Elly: Browse The Strips

Friday, February 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: We gave Aaron a key to the house, hoping he wouldn't lose it. He did. The key was as much of a concern to him as his glasses, which he hated to wear. He lost them, he broke them, and he left them at home. The frustration his glasses caused was part of the reason why they never appeared in the strip! When he was finally old enough for contacts, he was overjoyed. Now that I too have to wear glasses, I can see how hard it was for an active, conservative kid to accept them.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Expressions like "nose out of joint" are a natural lead in to a punchline. Any time I work with blossoming cartoonists, I discourage them from using an expression like this unless they plan to take advantage of it. As a reader, I expect a smart comeback and I am disappointed when the expression is left to die on the vine!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: In Vancouver during the 50's, there was a popular children's radio show called, "Kiddie's Carnival." It was done in a small studio with a live audience, which you could be part of by writing into the program and asking for tickets. It was first write, first serve. My mom managed to score two of them. Not only did she and I have tickets, but we were told that I would get to be one of the children allowed to say "hello" on Kiddie's Carnival radio!

It was an exciting day. I had never been in a radio station before and when it was my turn to go up to the microphone, I was terrified. The host was reassuring. He moved the big silver microphone right under my nose and said, "Lynn, it's your turn to say hello! Who would you like to say hello to today?" Meanwhile, my dad was at work. He had the radio on and everyone in Shores Jewellery was listening. Sweating and shaking, I leaned into the mic. and said, "Hello, Grandma and Grandpa!" Dad was crushed. He had expected me to say hello to him. I wasn't thinking. I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. When he got home later that evening, it was clear that I had let him down. Mom thought it was nice that I had thought of her parents, though, and decided to call them and ask what they thought of the broadcast. Sadly, they hadn't been listening. To this day, I think about that missed opportunity and I wish that I'd acknowledged the one person to whom it really mattered.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Even during the 80's there was stuff on the television--even the news--that I thought was too graphic to be shown or discussed during the daytime. We all want to shield our youngsters from sex and graphic violence but nowadays, it's nearly impossible. The trick is to try and explain that there is good in the world, real intimacy is not ugly, and that justice (especially here in North America) is possible. God willing!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lynn's Comments: We would never identify the good times as being good if we didn't have crap to compare it with. There's no way Heaven could be perfect bliss because we wouldn't appreciate it! Humans need the rollercoaster of ups and downs... which is why we continue to make life so darned difficult for ourselves!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Valentines came in big plastic bags when I was a kid. We'd get, perhaps 25, pretty little cards for a few dollars and we'd give one to everyone in your class. This meant that we all came home with a fistful of valentines. Nobody was left out. It was tradition. In grade one, I had a crush on a boy named Jimmy Thompson. I was crazy about him until Valentine's Day when I gave him a card, but he didn't give a card to anyone. I was hurt--I never knew that his family just couldn't afford them.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I have to admit, when I had a crush on a boy in school, it lasted through rejection, embarrassment, and blatant teasing. When it eventually wore off, it was gone for good. I don't see a lot of difference in the way I handle my relationships now!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Lynn's Comments: There was a law in our house: if you didn't like what was on your plate, it didn't matter--you had to eat it all. This rule was enforced unless we were too sick to sit there or were absent altogether! My brother, Alan, was always trying to escape the likes of cold creamed peas, canned corned beef, or liver in gravy. He would hide a wad in his pockets or the cuffs of his pants and, convincingly full, would leave the table.

