Michael: Browse The Strips

Friday, April 11, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I went away on business several times a year. The most exhausting trips were the book tours. Authors, at the time, were routinely sent from city to city to do as much publicity as possible. At first it's exciting and rewarding--and dangerously ego boosting as well. By the end of the tour I was tired of talking, tired of signing, and just tired of ME! Still, I was a ham--eager to please, and by the time the next book was due, I would be looking forward to the next tour.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I look at these drawings again, it's always from a new perspective. In this case, I wish I had drawn Elly with a happier expression. After all--a clean house is the perfect gift, no matter how it's announced!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Mrs. Baird was a background character who was meant to be put aside once Farley came into the family (her hobby was breeding Old English sheepdogs). To tie in with this, I also did a few strips about her being a friendly neighbour. I guess her short appearance struck a chord with some readers who asked to see her more often. In this Sunday page, I have her working in her greenhouse and talking to Michael--in a way that enabled me to say more about her personality and her past.

If Mrs. Baird was based on anyone at all, it would have been the ladies who lived across the street from us when I was growing up in North Vancouver. They were sisters, the "Miss Stewarts." They taught kindergarten and piano and were endlessly patient with me. I made a habit of going to their home uninvited and was rarely told that they had no time. When I needed an extra hug or another grown-up opinion, I headed for the Miss Stewarts' house and twisted the ringer on the front door to be let in.

Not long ago, I was in North Vancouver and I went for a nostalgic walk down Fifth Street. Their old wood frame house is still there, though mine is now a condo complex. A notice was on their fence to say the house and the one next door would soon be condos as well. I'm glad I got to see it one more time. There have been many unforgettable folks in my life, and these two ladies are certainly among them!

Monday, April 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The library where Elly volunteered was based on the library in Dundas, Ontario, where I went with Aaron to borrow toys and books and to take in the free events put on for kids. There were readings, films, children's shows, and an annual yard sale--the profits from which went to buy the toys we all borrowed and appreciated so much. That library was a resource and a refuge, and even though these images were sparse in detail, I felt I was "there" when I drew them!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My folks taught us to appreciate money. Anything over and above the weekly allowance had to be earned. There were always small chores assigned--easy enough to be completed, yet significant enough to be helpful. We were genuinely pleased with ourselves for finishing a job and excited about the payment afterwards. The next lesson was to make sure the money was well spent. With the corner store a short bike-ride away, that part of the lesson took a bit longer to sink in.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: As kids, our backyard parking space was a covered rectangle--which smelled of cat spray and mud. North Vancouver's heavy rainfall was the one thing we needed protection from. Sweeping out the garage would have been a serious chore--if we had one. It wasn't until I moved my family to Ontario that a garage became familiar and oh so necessary. At this point, it was MY kids who hated sweeping the garage!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I remember saving to buy my mom something for Mother's Day. What can you buy for a few cents? Even in "the day" when things cost less--earnings were less too. Dad would give me 10 cents for chores that were "one off", like pulling weeds from the front path or picking up branches from the lawn. I preferred these small chores to an hourly wage. For a kid, 60 minutes of "work" is a sentence, not a job!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The first gift I ever bought my mom for Mother's Day was a blue rose. It was artificial; fabric, paper and wire--but I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Very fortunately--so did she.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Aside from getting out the message that chaos always happened when I needed to think, I did owe a letter to my aunt Bessie. This was a way to tell her I was thinking about her and get some work out at the same time. Unfortunately, Bessie never read the paper the day this was released, but I did write the letter I owed her!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was in high school, I went out with a guy whose dad was a florist. I would often wait for Ken at the family flower shop, taking the opportunity to look into the big refrigerated room where the flowers were stored. I'd sneak into the back room where vases were kept and arrangements were designed. It was exciting. I loved the ambience, the colours, and the smell, and when Ken gave me a corsage, I kept it for as long as I could. Flowers are still my favourite gift--to give and to get!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My dad always made us cards. For birthdays and other events, he'd draw something funny, write a poem or a joke, and that was part of the gift he gave us. To this day, I like to make cards for my family--and again, it's a special part of the gift.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Lynn's Comments: There had to be a bad guy in the picture, so Brad Luggsworth was introduced. His last name just popped into my head. It suited him. Brad was out to get Michael Patterson and anyone he hung out with. I don't know why he set Michael in his sights, but that's the way it was. Brad was a large kid, a slow learner with a chip on his shoulder who threw his weight around. FBorFW had become a "story strip." New characters provided great material, but they added to a growing "cast" as well.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I don't know who the Brad Luggsworth character was based on. There were always big kids in school who intimidated just because of their size. In my world, I was the bully. I felt safer if I was the one with the chip on my shoulder and the penchant for a fight. I was always ready to defend myself--or, maybe the word was "protect."

