Michael: Browse The Strips

Monday, June 1, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Every time I moved to a new town, I got involved in projects which would improve things: flowers and signs to welcome visitors, painting an eyesore building on a main street corner, fixing up a church, cleaning up the cenotaph. Some of these things were successful and some were not, but along with other like-minded volunteers, I worked hard. After a few years, I stopped trying to improve things and became as complacent as everyone else. It seems to me that it's the newcomers to town who see the flaws around their city and try to fix them. Long time residents just accept things the way they are and don't seem to care any more. Hooray for the newcomers!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Over the years, I have signed petitions based on the information given by the person who asked me to sign. I confess I didn't always read the paper I was signing and could have been adding my name to a petition for, well--just about anything!

Friday, June 12, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My first husband was a radio announcer when I met him, and my second worked as a disc jockey for a while, as well, so I was pretty familiar with the workings of a radio station. Even so, I was tense and far too giddy when it was my turn at the microphone, and I did some awful interviews!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Lynn's Comments: "I'm gradulating" is exactly what my daughter, Katie said. The simplest things can be turned into a smile.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: These days are gone. Few parents will send their youngsters out to play now with a lunch bag and instructions to be home by six. But, this is how it was when I was a kid growing up in North Vancouver. We all played up and down the street until dark; until our mothers were hoarse from shouting.

I got some criticism for doing this strip, but at the time, my kids were quite free to roam too. We lived in a tiny rural town, and I could watch the lane from my kitchen and most of the neighbours' houses from my front window. I always knew where they were, and if I didn't, someone else was on the job. We moms were careful and the kids, we thought, were safe. Even so, I'm reminded of a story: Katie, who was perhaps 4 years old, had been playing in the lane with some friends. I lost sight of her and decided to go and see where she was. I found her in the hall of a neighbour's house. One of the boys, a 6 year old, was holding a rifle saying, "I know where the bullets are! I know where the bullets are!" His parents were at the bar and had left their oldest child in charge--she was 8. I asked the boy to give me the gun. I placed it back on the rack in the hallway. I took Katie home and told her she could play with those kids any time, but it had to be at our house.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My brother and my husband never did go on a canoe trip together, but this series of strips was based on a true and nearly fatal story.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Lynn's Comments: One year my dad insisted we all go on a camping trip into the BC interior. He was an amateur rockhound who loved to gold pan, and his plan was to follow the route of the gold rush to Barkerville and back.

Before we left, both he and my mom made sure we kids had everything we needed. They packed, repacked, checked, and double-checked our suitcases, and told us that if we forgot anything, we'd be out in the bush where there were no stores, we would have to live without it. Off we went in our old 1959 Chev, with a pile of supplies and suitcases lashed to the top of the car.

After a long day of driving, we finally came to our first stop; a swampy, mosquito-infested campground just north of the town of Hope. The sun had dropped below the mountains. Mom reminded Alan and I that there was nothing around us for miles, and to make sure we had everything we needed for a night in the woods--just as Dad discovered he'd forgotten the tent poles.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Lynn's Comments: When I did this strip, my husband and I had a Cessna 185 with amphibious floats. Much of our time was devoted to flying and to looking after the plane. My husband was a serious and well-trained pilot, and when he bought our son, Aaron, a model aircraft, he was sure he could fly it as well as he flew the Cessna. He quickly discovered that a model requires very different skills. This is yet another comic strip based on a scene from real life, and I don't think I asked for approval!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: My three-year-old granddaughter and her friends have learned the word "consequences." When you do something bad--there are consequences. Recently, after a nice evening of playtime and stories, Laura decided she wasn't going to go to sleep. She whined and cried and tried to wake her baby brother, with whom she shares a room. Her mother, Katie, said she would have to give up her favourite sleep toys if she didn't end the strike. Laura whined and lost her teddy. She then lost her blankie, her pillow, her quilt and her sheets. The whining continued until she was lying on a stripped bed with nothing but her "pull-ups" to keep her warm. At this point she capitulated, stopped her bad behaviour, and decided to sleep.

Katie was pleased to have had the standoff resolved--thanks to "consequences."

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I thought about my children. I thought about the three other families who were now gathered together to wait for news--anything that would tell them what had happened, and what was going on. I called them every two hours. I called them just to let them know that everything possible was being done. I felt guilty for being so close to the scene and the first to know. It was all so surreal.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Our kids fought over the family hammock, and we knew it would be a bone of contention until: 1) they grew up, or 2) one of the trees fell down. In a storm one night, the problem was solved; the bigger of the two trees was uprooted and had to be removed. The irony was that both kids were grown and gone by then.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This is a scene from my childhood. I liked being indoors. I enjoyed drawing and reading. Once I did go outdoors, however, it was hard to drag me back in. I remember my mom nagging me to get out and enjoy the sun and the summer--while it lasted. Seeing her asleep was a rare thing. She was one of those people who worked from sun up until sunset, and to find her relaxing anywhere was surprising. I think I'm a lot like my mother!

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: In the comic strip, Michael was old enough to understand what had happened and could talk about the adventure with his friends. At the time of the accident, however, our children were not aware of the seriousness of the situation. All they knew was that Daddy had gone for a trip and big planes had come to town to look for him.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Lynn's Comments: As a family, we didn't attend church too often, but our faith played an enormous role during the search and rescue--and afterward. How comforting it was to have something; someone out there, more powerful than one can imagine to turn to, to talk to, to trust.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I was told by a number of readers that I was stereotyping Brian (whose family background is Japanese) by making him a smart kid. The funny thing was that none of the complaints came from Japanese families! Is there such a thing as a complimentary insult?

Friday, August 28, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Wordplay is something I really love. The trouble is that gags like this will not translate easily into other languages. I have spoken to translators who must change the gag completely so that a punch line will make sense to their readers. A translator of comic art must therefore be a humourist and a wordsmith as well.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I was much more emotional, much more excited than my children were on their first day of school. Maybe it's because I remembered so well my own first day--my own foray into the mayhem of new bodies, new bullies, new friends. Maybe I was remembering the size of the classroom where I sat and what I saw. Maybe I could hear the sounds, feel the noise, and taste the scent of new paper and pencils and paint. Maybe I was reliving their excitement at being a "big kid" for the first time. On the other hand, maybe I was just really glad to have the rest of the day to myself.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Lynn's Comments: When this strip was first released, it was OK to give your kid a good whack on the seat, but not now. We updated it by removing the stars in the last panel, suggesting that Michael had been given a time out.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Aaron and Katie both encouraged our dog, Willy, to clean up after them. He was a handy mop sometimes and would eat almost anything. With this in mind, I once saw Aaron offering the dog his homework.