Once he was being so gross at dinnertime, he was sent to his room to eat. He went happily and returned minutes later with a suspiciously empty plate. He said he had eaten everything, but there was evidence to the contrary; the gravy was scraped to the side of the plate and the toilet had just been flushed. With her hands on her hips, Mom accused him of lying, but he stuck to his story. It was his word against the gravy. She gave him "the glare" but he stared her down. Mom dragged Alan to the biff. She wanted to scope out the scene of the crime but found nothing to pin on him. The gravy trail was the only real evidence; the one thing that could trip him up. With Alan's ear between her thumb and forefingers, she marched him brusquely back into the kitchen to resume her interrogation...and found our dad happily washing the dishes. The accused's plate was clean. From that day on, the rule was altered to allow for differences in tastes and appetites. Once again, Alan had defied our mom, and Dad was a hero. Until then, even HE had to eat stuff he hated!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Like my mom, I welcomed my kids' friends into the house all the time. On the odd occasion when it just wasn't convenient, I was the villain. It was "No fair!" I wondered what the kids said about moms who never let friends come in--even to use the bathroom.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I had a couple of friends who were latchkey kids. Their parents worked and after work, they'd spend time at the bar before going home. Both girls were the guardians of younger siblings. They literally raised their brothers and sisters because their parents were never home. I remember being jealous of my friends' freedom. We played "house." We'd put the little ones to bed and pretend we were grownups. For me, it was a wonderful game...but later, I could go home and be a kid again.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Farley, the real dog, hated baths. If he just heard the word, he'd head for the hills. I usually washed him outside, but during the winter, I would stuff him into the tub, which meant the entire bathroom got wet along with him. After I dried and brushed him, Farley looked like a massive plush toy, his fur poofing out as if he'd stuck his tail in a light socket. He would look like this until he had to go outside, where he'd find something dirty to roll in. He was a lot of work, but I didn't mind. He was family...and a real character!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Letters came from folks who really did not understand this gag. I'd hoped that the bulge in Elly's stomach would convey the message. I mean...wasn't it obvious that she was indeed putting "enough into it?" My editor seemed to understand, as did my mother-in-law. (I passed everything by her because there were times she didn't get an elephant joke. If Ruth didn't get a gag, I knew I was going to have to rework it!) Still, I had complaints that this punchline didn't make sense. I'll leave it with you. Did you get it??!!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When I moved to Hamilton, ON from Vancouver, BC, I was barely 22 and very "innocent." Despite my art school experience during the hippie movement, with it's free love and smokeable happiness, I had seen and tried very little. I joined Vic Tanny's health club with a friend, and when I saw several naked older women enjoying the hot tub, I was both appalled and curious. I had never seen anything like this. It was fascinating. We all really do come in different shapes and sizes.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This last comment was meant as an apology to my husband. I had been spending a lot of time on the road. As well as producing the strip, which took a lot of time, I was working on an animation project, doing book tours and speaking engagements, and was trying to be a partner as well. I loved my job and I enjoyed all the activity, but I felt very guilty about being away from home so often.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: At this time in the evolution of the strip, I decided to have Mike's friend, Gordon, be a bit of a negative force. In my mind, all of the auxiliary characters were becoming clear and defined, and it seemed right for Gordon Mayes to have some baggage. Something in his life made him cynical and tougher than the other kids, but I hadn't yet figured out what it was. It sounds unbelievable, but these characters evolved on their own. In a way, they told me who they were and how they lived.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: As a young dentist setting up a new practice, my husband had a lot of expenses. Equipment and rent and a staff of four gave him little left over for frivolous things. Elly didn't have a well paying job (like I did), so the Patterson family kept to a tight budget for a while.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Monique was a sweet young woman who won a trip to Lynn Lake to meet me, on a show called Thrill of a Lifetime. I was the "thrill!" Part of the arrangement was that she would see herself in the comic strip and receive an original drawing. Because our encounter had been so short and I had done just one drawing for the show (a Sunday page), I decided to include her as one of the library staff. I never heard from her, but I hoped she enjoyed her brief appearances.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This scenario wasn't part of our family history. I took this idea from another mom whose household was constantly augmented by other people's pets--as well as the occasional school mascot needing a temporary roost. Sallie and Frank had two dogs, a cat , and a parakeet, so folks needing kennel space often asked these kind folks to take in another jowl to feed.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: As kids, we were allowed to have a pet if it was very small, didn't require too much upkeep, and had a short lifespan. At first, my brother and I were host to chameleons--tiny little lizards which came from the pet shop with chains attached around their necks and a pin so you could attach them to your shirt! I don't remember them changing colour at all, but they did eat live mealworms, which was a cool thing to watch. Perhaps we overfed them or maybe we played with them too much, because they never lived very long. Fortunately, this rather barbaric way of packaging creatures is no longer permitted.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Naming a pet or a person in a comic strip requires about the same amount of thought as naming something or someone for real. I tried to imagine what I would call a hamster--and a name beginning with "H" seemed like a good idea. "Humphrey" appealed to me both because it's not a name commonly heard, and because I liked the "Humph" sound at the beginning.... it's sort of a British "snort," an expression of contempt or dissatisfaction. You never actually hear a "humph," it is most commonly seen in print. I think in the US one might say, "harrumph!"--but this has a slightly different connotation. Ahhhh... the semantics of sound.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Lynn's Comments: After the chameleons, we were allowed turtles and frogs, and when our charges could survive our "care and feeding," Mom let us have a budgie. This came about when I found a blue budgie on our back lawn. Mom borrowed a cage and tried to find the owner. She put an ad in the newspaper and called the radio station, but no luck. By this time, we had bought seed and a mirror and the bird was ours. We called him Robbie and he was great fun. He made a lot of noise during the day, but unlike the hamster in the strip, he was very quiet at night.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Back to my friend, Sallie. She kept the school hamster in her kitchen--the best place, she said, because she was always there, so it was safer for something so small and edible! (Her cat was always hoping for a chance to pounce on him.) I remember thinking how cute he was, but he sure could make a mess. I wouldn't have wanted the little guy in MY kitchen!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This is another strip that brought in the mail. "Never get sick on a weekend" could have been the title of a book as stories of interrupted sleep, well-meaning remedies, and all the things a mom still has to attend to despite fever and chills, came rolling in. No matter what I was going through, the letters I received told me I was far from alone!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Going back to my friend with the big heart and too many animals: The hamster had one of those transparent exercise balls, which the kids found fascinating--as did the family cat. When the hamster was not inclined to run for his pleasure, the kids encouraged him by rolling the ball themselves. I remember them saying that they wished they could ride in a ball like that, and putting myself in place of the dizzy, disoriented hamster, I thought... yeah... maybe not!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Sallie's guest did not get away like this, but a reader told me about their hamster's disappearance. It was eventually discovered months later in a nest he had made for himself inside their couch. A rodent is a rodent after all!