John: Browse The Strips

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The thing that brought us indoors long before morning wasn't the wildlife but the bugs. Even now, the sound of mosquitoes whining around my head at night makes me crazy. When Mom finally allowed us to camp in the living room (the basement had spiders), camping became much more enjoyable. I don't think my mother could say the same!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The trip we took by train from Winnipeg to Vancouver was worth recording. Even without a daily chronicle, I would have written this stuff down. It began with telling the kids - far too soon - we were going on holiday. Things became even more "exciting" as we prepared to be en route.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Lynn's Comments: In reality, we left our house in the care of neighbours and family and took off for what we hoped would be an easy and enjoyable two weeks away from home. Planning and packing should have been the most difficult part of the exodus; add the excitement of children and you've got a busy day ahead of you. Like a canoe in the rapids with nowhere to go but the flow, our trip had begun .

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I never did leave my brother alone in the house with Farley, but if I had, he would likely have talked to him like this. As kids, we'd never had a dog. We had budgie birds, turtles and a chameleon, but nothing big and fun and responsive. It took us awhile before either of us was comfortable with a dog. Where do they like to be scratched? How do you handle one? We tended to talk to them as if they were other adults - and come to think of it, other dog owners talk to their dogs like this, too!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Twenty minutes is forever when you're a kid. We sat in the train station trying to keep Aaron occupied until we could board and get settled in our rooms. Katie was an easy traveller. If she was restless, you could settle her down with a book or a puzzle and she'd often fall asleep. Aaron on the other hand was a ball of pent up energy and required all of our attention, patience and creativity.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I thought I had booked two bedrooms, but in error I'd booked "roomettes". These tiny spaces had a bench seat, which converted to a single bed for sleeping, under which - inconveniently stored - was...the loo. I had planned for the "boys" to share one compartment; Katie and I would share the other. The roomettes were so confining, however, that in order for us all to fit, the kids were exchanged. Kate stayed with her dad and Aaron stayed with me.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Despite watering both kids before bedtime, they both had to use the facilities during the night. This meant we had to leave the privacy of the compartment, lift the bed up, expose the lavatory, close the door and "go." The process was reversed when everyone got back into bed. I was not the most popular "travel agent" and heard a lot about what I "should have done" before booking something so irritatingly small!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron used to be up and running at 4 or 5 in the morning. Food and dressing took an hour, but there were usually 2 hours left before I took him to daycare. Exhausted, I'd lie on the couch as he ran from room to room, jumped on the furniture and on me. Sometimes, I'd actually fall asleep and this was when he'd go into the kitchen cupboards and find the stuff he shouldn't have. This scenario really happened... and both of us survived to tell the tale!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We were on the train for several nights. Even though the kids were the best they could be, they tossed and turned. And their constant up and down to the toilet made each night a real challenge. We also met others in the hallway as they reorganized themselves into these confined spaces - and more than once we heard "why didn't you a book a compartment instead of a roomette?"

