school: Browse The Strips

Monday, October 11, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Elementary school relationships were intense and serious. A "best friend" was validation that you had worth. Best friends gave you confidence, security and status. There was serious competition here and if a third person came onto the scene- the change in chemistry could be explosive. The old adage "three's a crowd" is never more true than in early grade school. I remember adding a new friend simply because I was offered the opportunity to use a bike or share some candy. I bought into others' friendships, too when I had stuff to share. Allegiances morphed, changed and regrouped according to the mood of the day, but the "best friend" was always at the centre of the relationship.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Gordon was a year ahead of Mike and Lawrence when they met, but a slow learning curve and troubles at home made school work difficult. He was later moved back a year, giving him a chance to catch up. Easy going and non confrontational, Gordon was likeable. He was the kind of kid who always saw the bright side. He could make the best out of a tough situation. He was a survivor.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Kids can accept an intrusion, but if the "best friends" status is threatened, it's serious. Sharing toys and time, games and secrets makes your connection intimate. Nothing is trivial when you're a kid- it's all about relationships. From Kindergarten until grade school I hung out with a girl called Arlene. She was my best friend until Caroline was around, and then Caroline took my place. When Caroline was around I became the odd number three. I lived with the knowledge that I wasn't Arlene's favourite and it was OK. Still I wished I had a VERY best friend and when Lucia Messina's family came from Sicily and moved across the street, she and I formed a bond that lasts to this day!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Deciding what we were going to be on Hallowe'en was always a challenge. Everything depended on what was cool, what could be made out of found materials and what would survive in the rain. Vancouver weather was a factor in all outdoor activities, but nothing could keep us from our quest to score the most loot possible on the 31st of October. Ours was a neighbourhood rich with pickings. Lower middle class, mostly new immigrants and Canadians "home from the war"; the folks around us were generous, kind and imaginative. All you needed was a costume, a pillow case and energy to run up and down the steep hills of the North Shore.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I could have done a better job on this strip. The trick is to put an ironical twist into the dialogue which involves the reader. I missed the mark here, by not having Elly thinking in crass, basic and unacceptable terms- ie: "#@**!#*" and then ...dropping the punch line. At the time, I thought words like: "lousy, stupid, crummy" were enough to make the ending work- but they aren't basic enough! I needed some...well, garbage!! With luck I can help other writers improve their dialogue by pointing out my mistakes.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I do feel that a writer must also be an entertainer. This is why there is structure in a sentence, and cadence in dialogue. I soon discovered that poetry is an essential ingredient in writing- especially as it applies to comic strips wherein the reader has less than 30 seconds to visually ingest an idea. Any "speed bump" in the writing has to be smoothed out. If the punch line here was, for example; "Let me think, now.....when did we decide to get a dog?" the cadence would be interrupted and the last line less effective.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Few women have the luxury of combining a satisfying career with being a "stay at home mom". I have never taken this blessing for granted. I have, however always been disappointed that I never finished my education past high school. With Elly Patterson in mind, I imagined how she would feel, trying to pick up where she left off, trying to achieve her degree in English and then wondering... "What now?" What do you do with a potential career now that you've got young children to raise? Raising children is the most important career of all....but for some of us...it's just not enough.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Michael needed a love interest and so Deanna Sobinski appeared. She was blonde, sweet, slender and smart and not too interested in his goofy attempts to get her attention. Her first name came from my friend Nancy Lawn's daughter, Deanna - a playmate of Kate's... and the name Sobinski was from an art school friend - whose first name, sadly, I forget! I liked the sound of these two names together. It was never my intention to have this relationship be rekindled in later years!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I well remember how horrifying it was to reveal an elementary school crush. We would, of course, tell our best friends - who would then prove their loyalty (or not) by passing on the news. I don't think I was too upset when others found out who I liked...but I was always aware of those whose faces would go crimson, should the object of their affection be announced to a crowd. This was powerful ammo and could be used against an enemy just as easily as it was whispered to a friend. "I'll tell them you love GARRRRRYYYYY!!!!" could send a rival for the best seat in the theatre into a panic. The response of "NOOOOOO!" was like the winning chime on a slot machine and I'd wind up in the first row. I wasn't a mean kid, really ....just an observant one.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Lynn's Comments: We did have detentions in elementary school, although they weren't for long. Usually it was a talking to and perhaps a note to take home to Mom. We also got homework. It was never much more than to read ahead in our "reader" - and, yes, I'm talking about "Dick and Jane" (which was a painful bore to those of us who were into The Wizard of Oz and other more challenging books!) Being born a kid was something I thought about a lot. Adults often treated us as if we didn't understand or were "too young" for things like...good explanations to good questions. We quickly separated the dismissive grownups from the cool ones and for these, we'd do our best. Always. Many years later, when I had kids of my own, remembering what it was like to wish I was grown up helped me as a cartoonist - and made me a much better Mom.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember my own Christmas pageants, but my kids remember theirs. Anything that required a script and stage was taken seriously in Lynn Lake, where entertainment was all home made. Costume sessions and rehearsals took place in private homes and the community centre would be packed as friends and family vied for the best seats in the house. Aaron played the part of a shepherd one year, dressed in his bathrobe and striped pajamas, and a reindeer the next. Being in front of an audience never fazed him and even without lines, he played his roles to the hilt. The elementary school teachers were full of ideas and had the courage to pull them off. Music was provided by Mr. Bergan's music group and the community choir. It's amazing to me now, to think about how the town would come together as one for these things, and the talent within our own crowd was amazing.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Again, the material that appeared in the strip was mostly made up. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to have a large, busy class of kids, all involved in putting on a play and one harried teacher in charge of everything. I could play the role of the teacher and also the kids and I tried to put myself into every possible scenario. Aaron's teachers were, again, part of our circle of friends. If I needed the inside scoop on anything, all I had to do was ask! If I wanted to know anything about pharmacy, I'd ask Bob at the drugstore. If I wanted to know anything about the workings of the corner store, "Fergy" Ferguson would be glad to oblige. I talked to the RCMP and to the pilots and to anyone whose career might possibly appear in the strip. Living in a small town meant ready access to wonderful resources, long before the internet made research so easy.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Yes, grandparents are a wonderful invention. I was lucky to have had the best parents-in-law one could ask for. Ruth and Tom Johnston were the models for the grandparents you see here. I used their photographs to get a likeness and their personalities were incorporated as well. I was so glad my kids had a rich and healthy connection to at least one set of grandparents. My folks lived on the other side of the country and were not able to see the children too often.

