April: Browse The Strips

Sunday September 25, 2022

Lynn's Comments: When I was about three years old, my aunt had given me a pair of very frilly under pants. The entire backside was ruffled, and I was thrilled with them. So much so that I went around the neighbourhood lifting my skirt to show them off. I didn't understand why my dad was so upset or why he made me come home and put on a pair of overalls.

Sunday October 30, 2022

Lynn's Comments: In Lynn Lake, Manitoba (where we lived for six years), there was a Halloween tradition called, "Trick or Drinking." Lynn Lake was a tiny town. You could walk from one end to the other in about half an hour, so you could visit a friend, drink your fill and not have to worry about driving home. "Trick or drinking" happened after the kids were done with their rounds and had gone to bed. It was a time for the grown-ups to have some fun by dressing up, going to a friend's house and demanding a drink. If the host couldn't figure out who you were, they still had to invite you in, give you a drink and then wait until the next morning to find out who had been in the house! One Halloween, a gorilla walked into our house and demanded a drink. I gave him a beer and watched as he worked it into his head. No matter what we said or how hard we tried, we couldn't determine the gorilla's identity. Around noon the next day, we found out it had been the bank manager—one of the shyest and most unlikely pranksters in town! This just goes to show you that a costume not only changes the way you look, but can change your personality as well.

Sunday November 6, 2022

Lynn's Comments: A neighbour in Lynn Lake used to take in foster children. She had just accepted a little boy who had been left in a backyard. His mother knew that the people who lived there would feed him. She had left him there before. Charlotte asked me if I wanted to see a truly malnourished baby. This little one had an enlarged tummy and all the features of a starving Third World child. She told me he had to have a cookie in each hand before he could go to sleep, and that he constantly hid food in his clothing, so she always had to check the pockets and cuffs of his pants. He hid food in his bedclothes and around the house. He was like a little squirrel: making sure he would have something to eat, making a cache, preparing for winter. With this in mind, I did this drawing...knowing that my own children were lucky to be safe and cared for and fed and loved.

Wednesday November 23, 2022

Lynn's Comments: "Because elephants have flat feet" was our standard answer when questions became too numerous and too silly. Eventually the kids asked about elephants and why DID they have flat feet? This meant researching elephants...and finding a new quip!

Sunday December 18, 2022

Lynn's Comments: This is another true story. My daughter was happy to deposit a donated gift on a table at the church but couldn't understand why it had to be left there. She wasn't the only kid to be taken away from the service in tears. It takes time to understand that it's better to give than to receive!