Lawrence: Browse The Strips

Lynn's Comments: In our house, it was of utmost importance to maintain good table manners. My mother went so far as to give us eating lessons. My brother and I learned to sit straight with a yardstick down our backs and a "Golden Book" under each arm. We learned how to use our fork and knife in the English style, cutting with wrists up, dabbing the edibles onto the back of the fork. (Rarely should one "stab" at one's food.) We were never to talk with our mouths full; never to reveal the mastication going on inside. Eating was often an ordeal. The benefits of the lessons, however, came to the fore at summer camp when we were the only kids who could eat comfortably while crushed onto a wooden bench with a line of other campers. If mom saw us chewing with our mouths open, there was instant objection. This, of course made it mandatory that we eat as rudely as possible when the moment was ripe. This strip was done in memory of these unfettered times.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I don't know what passes for the average allowance now. A buck a week was fine when Kate and Aaron were kids- they seemed to make do. As I recall, however, no matter what the folks decide to bestow.....it's never, ever enough!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Lynn's Comments: We had an enormous cherry tree in front of our house. One wouldn't think a tree could be so much work, but ours was. Dad pruned it, mom watered it, we treated it like the gift it was and after the blossoms fell, the cherries ripened, we had pies, preserves and fresh berries all from our own garden. The problem was, it dropped stuff. Like a pet, it had to be picked up after. How we resented raking the blossoms and the leaves, how we resented the litter of twigs and the caterpillars that had to be picked from its branches. The tree was not to be climbed and not to be punctured. It was a rival for our affections and sometimes, I think, rightfully so. Sad to say that a few weeks after my parents sold their house the new owners wanted less shade in the garden and cut the tree down. What we'd give now for the right to rake up the leaves and watch the cherries grow again!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Elementary school relationships were intense and serious. A "best friend" was validation that you had worth. Best friends gave you confidence, security and status. There was serious competition here and if a third person came onto the scene- the change in chemistry could be explosive. The old adage "three's a crowd" is never more true than in early grade school. I remember adding a new friend simply because I was offered the opportunity to use a bike or share some candy. I bought into others' friendships, too when I had stuff to share. Allegiances morphed, changed and regrouped according to the mood of the day, but the "best friend" was always at the centre of the relationship.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Gordon was a year ahead of Mike and Lawrence when they met, but a slow learning curve and troubles at home made school work difficult. He was later moved back a year, giving him a chance to catch up. Easy going and non confrontational, Gordon was likeable. He was the kind of kid who always saw the bright side. He could make the best out of a tough situation. He was a survivor.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Kids can accept an intrusion, but if the "best friends" status is threatened, it's serious. Sharing toys and time, games and secrets makes your connection intimate. Nothing is trivial when you're a kid- it's all about relationships. From Kindergarten until grade school I hung out with a girl called Arlene. She was my best friend until Caroline was around, and then Caroline took my place. When Caroline was around I became the odd number three. I lived with the knowledge that I wasn't Arlene's favourite and it was OK. Still I wished I had a VERY best friend and when Lucia Messina's family came from Sicily and moved across the street, she and I formed a bond that lasts to this day!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Taking your elementary school woes home to mom was often an unrewarding experience. Grownups forget just how stressful and meaningful these first relationships can be. My mom tried to comfort and understand, but she'd often brush my worries aside, saying things like "you'll have plenty of time for"...well, whatever! Time isn't a factor when you have no concept of time. When your world is a blur of new people, new feelings and new things to learn, time is just another four letter word.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Without knowing it, Connie has been taking her frustrations out on Lawrence. Desperate for companionship herself, she has unwittingly upset her son. Sensing ambivalence and insecurity in his mom, Lawrence has become worried and insecure as well. There is nothing more rewarding than telling your kids that you're not perfect, you're sorry and they are so very loved.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Deciding what we were going to be on Hallowe'en was always a challenge. Everything depended on what was cool, what could be made out of found materials and what would survive in the rain. Vancouver weather was a factor in all outdoor activities, but nothing could keep us from our quest to score the most loot possible on the 31st of October. Ours was a neighbourhood rich with pickings. Lower middle class, mostly new immigrants and Canadians "home from the war"; the folks around us were generous, kind and imaginative. All you needed was a costume, a pillow case and energy to run up and down the steep hills of the North Shore.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lynn's Comments: In order to tie up the hockey scenario, I wrote this. Game over. Subject closed. There were no sidewalks in town and my kids never did roller skate. This is when the town of Milborough began to evolve. Lynn Lake, where we actually lived, was a northern mining town of about 1200 people. The next community of Leaf Rapids was 60 miles away and Thompson Manitoba was 300 miles of dirt road south from there. We were isolated. Our small Cessna aircraft was a regular every day vehicle as much as it was a luxury. We needed it for work: Rod went into the native communities one week out of every month and my work took me out of town quite often, too. We had a good airport, but the "sked" (scheduled flight) was expensive and often inconvenient. Not many people could relate to the actual life we lived, and so houses, streets, bridges, and the business district where "John Patterson" had his dental office began to take shape in my head .... and therefore, in "the strip".

