Michael: Browse The Strips

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Kate and Aaron both slept with one stuffed toy. It was me who filled my bed with stuffed animals and slept around them when I was a kid. My favourite was a koala bear that my grandmother brought back from Tasmania for me. It was real kangaroo hide and I loved him until his fur was almost gone. My brother stole him away from me once, insisted on sleeping with him, and then wet his bed. Mom couldn't wash my koala because he was leather, so her advice was to let him sit on the windowsill and air out: "In time he will be less 'whiffy'" she said. But he stank for years, so "Whiffy" was what I called him. I still have old "Whiff" in my china cabinet. He's sweeter smelling, now, and still well loved.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I confess. As a busy mom, I went for looks. If things looked tidy, I was content. Likewise, if something looked clean, I left actual fumigation until it was really necessary. After an orange juice disaster that rendered every surface of my kitchen tacky with residue, Aaron (who thought the saying "cleanliness is next to Godliness" meant "invisible forces did the laundry") suggested I wash the kitchen table when his cheek stuck to the surface. I took this as an opportunity for a learning experience...and asked him to wash it himself.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I couldn't quite remember the short story Aaron planned to submit, but it did go something like this. After some discussion about creativity, responsibility and pride, I left my stubborn charge to face the wrath of his teacher. He returned home with an "F" on his paper...and was told it meant "Funny". "Next time," Sheena Baker told me, "I'll tell them how many words they have to write!" Aaron did well in Sheena's class. She was direct and honest and had a wonderful sense of humour.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Every house on Eldon Road in Lynn Lake was close to the road, and folks could easily see into the windows. We had sheers over ours both for privacy and for the luxury of watching while not being seen.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As this strip was going to press, my brother Alan had started to go out with a lovely lady named Joan. I had been so close to guessing details about his relationships in the strip that when he saw this, he asked me not to have Phil and Georgia get married until after he married Joan!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Joan (aka "Georgia") came into my brother's life when my kids were in elementary school. Because we were living in such a remote area, they didn't see a lot of Uncle Al, and didn't have the opportunity to observe his relationships. I did! Knowing he would read all the strips which alluded to him, I openly needled him, hoping he would spill the beans and let me in on his plans for the future. He didn't...until he was prepared to see it in the paper!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is another glimpse from my childhood. My dad was the kind of guy who loved to build go-karts and tree houses and water slides on the lawn. Even though it wasn't cool to do stuff with your parents, a day with Dad always ended with a trophy of some kind: something built or found or eaten. When we weren't building stuff, we were hitting the dump or scrounging in the workshop and after that, we'd go to the Dairy Queen. The BIG cone cost a quarter and was almost too big to eat. It was when we had grown up a bit that we stopped hanging out with Dad. We'd give him excuses for why we weren't into making stuff or going out and it hurt him to see us change. I do remember him taking the neighbour's kid out for an ice cream cone and wondering, "Why isn't he taking me?" - knowing full well that I'd cut him out of my circle of friends. I just wanted him to be a dad. What I didn't know was that he was being a dad and - he was exceptional!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: There's nothing like knowing all the rules to make you feel superior. I remember being told to let my brother win if I was teaching him a card game, but it was hard to do. So, I didn't! Later, when Alan became proficient with chess, I asked him to teach me - but I never learned. Playing with my brother drove me crazy. Alan made sure that he always won!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Our town was so small that a kid could be found in minutes. A short walk or a phone call would produce the offender and it was always a short walk home. Even so, I worried when one of my children was out of sight for too long. One day, I went looking for Katie. She had been in the back yard with a couple of neighbour kids, but had disappeared. I went out and found her playing in the house across the lane. Three children under the age of five had been left in the care of an eight year old while her parents had gone down to the pub. The eight year old was holding a rifle which had been removed from its mount on the wall and her little brother was singing; "I know where the bullets are! I know where the bullets are!" I brought Katie home. I told her she had done nothing wrong. I said her friends were welcome to come to our house at any time, but she was never to go there again. It wasn't the kids I didn't trust- it was some of the parents!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My parents had much less control over my brother and me than I had over my children. Mom and Dad both worked in our shop on Upper Lonsdale - a good half hour walk from home. Al and I were on our own a lot. We could do just about anything as long as dinner was ready by 6:00 and nothing in the house was busted or burning. I became the cook at about age 10 and Al just had to keep out of my way. Life was complicated. I knew what it was like to be "grown up" in my head and a kid in stature!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I was 12, I saved up enough money to take my family to Vancouver for dinner and a movie. It was my Christmas present to them. It cost everything I had been able to save. It cost me $12.00. We took the bus and ate at a Hastings street beanery. We saw "Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson" and I paid for everything. My parents were so proud. It was the first "big" present I ever gave- and I still think of it as one of my best!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This happened to me outside Woodward's Department store when I was small. My folks were standing close to the curb, watching for the bus to come. I was next to the window checking out the Christmas display and watching the Salvation Army Santa. He wasn't doing much, so I started to ask him questions (not in a disrespectful way) and he barked at me! This was very un-Santa like behaviour. My mom explained that this wasn't the real Santa, just a helper in a red suit and beard. Even then I was aware of bad advertising and felt that Santa should know he was being misrepresented!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When we began to question the logistics of Santa, the folks left it up to us to find explanations. By then, our reasoning far surpassed anything the folks could conjure. We came up with complicated intercontinental business dealings and covert works with the military. We decided what could be done by magic and was actually done by hand. We talked about houses without chimneys, apartment buildings and all the other obstacles to delivery and figured stuff just "went in". We knew one thing for sure: as long as we believed in Santa, he would come.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I stole a small purse once. I took it from Orek's department store in North Vancouver. I wanted it, I didn't have the money and I took it when no one was looking. When I got it home, I hid it in my closet so nobody would find it and ask where I got it from. I knew better. I had been given all the lectures. I was in the church choir and Brownies and I certainly knew the commandment "Thou shalt not steal"...but, I did it anyway. I never returned it. I was too embarrassed to do so. I kept it without ever using it, as a reminder of something I'd done for the fun of it, but had never enjoyed. I had it until I left home, and the guilt still lingers.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Whenever I was with a group of kids, the temptation to shoplift was greater. There was a thrill to be shared and safety in numbers. My chums were more likely to talk about it than to actually do it, but once in awhile, one of us would give in. After a hasty escape and covert examination of the booty, the accusations would come and the "winner" reduced to the level of common thief. I remember sneaking back into Orek's department store to return an object after we had stolen it- and I have to say, this was more fun than taking it!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I have been tempted to take something from a store and on two occasions I admit to having done so! It's such an easy thing to do, sometimes: no supervision, no cameras, nothing to stop you but your conscience. My conscience has stopped me from doing a lot of things. I'm grateful to have one - and whether it's a quality that's learned or a gift from birth, everyone must have one. I tried to make sure that my kids knew the difference between right and wrong but even with the most rigorous explanations, they still had to find out for themselves what it was like to deal with guilt and retribution.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I was about six, I took a small purse from a local variety store. I also confess: when I was about 35, I stole a skipping rope from Ikea. I don't know why I did it. I had the opportunity and I thought my daughter would play with it. I ran to the car, hiding it in my other packages and drove away like a thief with a prize. It was exciting, actually. I didn't need or want this thing, but I got away with an illegal act and it was fun. At least until I got home. By then, the thrill had been replaced by a litany that played over and over in my head; "What did you do that for, you idiot?!" I mailed the skipping rope back to the store with a note to say that I had taken it by mistake; that I'd forgotten to pay for it. I never heard from Ikea- but I didn't want their thanks. The sense of relief was all that I needed!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I enjoyed spinning this story along for a while. December is always a difficult month when it comes to money- and the temptation to take things to give as gifts to others is very strong. I hoped that by showing how hard it was for Michael to live with his conscience I might deter another young person from doing some "Christmas shoplifting". This story was based on a true incident. Aaron had taken a toy from the Hudson's Bay store and confessed when I asked him where the money had come from to buy it.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When a child - or anyone - rights a wrong, they need recognition. To have Michael return the scarf without some praise for his honesty would have been wrong. For every manager who would punish a gesture like this, there are many more who will acknowledge the courage required when a thief returns what was taken and is ready to face the music! In this case, Michael faced both his mother and the store manager proving he had "strength of character"!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The thing about writing a sit-com style of strip is that secondary characters have to be there on hand to deliver "straight lines" These comments they would likely NOT say in real life, but do so here, in order to make the dialogue interesting. Quotes like Lawrence's here are added so the reader can weigh the outcome: Since I got away with it, would I have taken the stolen article back or would I have been nuts to do so?