My own grandparents were either distant in miles or distant in sentiment. The only recollection I have of my paternal grandfather was “putting him out” when he fell asleep sitting up on the couch in our living room. He would smoke home rolled cigs, and the paper would be stuck to his bottom lip while the lit end smoldered and dropped hot ashes on his shirt. I remember slight plumes of smoke rising from his chest and Grandma whacking him with a dishcloth to put out the fire! My dad’s mom was a round lady with a strong domestic streak who was at home in the kitchen – but I do remember seeing photos of her in buckskins, in the snow, holding a rifle! That’s another story.

My mom’s folks were British and rather “upper crust”. Although they appreciated us, my brother and my cousins and I all had to be seen and not heard. In the strip, I had both sets of grandparents play a meaningful role – even though they lived in Winnipeg and Vancouver. In my imagination, it could all be just the way I wanted it to be!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Lynn's Comments: Taking a gift to a favorite teacher was, for me, a significant gesture. I wasn't one to give a gift in order to be liked as much as it was a token of respect and affection. I've said before that I was not an easy kid to control and my teachers had to work hard to keep me in line. I think I remember every one of my elementary school teachers, as they played such a big role in my life. My second grade teacher Miss Campbell and I started out on the wrong foot. Envious of my brother's ability to "write his name in the snow", I convinced one of the boys in my class to pee in the rubber boots in the cloakroom, which he did. It's amazing what kids will do when told to - even by another kid! Anyway, I was held responsible along with the culprit and until the last day of the school year, Miss Campbell and I were at serious odds. Interesting, then, that I would be sad to the point of tears when we all had to say goodbye. I took her a card and a rose tea cup and saucer. It was an extra one of my Mom's and a pattern I particularly liked. I wondered if she'd sip her tea from it and think of me...and forgive me for having been such a thorn in her side!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Being a kid who loved pencils, I also loved the pencil sharpener. I loved the feel of the handle and the way those spiral cutting blades ground into the wood. I loved the smell and the sound and the shavings that spiraled out of the hole when the cup was full and overflowing. A good metal pencil sharpener was fixed tight to the wall and didn't give when the pressure was on. We were a team. I could sharpen a whole box of Rembrandt coloured pencils, then take on a twelve pack of HB's! I leaned into pencil sharpening with strength and determination, every sharpened point a prize. It was a great day when my mother bought and installed a pencil sharpener in my room, next to the desk where I did all my drawing. It meant that I would always be working with a sharp instrument. It meant that she took my drawing seriously and marked a "turning point" (if I may say) in a budding career.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I did this strip I hadn't written an exam in years, but the memory of the challenge, the anxiety, and the thrill of getting it over with will never be forgotten. Having finished a difficult exam I would panic and wish I could go over it just once more. Turns out that your first answer is almost always the right one and there's danger in having time to "fix" what you thought was an error!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My folks had a jewelry store. They carried china, glassware and other gift items as well. This meant they were often asked to provide gifts for our teacher and they would ask me to help them decide what to give to whom. It was difficult to choose something for a teacher I wasn't fond of and the first thing that came to mind was to select something DUMB! I found myself, instead, choosing something beautiful, and in so doing I would rethink my feelings for the person it was for. Gift giving is such an important gesture, and for many more reasons than you'd think!