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Behind closed doors, I had a dopey, mommy-to-doggie vocabulary, which I shared with Farley alone. I even had a song I sang to him, and later, I made up a song for Willy, our small black spaniel. While openly criticizing other pooch-parents for talking baby talk to their canine family members, I was doing the very same thing. My dogs appreciated it. This was a language we shared in the privacy of my home. This Sunday page allowed readers into our secret world. I believed that the sheer stupidity of what Elly was saying would be taken as "made-up cartoon dialogue," but not so. I received several letters from readers telling me they used the exact same words of endearment!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Not so long ago I was wandering around one of the local high schools--waiting for the robotics team to run one of their competition models (I am such a fan!) when someone opened a locker. The familiar smell sent me back in time to days of lunch bags, gym strip, foolscap and gum. They say that you don't forget smells, so test yourself: think of new Pink Pearl erasers, a doll's saran hair, pencil shavings, crayons and wax lips--do they bring back memories?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lynn's Comments: For the new release of this strip, the dialogue was changed to read, "Hey, guys, what's short and round--" I knew I would still get negative mail but perhaps fewer complaints than when it was first printed. People don't want to see derogatory remarks of any kind, even if it's exactly what two little boys would say. I could have deleted the strip, but I rather liked the gag!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This cartoon was done specifically as a message to my son. Word for word, grimace for groan, I expressed my outrage in the most visible and lasting way possible. When the strip appeared in the Toronto Star, I showed it to him hoping that he would be shocked into changing his evil ways. I said that millions of people had read it and now knew about the way he treated his laundry--and ME! Aaron read the dialogue thoroughly and said, "I get the gag, Ma, but what's your point?"

Friday, May 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I actually did make two meals one for me on a diet and one for my family--who wanted more substantial grub. The hard part was cleaning up their leftovers and not swilling down the lot!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother didn't like me drinking out of the water faucet in the bathroom sink. She told me that there were snakes in the water pipes and they laid eggs in the water, so I had to look at the water in the glass to make sure there were no eggs in it. If I drank directly out of the faucet and swallowed the eggs, well--snakes would grow in my stomach and come wriggling out of my nose! It worked. I stopped drinking out of the faucet and looked for eggs in every glass of water I poured. I still think of this when I get a glass of water. The "power of suggestion" is power, indeed!

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother had a day of the week for laundry. Rain or shine, she washed on Wednesday, and there was an order to the way she hung the clothes on the line. Sheets, towels, and good clothing was hung first--so it could be seen and appreciated by the neighbours. Underwear and things not meant for public scrutiny were hung closer to the house. These things were easily reached by standing on the rungs of our porch railing, and often fell prey to my brother--whose pranks with Mom's unmentionables were legendary.

After our neighbour's big dog, Teddy, died, their daughter, Tootie (our babysitter), bought a small fuzzy pup, which she called "Noby"--short for "Nobody." Noby was a sweet, easygoing little pooch who put up with just about anything the local kids would do to her. One day, Alan decided to dress her up in Mom's underwear. Noby dutifully stood still while bra and panties were administered. Al expected a wild struggle for freedom, but Noby stood still. Frustrated by the lack of action, Al lifted Noby up and placed her inside a sheet, which had been doubled so it could hang on the lower line. Noby went crazy. She squirmed and howled, and we worried that she'd tear the sheet open. Tootie soon came to her rescue. She pulled Noby out of the sheet, cuffed my brother on the side of his head, threw the bra and panties on the lawn, and went home.

I picked up the underwear and put it back on the line. The sheet was left to dry. Later, when Mom pulled in the laundry, I watched as she folded it. When she got to the underwear, she frowned, wondered why it looked unwashed, but kept on folding. Then she reached for the sheet. There in the middle was a mess of dirt and dog hair. Mom looked at me and said, "Where's your brother?" Alan, of course, was gone. I was close at hand and received the brunt of her wrath. After a thorough tongue-lashing, I was sent to my room--Al had to wait. Nothing was said when he came home, and I was furious. I thought I had taken the blame for everything! Later that evening it was clear that justice prevailed. When Al pulled the blankets back on his bed, there was the dirty sheet. Grossed out and grumbling, he slept on it for a week!