John: Browse The Strips

Friday, August 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: These are the last words a dental patient wants to hear! Bad days happen no matter what your "calling" is, and our clinic staff had their share. I think the complaints I heard most often were in regards to the fidgety nature of dentistry. Fine instruments and tiny parts, such as drill bits and ortho brackets, can easily pop out of your hands. Trying to finish a tough job on a tight schedule makes a small delay even more frustrating. Combine this with a long day of intense concentration, and you have dentistry in a nutshell. Despite the pressure, most dentists I meet are pretty easy going. I guess it's something they've learned on the job!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When we lived in northern Manitoba, mechanical problems had to be fixed by US. There were no technicians to call, no company to complain to. My husband just figured out how to get things going again. A dental clinic is a really complicated place. There are water lines, air hoses, suction devices, and all kinds of appliances. When we set up the practice, he put in all of this stuff himself. The clinic was in an apartment above Walter Perepeluk's grocery store. Rod and a friend worked for days to attach all the pipes, and this had to be done between the tiles on the ceiling of the store below. After a great deal of hard labour, it was announced that the pipes and the wiring were complete. We celebrated with a good dinner and a glass of wine. The next morning, however, when Rod went into the grocery store to check on his handiwork, Walter met him at the door with a strained look on his face. The entire ceiling, a network of plywood, panels, and tiles had fallen to the floor. The store was a mess of tiles, dust, and dirty produce. With more than a little fanfare, the new dentist had arrived!

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, September 2, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Here is another strip that got me into hot water. Removing Michael's towel while he was changing was a reportable offense! The problem with a static image is the subtle elements, which would otherwise explain things, are not there. You can't show subtle things like eye movement, shrugs, knowing smiles, and reassuring gestures. The artist knows the situation is all in fun, but the audience does not. What should be funny is therefore sometimes misinterpreted.

As kids, we would change on the beach under our towels so fast that even the swiftest voyeur was unable to catch us in the buff. We'd yell out "I'm changing!!" just to goad someone into pulling off our towels. That's what kids do! Anyway, this ran and I knew as I saw it in print that I would soon be getting more mail. I learned another lesson... but then again, this job is all "towel and error!"

Monday, September 3, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This is the truth. As a kid I said the same thing. Kids clean up their rooms to please their mothers and as a mother, I felt I deserved this small effort!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Lynn's Comments: In the north, we always had pork and beans on hand. This was serious "bush" cuisine. P&B accompanied most guides and trappers into the woods. It was common to hear a hunter say, "I'm goin' out with a couple of pork an' beaners" ---meaning he was going hunting with a couple of guides. My daughter Katie loved pork and beans. She liked to mash them into her plate, fire them onto the floor, and occasionally eat them. They kept her occupied. And to this day, I still call her "Beans!"

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Lynn's Comments: After dinner we had a routine: Check to see what homework had been brought home and "remind" Aaron until he got it done. Oh, he would have done it without the nagging. He would have left it until the last minute and dashed off enough to make do. He might even get up in the middle of the night to complete a project, but we liked him to finish it earlier. We wanted to teach him responsibility and pride in having done something to the best of his ability. We didn't want him to do what WE did!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This is a rather revealing commentary. My husband's mom was the kind of parent who said, "Wait until your father gets home!" This made his dad the disciplinarian; one who was tired, hungry, and impatient. On a number of occasions, Rod told me he had been afraid of his father and I was surprised. In my opinion, he was kind and gentle and good with children, which shows how different we can be when we're under stress.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When my children started going to school, I found it interesting to hear them talk about their teachers' private lives. Teachers talked about their children, their summer holidays, their childhoods, and so on. In short, they admitted they were real people! I think this helped my kids to relax, to trust, and to enjoy their classroom experience.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I don't really like this strip. Even though the things Elly says about herself are exactly the way I felt, I don't think I handled this idea well. What I wanted to say is: It's easy to criticize, but the truth is... nobody's perfect. Oh well. When a strip I hated came out, I'd cringe, wish I had done something better, and be glad that it would be forgotten by the next day. This was before we started reprinting the duds for everyone to read in perpetuity. So, do me a favour... skip this one and go on to the next!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Aaron had one excuse after another for not going to bed. It seemed as though he never slept. I would hear him late at night doing stuff in his room and I wondered when he'd get into a "normal" routine. Well, he's almost 40 now and he's still a night owl. It's not unusual for him to be up and working at 3:00 am!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This was true, as I guess it is for many couples. We were both so busy that we seldom had time for a good heart to heart talk. For this reason alone, buying an aircraft was the best thing we ever did. It meant long hours of silent, beautiful flight. Sharing the view, talking through headsets, we really had time to communicate. I wish I'd known then that it was more than a vehicle. Not only did the plane keep us in touch with the outside world, it kept us in touch with each other.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When I was about 12, I decided to draw the man I would marry. I sat down in my dad's yellow recliner with a pad and pencil and I asked the "spirits" to guide my hand. I drew an average-looking Caucasian man with light-coloured, wavy hair, a nondescript mouth and nose, and large, bright eyes. Once finished, I looked at the face; thinking it was a dumb thing to have drawn, I wadded up the paper and threw it away. Wow. I don't know how many times I wished that I had kept that drawing!!!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember mushrooms being a bone of contention for us growing up because fresh ones were too expensive and canned ones simply disappeared into the stew. Mushroom soup was a staple gravy base and casserole sauce, so it didn't count either. When actual fresh fungi were finally introduced to our palates, we were all grown up. It's our children who have had the luxury of rejecting one of the most delicious culinary delights known to man!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes, the old chestnut command "If you don't like what we're having, make your own dinner!" backfired. I found the best way to make a less-than-yummy repast disappear was to offer no alternative at all. This, of course, might result in a stoic refusal to compromise followed by a midnight raid on the fridge. The one consolation was that they would eat at midnight the now frigid dinner they'd rejected at 6!