Michael: Browse The Strips

Friday, July 5, 2013

Lynn's Comments: After about the age of 7, Aaron never admitted to being attached to his teddy bear. At the age of 18, however, when he left home for Vancouver in search of work, he called from his small, sparse apartment and said in a small voice... "Uh, Mom? Could you, um send me my...teddy?" I didn't say anything. I didn't laugh. I sent him the teddy his grandmother had lovingly made, knowing it was something he loved and needed. It sits on his dresser to this day. Aaron turned 40 this year!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Alan might kill me for this, but as a little kid, he DID carry around a blanket. Actually, it was my blue chenille bedspread, which he inherited when the corners became twisted and grey. When it started to rot, Mom cut it up into smaller pieces so he'd have even more corners to chew on. By the time these pieces deteriorated, he was old enough to go to Beaver camp (junior Scouts in Canada), and Dad suggested he have a ceremonial blankie burning in the fireplace. Alan stuffed his remaining blankies into a shoebox. Dad put lighter fluid over the contents, made a hole in the lid, pulled out a wick of blankie, and the solemn ceremony took place. Al, with sadness and stoicism, sat and watched the box burn to ashes as Dad sat beside him with his arm around his shoulder. It was a coming of age for my brother and a time when Dad proved, beyond a doubt, that he understood kids better than anybody we knew!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I used this same punch line again years later, and even made it the title of a collection book. You'd think I'd remember every gag and not use it again, but sometimes I slipped up!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Even now, I look at the exquisite patterns made by the clouds, and on days when the setting sun turns them to pink and purple and orange, I really do imagine that angels live within them.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My mom called from the airport as soon as Aaron arrived in Vancouver. She said he was very sick. As it turned out, he'd noticed that many passengers did not eat their chocolate desserts and asked the hostess if he could have them all. Thinking he'd never eat ALL the desserts, they happily gave them to him and neglected to check back until he was too full to do up his seatbelt. He arrived in Vancouver engorged and miserable. My folks were too thoughtful to laugh--but we sure did!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I thought that Aaron would be too young to appreciate the attractiveness of the airline hostesses who saw him safely to Vancouver. Not so. One of the things he told me he liked most about the trip was all the attention he got from the beautiful girls on the plane...and the jealous looks he got from some of the older men!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My husband had all kinds of models. He loved to make them just for the fun of figuring them out. He even built a model aircraft when we were on our honeymoon, so modelling was definitely in his blood. He could focus for hours, shaving off an infinitesimal piece of plastic here, fitting an impossibly tiny piece there. He had endless patience when it came to building complicated model ships, vehicles, and aircraft. Interestingly, he had much less patience with kids!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The fish Aaron caught with my dad were not great eating, and Aaron was very disappointed when Mom dug them into the garden. For the next fishing trip, Mom and Dad were prepared. When the men came home with fish for the table, Aaron believed he was chowing down on his catch. Sometimes a white lie comes in the form of frozen fillets.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My folks went out of their way to make sure that Aaron had something fun to do every day. And.... typical kid.... he figured this was the way life should be--ALL the time!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did bring a gift for each one of us--fortunately, there were no crabs. This idea came from one of my own attempts to keep wildlife. Trips to the beach on the west coast often included digging in the tide pools, where we'd find all kinds of neat sea creatures. One day I brought home a pail full of crabs, which I left in the trunk of the car. I didn't remember them until my mom said there was a horrible smell coming from the trunk. That smell stayed for weeks ... and so did Mom's anger!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Now that I am dogless, I find dog breath hard to take. When I had Farley, his breath came with warm licks, and his enquiring sniffs were more than welcome. Even so, there were times when I couldn't stomach the smell. Once, when Farley ate my chives, I was overwhelmed by his breath, but there was one time that was much worse; I was standing at my kitchen window watching him happily lying on the warm driveway, chewing something he'd found with obvious relish. He chewed with that look of ecstasy, the look children have when they're eating ice cream, that blissful satisfaction that comes with flavour and fun and mouth-watering fulfillment. He'd toss his head back, reposition his prize, and chew again. He was happy. Eventually, my curiosity got to me and I went out to see what succulent something he was chewing on. I couldn't believe my eyes. The object he was blissfully savouring was a flat, well-rotted, dried-out toad. To Farley, it was dog jerky. To me, it was horrible. I would have shown the true source of Farley's halitosis, but really, it was too gross for publication! [Eventually this gag did make an appearance, with Edgar doing the dirty deed.]