Michael: Browse The Strips

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Lynn's Comments: During the 60s, I loved a band called "The Ventures." I had all their records and I played them over and over. My mother would clap her hands over her ears and beg me to turn it off. "That is not music!" she'd tell me, "That is just horrible, awful noise!" The other day in the car I turned my satellite radio station to the "oldies," and right there was a tune by the Ventures! I hadn't heard them for years, and there they were! I tapped my hands on the wheel along with the straining, wowing chords, and remembered dancing with my girlfriends in the basement--trying to look like the kids on "Dance Party." I could see what my mom was talking about though; to someone who sang along to Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, and Rogers and Hammerstein, it was a lot of awful noise. I guess it's all about what you grew up with. This makes me wonder--will my grandkids wax poetic about Pop?

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This was a very personal bit of commentary. By the time I had a few books out, I was traveling far too often and working long hours when I was home. Having a studio in the house meant that I was working whenever I could find the time, and often, the time was when my kids needed me to be just a mom and not a working mother.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Lynn's Comments: When I worked with advertising agencies, one of the things I liked to do was to come up with slogans and catchy commentary. I never took the products as seriously as I took the marketing of them. I doubt that I could do a good job of this today--I'm far too cynical!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I still believe this theory to be true. My mom-in-law's secret for serving the best hostess meals ever was: offer lots to drink and no nibbles. Then, when your guests are ready to eat the coasters, whatever you serve will be the best they ever tasted.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Our dog, Willy had a permanent roost under Katie's chair. As soon as she was seated, he'd race into position and wait. It didn't take long for her to become an accomplice in the game of "don't feed the dog." This charade went on relentlessly, and the only player who lost was me.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Lynn's Comments: We once owned the full set of The Encyclopaedia Britannica. I bought this enormous set of books when we lived in tiny Lynn Lake, Manitoba. It was an arctic community into which you really had to fly. At the time, the population wasn't much more than 1200. There was only one radio station, there was no library, and the newspaper came a day late. Other than folks selling things like Avon, there were no door-to-door salespeople--it was just too far to go! When a young Britannica salesman came to our door, I was surprised. I invited him in. I had been thinking that in this area some encyclopaedias would be a great investment. He started to rattle off his pitch, but I stopped him and said it was OK! I was going to buy the whole set! He looked me in the eye in absolute disbelief. "Lady," he said, "I have flown to just about every small community in northern Manitoba, and you are my very first sale!"

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Lynn's Comments: One of the neat things about living in a small town is that you have access to so many things just because you know the people who work there. I came to admire and respect the woman who ran the Capitol Centre Theatre in North Bay. The first time I met Dee she was wearing overalls and was on her hands and knees in the basement trying to get the boiler to work. I asked her why she was the one who had to do this and she said, "We can't afford a maintenance guy--this is a theatre!"

Friday, October 16, 2015

Lynn's Comments: One year, the theatre did sell off a lot of the costumes. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for those wanting an Edwardian dress or a set of feathered tights. Sadly, it was because there was no money for proper storage.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Friends of ours held a pumpkin carving contest every year on the porch of their big North Bay home. There were pumpkins of all colours, shapes and sizes, and the resulting array of faces and pumpkin personalities, which decorated their outdoor staircase, was something we'll always remember.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Lynn's Comments: This scenario is from a Little Lulu cartoon I read as a kid. Little Lulu had found a potato which looked exactly like her friend Tubby. When he found out, he went crazy and chased her all over town to get it. The story line ended with him eating the raw potato. I thought it was hilarious! Funny--the things you remember.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Comic strips and comic books take great advantage of the visual gag. There is no way this punch line could be translated into video!

Friday, November 13, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I think I've grumbled about this before. When a woman (or anyone for that matter) becomes the chief cook and bottle washer--charged with shopping for, planning out, making, and serving up to three meals a day, she or he deserves at least a grunt of pleasure from the bodies who are shovelling in the grub. Actual thanks is wonderful!

Friday, November 20, 2015

Lynn's Comments: There's no punch line here. There should have been. Mike had an opportunity to answer the question with a smart comeback. I couldn't think of one--so, neither could he. This is when telling on-going stories, making one day's strip lead into another, saved my behind. Now and then I could end a strip with an obvious silence--and get away with it.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Lynn's Comments: We were cautioned against letting Farley get too heavy, as this would add pressure to the already stressed hip joint. Putting him on a diet wasn't easy--he would beg for table scraps and I hated to waste them.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Despite problems with his hips, Farley was a happy, healthy pooch who only seemed to avoid the stairs. I loved him because he was a real character--as close to a cartoon dog as one can get!