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: In retaliation for the store manager's off-handed response, I did this short storyline about theft, guilt and honesty and sent it in. As Farley Mowat said (when I asked him if everything he wrote in his books was true), "If it didn't happen, it SHOULD have!" My thoughts exactly!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: A big kid in my neighbourhood once told me that my butt would fall off if I unscrewed my belly button. I believed him. I have an "inny" and it was hard to see just how the "button" was engineered in there. In fear of dire consequences, I asked my dad if this was true and he laughed out loud. He assured me that my belly button was a permanent decoration and I was not to worry about losing my behind. He did tell me, however, that if I screwed up my face... it would stay that way.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember lying on the couch the day before Christmas, watching the clock. My dad walked in to the living room and bragged that he knew how to make the time go faster. I said I didn't believe him and the game was on. He took me to the basement and had me help him empty the "clinkers" from the wood and coal furnace. He let me relight the fire and watch the rolled newspapers and kindling ignite. We refilled the small metal humidifier and made space in the coal bin for another load. After a bath and a snack, the clock had moved an hour. He was right. My dad had made the time go faster!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I love having adult children. They tell me the truth NOW about things I suspected when they were little. I just found out that both kids knew exactly where to find my hidden cache of Yuletide gifts. Even worse, they actually unwrapped and carefully rewrapped them! The one concession was that Katie admitted to being disappointed on Christmas morning when she unwrapped gifts that were no longer a surprise. As her grandfather was fond of saying: "Cheaters never prosper!"

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Lynn's Comments: By listing their names, I was able to say "hello" to a number of dear friends in this strip. When it appeared in the paper, I looked forward to their inevitable calls. So often my friends would say, "you'd better not put me in the paper!" But when I did, they were always thrilled.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Getting the kids ready for tree cutting trip took almost as much time as the event itself. Bundling them into layer after layer of winter duds followed by a drive out into the bush was a challenge. Follow this with a tiring search for the right tree and you have a cold and hungry family ready to take down the first semi suitable shrub in the area.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The annual trek into the bush to get our Christmas tree was a Lynn Lake ritual. The trouble was that the good trees were only visible in the summer. You'd have to tag the tree and hope someone else didn't cut it down before you did! December temperatures would often dip below -39C so you had to know where you were going and take your tree fast - before you froze to the spot where you were standing. A frozen trunk wasn't always the easiest thing to chop or saw through, either!