Grandpa Jim: Browse The Strips

Friday, December 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Aaron and my dad had a hard time playing board games. Aaron wanted to learn and Dad wanted to teach him, but they both wanted to win!

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!

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My dad talked a lot about the war, and any time the subject came up in the strip, I received letters from veterans happy to see it mentioned.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes the strip was confining. I had four panels, maybe 15 seconds a day to tell what became a pretty complicated story. I would have loved to explore Connie's blossoming relationship with Greg. I wanted to show more, write more, but I didn't have the time or the space. This meant that readers had to fill in some blanks for themselves! Maybe, with comic strips going to the internet, creators won't be confined by the "one window a day" method of storytelling that we had in the newspapers.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This is a true story. The freezer didn't break down, but it did have to be moved and therefore defrosted. I pulled out an archive of forgotten leftovers, summer fruit and fishing acquisitions, dry pie crusts, soup stock, and more. Some of this was still recognizable, so a mess of reconstituted fodder graced our plates for a week or two. People actually ate what I served--and the freezer was then refilled with the leftovers from the leftovers. We recycle.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This story was told to me by our good friend Larry Boland. We were sitting in his living room. His wife, Marilyn, was bringing in the tea, when I looked up and admired their lovely ceiling. Marilyn smiled and said that thanks to Larry, it had just been redone. Larry described putting his foot through the plaster with such detail that I had to put the story in the strip. Things people WANTED me to include rarely made the grade. I preferred the embarrassing stuff!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I think I gave Larry and Marilyn the original strips for this story. It was something I liked to do when I embarrassed a friend in public!

Monday, February 2, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I've just been talking to a friend about guilt. Seems it hangs on long after the deed has been atoned for and forgotten by everyone else. I will remember a stupid thing I said at a party or something I did during an interview, and I'll clench my teeth--willing the memory to fade. It never goes away. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it keeps me from doing other stupid things--I wish.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I once saw my mother-in-law flapping her apron at the top of the basement stairs. I asked her what in the world she was doing, and she explained that the menfolk were in the middle of a project down there and she wanted them to come up for dinner. She was wafting the smell of roast beef, mash, and gravy down into the basement. It worked!

Monday, August 1, 2016

Lynn's Comments: [Continued from last month:] Sandy sat in the pew and watched the wedding ceremony--worried and angry. Where could Kevin be?

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Lynn's Comments: He described the dumpster as being behind a restaurant and grocery store. Wet and decaying vegetables lay in a mucky stew on the bottom. He had to climb in, wearing his best clothes, and dig around in the stinking mess to find his car keys. If it had been a watch, he might have just let it go! Car keys were essential!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My daughter, Katie and her husband, Lane, were married under a tree at English Bay in Vancouver. There were four of us in attendance, thus avoiding the dreaded wedding speech!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Now, it's my turn. Every five years, a few good organizers make sure our high school graduating class gets together. Each time now, the "in memoriam" list grows longer. Hard to believe we are saying goodbye to each other. When we're together, we all still feel like kids!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Nope. Phil and Georgia are still happily married. Even though the saga has ended, the characters are still alive in my imagination!

Tuesday March 30, 2021

Lynn's Comments: My parents lived on the other side of the country from my brother and me. When their health began to deteriorate, we both tried to see them as often as possible but it was hard to make time for a 5-hour flight. We felt helpless and guilty for not being there for them, but we did have some wonderful caregivers for whom we will be forever grateful.

Monday May 3, 2021

Lynn's Comments: I've spent a great deal of time now visiting my aunt in a senior's residence, and it's clear to me that when you are ready to have a small, secure home with medical help and regular prepared meals, you are definitely ready! The one thing my aunt is saddened by is the strangeness of being surrounded by very old people all the time! The only young people are staff members and visitors. When I take her into town for a change of scene, she will say, "This is normal! Everyone is here...young, old, and in between!"