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Michael needed a love interest and so Deanna Sobinski appeared. She was blonde, sweet, slender and smart and not too interested in his goofy attempts to get her attention. Her first name came from my friend Nancy Lawn's daughter, Deanna - a playmate of Kate's... and the name Sobinski was from an art school friend - whose first name, sadly, I forget! I liked the sound of these two names together. It was never my intention to have this relationship be rekindled in later years!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember my own Christmas pageants, but my kids remember theirs. Anything that required a script and stage was taken seriously in Lynn Lake, where entertainment was all home made. Costume sessions and rehearsals took place in private homes and the community centre would be packed as friends and family vied for the best seats in the house. Aaron played the part of a shepherd one year, dressed in his bathrobe and striped pajamas, and a reindeer the next. Being in front of an audience never fazed him and even without lines, he played his roles to the hilt. The elementary school teachers were full of ideas and had the courage to pull them off. Music was provided by Mr. Bergan's music group and the community choir. It's amazing to me now, to think about how the town would come together as one for these things, and the talent within our own crowd was amazing.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Again, the material that appeared in the strip was mostly made up. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to have a large, busy class of kids, all involved in putting on a play and one harried teacher in charge of everything. I could play the role of the teacher and also the kids and I tried to put myself into every possible scenario. Aaron's teachers were, again, part of our circle of friends. If I needed the inside scoop on anything, all I had to do was ask! If I wanted to know anything about pharmacy, I'd ask Bob at the drugstore. If I wanted to know anything about the workings of the corner store, "Fergy" Ferguson would be glad to oblige. I talked to the RCMP and to the pilots and to anyone whose career might possibly appear in the strip. Living in a small town meant ready access to wonderful resources, long before the internet made research so easy.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Lynn's Comments: The year Katie turned two, we made arrangements to go to Barbados after Christmas. My parents-in-law had set up their spare room for the children, and knowing we were leaving them in good hands made the decision easier. Ruth and Tom were strict disciplinarians but good natured and fair. Tom still worked at the mine mill, but Ruth was retired and very much enjoyed being grandma. Aaron understood the situation. He wasn't going to get away with much while his folks were gone. Had MY parents been taking the reins, however, it would have been a different story. My kids would have figured out fast that my mom was tough, but dad was a pushover. They'd have figured out fast how to pit one against another, to play on dad's sympathy and to run them both ragged. That was our game. My brother Alan and I knew how to play it - no holds barred! It was years before my parents volunteered to "babysit" my children...and even then, they did so one at a time!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Our family home in North Vancouver was designed so that a kid could run from the kitchen to the hall, around to the living room and back into the kitchen again. This made for an excellent track and field event, should it be raining, and it usually was. Mom was long suffering, stoic and understanding. She let my brother and me blow off steam while she stewed silently, knowing that kids need the exercise. She drew the line at our jumping on the furniture though and her admonishments were almost always the same: "This is a house, not a playground!", "I am sick, sore, fed up and tired!" and of course, Dad's fave: "Are you cruising for a bruising?" Alan and I could almost mouth the words as they were spoken - but heaven help you if you were caught! When my own kids took to racing around the house, I heard myself saying the same things my mom said to us - and a new understanding between my mom and I erased some of the wall that had separated us for so long. I knew that my kids had memorized my litany of commands and I knew how she felt. At long last, my mom was vindicated! Some day... it will be MY turn!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The last months before school ended were tedious. We couldn't concentrate, we couldn't sit still. I wanted to be free and outside and away from the routine of classes and homework and anything that wasn't fun. Summer in North Vancouver meant running down to the ferry dock and fishing for crabs or riding our bikes up to Lynn Canyon and swinging on the suspension bridge. It meant taking the bus to Stanley Park, English Bay, walking around the sea wall, taking the ferry to Bowen Island and going to summer camp. There was so much to do and we couldn't wait to do it! Strange, isn't it, that towards the middle of August, when summer was still in full swing, that we thought about school and all it meant...and couldn't wait for September, when we could go back!