Michael: Browse The Strips

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: We got Farley as a puppy in the fall. The first snow was so much fun. Like any baby, he was thrilled to play in it and would bounce into a snowdrift--right up to his ears. The ravine behind our house was quite steep, and in winter, we had no choice but to slide down if we wanted to walk along the creek at the bottom. Farley watched my husband and me slide down the hill on our toboggan, and with a little coaxing, he stepped forward, sat down, and slid all the way down, too. It was so funny, we laughed till we cried. All that winter, he would slide down the hill. We photographed him and made our friends watch. Summer came, and the following winter, we thought Farley would carry on sliding. He didn't. He had no interest at all in getting his seat wet and clogged with snow. I can't say that I blame him. We, at least, had protection! I guess it goes to show you that even dogs grow up and become sensible.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I got together with other young moms, we talked a lot about coping. We reasoned that the nine month gestation plus the difficulty in delivering a baby made the kid that much more "valuable," and therefore worth the added suffering afterwards. Frustrations were all forgotten, of course, when we looked at the faces of our clean, healthy, and sleeping offspring.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Once my kids were toilet trained and could eat with cutlery, it was amazing how quickly I forgot everything I had learned about newborns and toddlers!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This strip made me laugh today. How funny it seems to have worried about looking older then. Right now, I'd give my left eye bag for a smooth neck and a waistline!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Here I used Letrafilm, the now archaic method of adding black and white texture to cartoons destined for the newspaper. This is a wood grain pattern, and after it came out in the paper, I realized just how badly it reproduced! Sometimes this way of adding depth to a strip looked fine on the original art, but when reduced to the printed format, it became blotchy, muddy, and rough. I was constantly learning about what worked and what didn't!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I don't think schools go for the "give everyone in the class a valentine" any more--and I think it's for the best. Some kids in my elementary classes never got or gave valentines because their folks couldn't afford the bags of pre-cut cards. We couldn't either, but my folks always bought them because they wanted to spare us the humiliation of having nothing to give.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Our folks could never sneak up on us because there were so many squeaky floorboards in the hall. We, on the other hand, knew where each one was.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The snow in Vancouver was rarely the right consistency for making snowmen, but when it was, every kid (and lots of parents) would be outside rolling and packing, and making the most of the best construction material there was. As long as a project was in progress, we were oblivious to wet knees, frozen mitts, and running noses. I remember my dad out there with a shovel making the best forts and the biggest sculptures. One week, the local paper featured a page of photographs of the most outstanding snowmen in North Vancouver -- and despite competitive efforts in every neighbourhood, the snowman that received the most comment was done by a three year old!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When you work with the public all day you save your rants for the folks at home. I worked at home and ranted elsewhere. Perhaps this was a good thing!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Here's a story for you: The province of Manitoba had just decreed that people trained as dental nurses would be licensed to do check-ups, cleanings, small fillings, and extractions on children. Rod's dental practice had expanded to include three First Nations villages, and he needed someone to offset the load. I was on my way to Winnipeg with Aaron (who had a doctor's appointment) when an interesting application came in. Debbie had very good references and was willing to move up to Lynn Lake. Rod asked me to interview her in Winnipeg, so Debbie and I arranged to meet in the hospital cafeteria while Aaron had his appointment. I sat at a table with a coffee and waited for Debbie to arrive.

Right on time, a stunningly beautiful girl with a long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a voluptuous figure came into the room, wearing a black low-cut cocktail dress. She put out her hand and introduced herself. I got her a coffee, and the interview began. Debbie was wonderful. I immediately liked her and knew she would work well with our team. I asked her if she could move up north as soon as possible. "You mean I've got the job?" she asked in amazement. "Absolutely," I said, "you are exactly the kind of person we're looking for." I watched Debbie as she adjusted herself in her seat. She was blushing. "There's just one thing I want to know," I continued, "why on earth did you wear a cocktail dress to this interview?" "Well," she smiled, "when I told my friends I was being interviewed by the dentist's wife, they told me I'd never be hired. So I decided to blow off the interview by dressing up!" I laughed. We both did. Debbie was not only beautiful, she had a wicked sense of humour. She worked for us for four years and was one of the best staff members we ever had.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I was complaining to a friend once about the number of times a week I had to drive my son to hockey. She reminded me that where I lived the arena was just a few minutes away, and where she lived, the drive was over an hour. She also had two sons and a daughter busily involved in competitive hockey. Her three practiced at all hours--morning and evening, and regularly travelled to neighbouring communities to play. I caved and gave her points for the best grumble. In comparison, my efforts regarding Canada's national sport were negligible.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Our small wartime house on Fifth Street had a wood and coal furnace. Warm air was forced through grates in the floor, and these grates were used for everything from drying socks to warming up Plasticine. Plasticine was (and still is) a superb modelling material with which we played endlessly. Heating the house was costly, so our home was often quite cold. We would play on the floor near one of the floor grates, and the smell of warming Plasticine is something I can still recall. I also remember scraping the melted stuff off the floors and the grates when we'd forgotten to remove it.

In our elementary school, we had those large water-filled metal heaters, shaped like a row of packaged hot dogs. Having used the heating system at home for melting stuff, I was intrigued by the possibilities presented by these heaters! At one end, there was an L-shaped valve, which had a small indentation on the top. This tiny valve was very hot, and interestingly, a wax crayon fit into the indentation perfectly. Within a few days, the classroom heaters had a rainbow of melted wax on one end, and an APB was put out for the guilty party. Due to my already colourful reputation, I was detained posthaste and sent to the principal's office. Another memory I have is of scraping melted crayon off the heaters at school, a punishment to fit the crime!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Lynn's Comments: At the time these strips were done, I was travelling a great deal. I went on book tours, I did speaking engagements, and I attended various fairs and comic art related events. Sometimes, we went as a family, but more often, I went alone. The library convention was to allow me to use some of my experiences in the strip.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: One time when I was packing to leave for a speaking engagement, Aaron looked at me and said, "Are you turning into Lynn Johnston AGAIN?!"

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Lynn's Comments: If nothing else, travelling gave me an opportunity to get out of the house--a house in which I often felt like a prisoner.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The breakfast in bed scenario is always shown in cartoons as a parent in bed and the kids delivering a messy meal. I wanted to turn it around and have the kids messing up their own space. I thought this was more often the case.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I was taught to sew at a very early age. As soon as I could manage a needle and thread, I was darning socks and patching trousers. One of the first "grown-up" gifts I received was a sewing box of my own--into which my mother had put all of the things I would need, including a thimble, which was just my size. I kept the sewing case until it fell apart, and up until a few years ago, I still had the tiny scissors my grandmother used for cutting thread. Sewing has always been something I've enjoyed--as long as I didn't have to follow a pattern or make something fit!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This comes from a remark Aaron's grade two teacher made: "Kids always know their friends are coming back if their coats are still on the hallway hanger." One of the children had been ill, but the class was sure he'd be back--simply because something of his was still there for them to see. I thought this was a significant observation!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My brother and I fought over trivia; my kids fought over stupid things, too. Whether it’s caused by boredom or the need to establish territory, fighting between siblings seems to be unavoidable. My mother would say, “You two are LOOKING for an excuse to fight!” And we were.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I think moms should go away once in awhile, just so the family left at home can discover for themselves what we REALLY do all day!