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The dining car was, by far the highlight of the trip. At the time, CN Rail was still into "elegance". We had tables with cloths, nice dishes, good cutlery - and even the children behaved better in this classic and refined dining room. This is one of the rare strips in which I showed them being more of a hand full than they really were!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron wasn't really all that interested in going to visit the engineer, but his father was. Rod had loved trains since his childhood in Lynn Lake. Sometimes when you really want to do something but are too shy to ask, it's nice to have a child to hide behind!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It doesn't bother me now. In fact, a mosquito in the room when I was married meant a 50% chance of being bitten and I could sleep quite comfortably. When I was a kid, however, the high-pitched whine of a hungry insect drove me nuts. I'd turn on the light and take whatever time it required to hunt it down and do it in. I considered myself to be an excellent sniper. I'd wait for however long it took for the prey to appear and SMACKKK!!! I won. I fairly ruled the summer night until my brother showed me an article that said, statistically, we eat at least 3 spiders in our lifetime - they crawl into our open mouths while sleeping. AAAAAUGH!!!!!!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My parents had a cottage in Hope, BC. I believe we got off the train in Hope and drove to Kawkawa Lake with them. We saw my parents perhaps once a year, but the kids always remembered them. Even though "they were not going to be spoiled", Aaron and Katie were the center of attention and had a wonderful time.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We were totally beat by the time we made it to my folks' place. It was such a relief to turn our two busy offspring over to healthy, active grandparents. Mom and dad weren't used to having such busy kids about, but they soon managed to get into the swing of things. It was fun for me to see them being parents again - from the vantage point of being a parent, now myself!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Lynn's Comments: There's nothing like being at the lake to keep kids happy. Aaron and Katie learned to swim at Kawkawa and even though the fishing was limited to minnows, it was exhilarating just to catch one and let it go. "The boys" would go out in my dad's old canoe and if they were lucky, there'd be something to photograph and some tall tales to tell. It was a wonderful time and the kids never wanted to leave.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Despite his penchant for causing trouble, Aaron was a sweet and sentimental little boy. The bond he shared with my mother was very strong. The two of them seemed to have a secret between them and my dad thought he should spend more time with Katie to make up for it. Katie didn't seem to notice a discrepancy, though. Maybe she knew that Aaron needed the extra attention my mom gave him.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember the face-licking, body-slamming, seat-wagging welcome that Farley used to give us after he'd been left on his own for a while. It was a greeting so filled with joy and expectation, that you couldn't fault him for almost knocking you down!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Coming up with lines based on sayings is especially fun. Take any saying, twist it around, change the lettering and see if you can make it work as a punch line! Most certainly, this one has been used by someone before me. Great minds shrink alike. But if you can do something different, you're golden- and I was always quite chuffed when I came up with a gag like this.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It's hard for a young artist to get her work published anywhere, so I volunteered a lot in the early days. I did posters, bookmarks and signs for the library. I learned about borders and lettering and ways to get the most from two plates on the press. It was an opportunity to learn and to make up a good folio. When I hear people complain that they have to volunteer I remember my dad saying "You pay for an education, don't you?" Well, this was an education and I was getting it for free!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I imagined Elly accepting the opportunity to write a column for a local paper just to see her work in print. She is aware of how much she will learn. She is looking forward to working with others and to practising her skills - and she is not embarrassed to admit she needs the outlet and the change. It's easy to question someone's direction and motives - until you see the world through their eyes!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Women have a sixth sense when it comes to their men folk "checking out the competition". A subtle sidelong glance will be transmitted to our waving antennae and we know that our partner has not only seen but has evaluated another female. Deny it he might, but we know it happened. Guys do this as instinctively as a hound sniffs a tree. Fortunately, wives and girlfriends are now countering this behaviour by accepting it as normal and natural, by understanding and communicating their feelings...and by doing a little ogling of their own.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember the misery of having to do social studies while everyone else watched "Gun Smoke" so, I was pretty understanding, when my own kids found the extra work to be a chore. Aaron had the habit of telling me just the amount of truth I needed to know- especially when it came to how much homework he really had. This is another actual quote from my son. He did all of his work that night... and I got a "daily" out of it!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We started to get real homework around grade three. At first it was simple things- like read a story or complete an art assignment. This was easy. I actually liked homework. Perhaps it's because we had no TV and, yes, it rained a lot in North Vancouver...or perhaps I truly enjoyed doing something extra. I confess- I was one of the kids who really enjoyed school and all the challenges that went with it!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I couldn't support myself and Aaron as a freelance artist, I accepted a job at "Standard Engravers" a packaging company in Hamilton, Ontario. Aaron attended the Dundas daycare, courtesy of the Canadian welfare system, for which I'll be eternally grateful! Before his first full day there, we went for an introduction. He was so excited about the toys and the company that he left me immediately and blended in. There was no separation anxiety and I think I was just a little hurt by that!

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.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We were living in a log house and having renovations done. A number of workmen, strangers to me, were coming and going at the time. One night the phone rang. The receiver was on my side of the bed. I answered, expecting it to be the Dental "on call" service, but a man's voice said something I couldn't quite understand. I had been in a deep sleep and wasn't prepared for a conversation. "What??" I said. He repeated whatever it was but I still couldn't understand. He said something vaguely suggestive, but I wasn't able to pick up the thread. He eventually gave up and asked if I knew who it was. I said I did not and he seemed surprised. At this point, I just wanted to go back to sleep, but he asked again if I recognized his voice and I said I didn't. Satisfied that he'd remain unknown, he hung up. The next day I was convinced it had been one of the guys who was working on the house. One, in particular, was a bit of a wild card and I wondered if it had been him. It amazed me to think how vulnerable and anxious I felt, even though the call had been clumsy and short. Somebody was "watching" me in an unhealthy way and it made me nervous and wary until the project was over and the strangers were gone. I tried to imagine what someone who had been seriously threatened would feel and how long, if ever, they would take to get over it.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is another example of something I just made up. In fact, I don't remember my husband taking the kids to buy groceries - this was my job and I enjoyed it. This is a gag that I knew had been done by other cartoonists, and yet, I did it again.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did ask why we didn't have another baby and my explanation was that we had sold the crib. In a way it's true. If you have even the slightest positive thought about having another, you store the stuff. With this in mind, however, I have friends who kept everything "just in case" and are now offering cribs and jolly jumpers to their married, adult children!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It amazes me still to think that after the hard work and "discomfort" of giving birth, we go back and do it again! My friends and I supported each other afterwards. We discussed episiotomies, backaches, lack of sleep, lactation, depression and so forth. One topic was brought up again and again: would there be more children in the world if the men produced the babies and the women puffed cigars?!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: In the 80's there was still an "attitude" about women working. "The little lady" was a secretary or receptionist and the more responsible positions went to the "tough broads." Even though attitudes had relaxed and most men accepted and encouraged women in the workforce it was not uncommon to find serious discrimination. We're still fighting this. Despite a change in the "fibre of society", we're not out of the woods yet!

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.