.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: After I was divorced for the first time (wow, I never thought I'd be saying something like that) I lived in my small house in Dundas, learning how to raise a baby on my own. Aaron and I survived on my freelance artwork until I got a job doing graphics for a packaging firm in Hamilton. Money was tight and when my brother said he was moving to town and wanted to stay with me, I saw it as an opportunity for companionship, some help around the house and perhaps some extra cash. Alan was and still is a professional musician - a trumpet player. At the time, he was looking for work as an electrician while he scoped out possibilities in the Ontario music scene. I figured it would be an interesting time - if we had grown past the need to bicker!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: During the 80's there was a Canadian television "reality" type show called "Thrill of a Lifetime". A young woman from Montreal had written to the producers to say that her thrill of a lifetime would to be to appear as a character in For Better or For Worse. I thought it was a fun idea and agreed to participate. The TV crew contacted me and asked if it would be possible for her to visit me at home and to watch me draw the comic strip in which she appeared. This was OK, too! Monique was a librarian, and so a scenario involving the local community library was concocted. Travelling all the way to Lynn Lake Manitoba was quite a hike from Montreal and when she arrived with camera crew in tow, she was exhausted, nervous and wired. She was to come to the door, wait for me to open it and then the two of us had to be surprised and happy to see each other. This we did many times! Finally, they allowed us to hug and laugh and enjoy the fun of connecting for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this sweet, enthusiastic young woman. With her ready smile, thick hair and glasses, she made a fine cartoon character! She stayed for the day, I drew the strip, we had dinner together and she left the following morning. We promised to keep in touch - which we did for awhile. I later met her for dinner in Montreal, but our time together was interrupted and I regret not being able to get to know her better. So, you have the real story behind this strip...and, Monique, if you're still in Montreal, I'd love to hear from you and find out what you've been doing after all these years!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The parents who screamed at their kids (as if, by merely making noise, they could influence a shot or even the outcome of a game) made our lives miserable. Some of these folks we knew. They were shopkeepers, community leaders, patients and acquaintances in town - so it was impossible to say anything harsh to them for fear of starting an incident in front of everyone else. These people became entirely different when they watched a game. It was as if this was their own private event onto which they projected everything from personal prowess to family pride. They shouted insults at their children, at other people's' children, at the coaches and at each other. And, for what?! I could never figure it out. In the end, the result was a sad and demoralized child and many frustrated parents. Rules of good sportsmanship aren't just for the players. They're for the audience as well!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I did this, Katie was well into the language learning curve and her baby talk was a lot of fun. For years, well after her move into adult vocabulary, we used her words ourselves, not wanting to lose the charm and the memory. "Blaffoon" was "bathroom", "puffermink" was "peppermint" and "bleffus" was "breakfast". These were all part of our vocabulary until she went to university! It was hard not to perpetuate the errors. Talking baby talk to our offspring was not our style, and yet we loved the sounds and the new words they invented as they learned how to communicate. It was interesting to see how a newfound ability with language made for nonstop talking. You can't wait for them to be able to tell you what they're thinking ... and, later - you're wishing they'd be QUIET!!! The dialogue in this strip went exactly as written, except that I kept the punch line to myself!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Lynn's Comments: When they were young like this, the kids never really got into the swing of New Year's Eve. Other than being able to dig into the dregs and leftovers from the night before, it was just another day. They would look about, wondering what was new? What was different about the first of January? For the adults, on the other hand - in a town where ANY reason to party meant a full house on a moment's notice - New Year's Eve was the night of nights. You needed no preparation, really. If you had heat, a working loo and some furniture you were golden. Food happened and beer was just a short walk away from the pharmacy. We raided each other's fridges and cooked on each other's stoves. We borrowed each other's music and made our own. We all knew each other so well, there wasn't the slow process of "getting things under way". We simply carried on from one get together to the next, bringing the gossip, gaffes and groceries with us. In the small mining town of Lynn Lake, New Year's Eve meant a great time would be had by all, and the change in the date meant we had all made it through another year - together. In a small town, family means "everyone".