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Back to live theatre. Both my son and I have "standup" in our genes. When it comes to storytelling, wild explanations, excuses and jokes, you can count on both of us to give it our improvised all. I recall sending Aaron to school when he was on death's doorstep. As he grudgingly dressed for school, I could tell he was wondering how I had uncovered his scam. He had hidden the hot water bottle well enough that it couldn't be connected to the high temperature he had, but I still sent him packing. How did I know? First of all, he played it too well. I detected a rehearsal. Second? The tap in the bathroom was still hot to the touch. The "heat the thermometer" trick was an old one...and had also been one of mine!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I used to look forward to getting my report cards. I always knew what my marks would be: A in art and reading, and B in everything else but math and sports. In those I was lucky to get a pass. In the teacher's comment column, I could expect "Excellent work in the subjects she enjoys, does not apply herself in math and sports. Does not concentrate. Likes to be the class clown." I could predict the outcome of my efforts every time and was content with status quo. As long as I could count and make change, as long as I could skip and run and ride my bike well enough to keep in line with my chums, I was content with my educational prowess - much to the chagrin of my parents and teachers who tried to persuade me to do better. After all, if I was good at nothing else, I could always draw for a living!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Even though I drove them crazy, my teachers did like me. After I had pushed them to the breaking point, after I had been sent to the office, sentenced to detentions and made to take angry notes home, I always came around. I guess I had to test them as thoroughly as they tested us. My report cards, though not outstanding, were always pretty good and in amongst the admonishments re: math and sports there was always something nice. The best comment I can remember came from my grade four teacher George Stibbs, who said that I "made the class fun and interesting." This might have made me even more likely to clown around, but I grew to admire him too much to make him angry.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Elly's younger brother was a delightfully charming character whose flair for delivering a good opening line made doors open in all directions. I tried to imagine what Lawrence would think as he watched his mother flirt with uncle Phil. With his biological father out of the picture, Lawrence should have been the only man in her life. What would it be like to see his personal space invaded by someone else; someone who would be competing for his mother's affections?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Never ask a kid a direct question unless you're prepared to hear an equally direct answer! When my grandfather read the comics page to me he would rail at the interaction between the Peanuts characters saying "Children don't talk like that! Children don't have such intellectual thoughts!" Privately, I disagreed with him. I might have been in first grade at the time, but I remember thinking "Of course we have those thoughts and ideas! We might not use the same words you do, but we're smarter than you think!"

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Word for word this is a true exchange. Aaron and his friend Roy were allowed to go down to "Fergy's", the local corner store, pool hall and hang-out - and Fergy's motto "buy or bye-bye" meant that they wouldn't be there long. Fergy made his money on pop and penny candy and despite the difficulty in getting fresh produce into the north, the licorice was always fresh. Licorice, ginger and chocolate are my favorite diet-breakers and the kids knew I'd shell out a few bucks if I they'd be sure to return with "the goods". It's funny, this thing about licorice. It was my grandfather's favorite, my mother's favorite and Charles Schulz liked it too. I took him a bag of licorice allsorts when he was in the hospital and he lit up with a smile. This is what we munched on as we spoke for the last time. He died not long afterwards and every time I see licorice allsorts, I think of him.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Here was an opportunity to put myself in someone else's shoes. Never having been dealt the hand that Lawrence was playing, I tried to be a small boy, watching his mother becoming something unfamiliar. Mothers aren't supposed to date or worry about their appearance or have a social life beyond women friends, the kitchen and "ME!" It was challenging to be Connie - a single mom, hoping for another chance at love, not wanting to risk being hurt again, wondering if her child would be treated well by someone who was not his father. It was challenging as well to be her young son. When I wrote the dialogue for these people, I was in a different world. It was a surprisingly exhausting and emotional experience!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We rarely knew our teachers' first names and never knew where they lived. They just sort of showed up at the school and disappeared when classes were over. I once saw a teacher coming out of the washroom in a restaurant and it was hard to imagine he had been doing something we all had to do! By the same token, it was tough to make eye contact with a teacher who was pregnant, knowing she had done what had to be done to get that way. I think teachers are allowed to be human, now, and it must be a good thing.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is a small glimpse into a day in my life. My grade three teacher kept me after school on the last day to tell me that after all the conflict we had endured together during the year, she thought I was basically a good kid. This was the attitude that most of my teachers had....and when Aaron's teachers gave him "the talk" I knew exactly where they were coming from.