Georgia: Browse The Strips

Friday, August 31, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Alan broke my walking doll by holding both legs and making her walk as fast as possible. She wasn't meant for BOYS to play with!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When I was having marriage problems (the first time), I went home to stay with my parents for a while to clear my head and see things from a different point of view. I said to my mother that I wished I had lived with my partner before we had married. In reply, she said she would have disinherited me. "You wouldn't disinherit Alan (my brother) if he lived with someone before marriage!" I said. "That's different." she huffed, "He's a boy."

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Once in a while, I would put a bit of religion into Christmas and Easter strips to prove that I DID know the reason for the celebration and to assuage the readers who thought I was far too focused on the commercial aspects. I could guarantee three kinds of mail when a strip like this was released: One came from the Christian right, who asked that much more focus be put on ecclesiastical issues; one from the atheists, who felt that I was pushing religion down their throats; and finally the moderates, who appreciated the occasional reminder that festivals like this deserve a nod to the deity for whom the chocolate was fashioned and the bells were tolled. Again, I tried to answer every letter I received. Even if I disagreed with someone's philosophy, I certainly appreciated the time they took to write to me.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My grandfather had the only car in the family, so if we went anywhere the bus didn't go, we went with him. He always exacted a price. In order to make a trip profitable for him, we had to stop off at one of his clients' homes first. Gramps was a stamp dealer, so en route to a family picnic, we had the horrible task of having to sit in some old fart's dreary home and behave ourselves until he had ended his talking, his tea, and our patience. As Alan and I sat fidgeting and contemplated his demise, I looked to the future. I thought about having my own home and I vowed that I would always have toys for kids to play with, even if I had no kids myself. One of the first things I bought when I had my first apartment was a teddy bear. Toys have always been essential in my life... to the extent that I still buy them, still find joy in the innovation of new ideas, and still play with them whenever I have a child around to encourage me. My grandfather was a grouchy old miser... but thanks to him, the kids who visit my house enjoy their time!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My first husband was seven years my senior, so quite few of our married friends were older than I and had young families. One young mother was taking an early childhood education class. We'd agreed to meet for coffee afterwards, but she invited me to attend. The speaker was child psychologist. I didn't think he knew what he was talking about. I thought I could teach the class better than he could--and I was the only one in the class without children! Later, my kids made me humble.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Alan did encourage Aaron to play the trumpet. He gave him a few private lessons. The trumpet we had belonged to the school and had to be kept in pristine condition. This was one of the many reasons Aaron gave for not wanting to practice.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This was an actual quote from my brother. I whooped when he said it. Not only was it funny, it was a punch line I didn't have to come up with!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Artificial cigarettes were newly on the market when I did this strip. As a non-smoker, I was fascinated by the idea. Could a placebo smoke really take the place of the real thing? Friends and family were eagerly testing this possibility, but couldn't get past the image of the pacifier to take it seriously!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Alan bought and tried a cigarette substitute. It was a plastic inhaler with a nicotine hit. He wandered about the house trying to look nonchalant, but like all the other "quit the habit" innovations, this too was destined for failure. I had to give him credit--at least he tried. And when he flung the bogus butt into the woods one day, he didn't swear in front of the kids.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When my dad tried to quit smoking, he got rid of his cravings, he said, by going for a walk. We knew it was an excuse to grab a fast cigarette, 'cause Dad didn't like exercise and rarely walked anywhere!

Monday, September 30, 2013

Lynn's Comments: During my coffee house days, I was often among the great and wanna-be greats of the folk music scene. One evening I joined a group of musician friends for beer and pizza. The young man sitting next to me was rapping constantly on the table, ignoring our pained expressions. Fed up, I put my hand over his the way a mother would silence a child. He was furious! Turned out he was the drummer for a famous group. He did stop tapping, however, for which everyone was grateful!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Alan's adjustment from singlehood to his relationship with Joan was a constant source of comedy. The thing I love about my brother is the way he greets adversity; he makes it into a story, which he embellishes just enough to make it great.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Lynn's Comments: While the character, Uncle Phil, was starting to get serious about the character, Georgia, my brother had met Joan in real life. Since the quitting smoking story and the move in the strip closely and coincidentally paralleled his own life, Alan had me promise not to have Phil and Georgia announce their wedding plans until he had proposed to Joan!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This is the prayer my grandfather always said before a big meal. "For what we are about to receive, may the lord make us truly thankful." We thought it was a great prayer. It was sincere. It was genuinely heartfelt, and it said what needed to be said--before the gravy got cold!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Johnny Hart (Wizard of Id and B.C.) was a wonderful cartoonist and a great friend. One of my favourite cartoons shows BC hitchhiking. Rock after rock rolls by, but the riders won't pick him up. Then the "camera" pulls back to show a sign slightly ahead of where B.C. is standing. It says, "CAUTION. DIP IN THE ROAD."

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Because my brother was so closely tied to the character, Uncle Phil, this comic strip relationship had to be carefully choreographed. I had to be careful not to write about anything that was true to life. When I introduced Georgia (a name I used as a nod to a friend from art school) Alan was single. Within a few weeks of Georgia's appearance in FBorFW, he met Joan, who looked a lot like the "girlfriend" character I had drawn.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: As time went by, Joan and Alan became an item and then a couple--as did the characters Phil and Georgia in the strip. One day, Alan called to say that he and Joan were getting serious and that I could not have Phil and Georgia get engaged until he was ready to propose to Joan. The strip, inadvertently, had become a window into their lives.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Guilt is a wonderful thing--It makes us honest, it makes us humble. It makes us apologize. In my opinion, in this world, there just isn't enough of it!

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Back home, I was beginning to worry. My father-in-law knew exactly where Rod had gone, and he knew almost to the minute when he'd return--if all went well. The ETA came and went. My mom-in-law took the kids, and I drove up to the airport to wait. Rod's dad joined me. The weather was clear but cold and it was getting dark. The men at the airport assured us that the guys would be safe if they'd had to put down on a lake somewhere, but nothing sounded right to us. We filed a missing persons report and waited for Search and Rescue to respond.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This is true enough! I thought about all the petty things we had done and said to each other when all that really matters is life and love, and the knowledge that everyone is safe. When someone is gone, you go through the litany of "what ifs" and "if onlys," and ask "why?" It made me realize how suddenly things can change, that we should appreciate each other each and every day, and be truly grateful for what we have.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: The Search and Rescue supervisors were dedicated and serious. I spent a great deal of time in their headquarters, which had been set up in the Lynn Lake Airport. Big maps on the wall showed the flight paths. The false ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) signal had taken the Hercules away from the position of the downed plane and everyone was becoming edgy and depressed. Once the mistake had been discovered, the Hercules resumed its original pattern. It would track a mile on each side of the path taken by Rod's plane to the bay on Yathkyed Lake--first in a direct line from start to finish, then back and forth across the first path. Spotters stationed in glass pods on either side of the huge plane would scan the ground a mile out and back, a mile out and back. Any slight irregularity, anything shiny, any swath on the ground, they would report to the pilot who would then swing the plane around to have a closer look. A Twin Otter and a helicopter joined the search. The weather was closing in. Even in August, the arctic can be dangerously cold, and timing was critical.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My mother-in-law stayed at my house, looked after the children, and answered the phone. My brother-in-law stayed at his parents' house with his dad who was in constant touch with Search and Rescue. He had the map on which Rod had recorded his flight path and destination. Having been a prospector, Tom knew the land well. He also knew that Rod was with a group of experienced outdoorsmen, and if anyone knew how to survive an accident, they did. He was calm and reassuring, but inside, he was prepared for the worst. We all were.