store: Browse The Strips

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Lynn's Comments: My dad took us to the Hudson's Bay store one year to see Santa. We were a bit too old to do the Santa thing, but this was something we felt we were doing for Dad. He was in a great mood and enthusiastically encouraged us to wait in a long line. As we stood there, he went on and on about the decorations and the scene in which Santa had been placed. I remember thinking that he was way more excited about this than we were. Eventually, Alan and I had our turns on Santa's lap, were photographed, given a candy cane, and allowed to go. Dad was beaming, and on the bus heading home, he quizzed us about our Santa experience. "Well," I said, "he was greasy and smelled like cigarettes and needed to use a toothbrush really badly."

Alan added, "His beard wasn't real and didn't fit right, and I didn't like the way he said 'Ho, Ho, Ho'." Dad looked out the window of the bus for a while and said little else about our trip to see the great Claus. When we got home, I overheard Dad talking to Mom about our excursion. As it turned out ... the man who was dressed as Santa was a great pal of our dad's!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Lynn's Comments: There were no sporting goods stores in town, so "work out clothes" were limited to cut-offs, tees, and cheap sneakers: the uniform of the north. Anyone wearing spandex would have immediately been branded a "southerner," a city-slicker--someone who didn't fit in. This pretty much described all of us!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Robert's Fine Jewellery was one of the flagship stores in Lynn Lake. It reminded me so much of my dad's store in North Vancouver, that I had to include it in the strip. Having grown up surrounded by giftware, jewellery, and trinkets, I was never too interested in owning any of it, but after I left home and had my ears pierced, things changed. I started to really appreciate jewellery, and once in awhile even though I felt guilty for doing so, I'd buy myself something small, something nice.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This trip was quite an adventure for all of us. I preoccupied myself with organizing clothes and other things he had to take--which took my mind off losing him to the great world out there.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The habit of bringing home gifts when I travel has been handed down to my children. Now whenever they travel, I can't wait to say, "What did you bring me?"

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The other day I watched a young mother guiding her son around the grocery store. She was letting him do all the shopping. She asked him what ingredients he would buy if he was going to make chili and what would make a nice salad. The child was about four years old and right into the project. This was a shopping trip just for him. He had to think about what he was buying and why. He was told about the cost, how one kind of bathroom tissue might be a better value for the family than another. He made decisions about desserts and treats and whether one kind of bread would be more nutritious than another. I was so impressed with this young woman's insight, patience, and ingenuity that I had to compliment her. She just said, "He was interested, so I thought it was time." As I watched her continue to the checkout counter, I wished I'd had her good sense when I was shepherding my little ones!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Katie was much too big, but she insisted on riding in the shopping cart baby seat. I told her repeatedly that it wasn't a good idea, but I gave in. As soon as she was settled, she was stuck. I told her to be patient, that we'd get her out when I paid for the groceries. She wailed. The man at the meat counter came out from behind the showcase and lifted Kate's upper half while I pushed her feet. We extracted her without injury. I said nothing. I didn't have to!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This story came about when I picked up a huge turkey by the metal tag and lifted it into my cart. It occurred to me that I had done something really stupid. The turkey weighed at least eighteen pounds, and if I'd dropped it, I could have broken a foot!

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, July 27, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I'd occasionally buy the National Enquirer if I recognized the celebrity on the cover--and cared! I did, however, buy the News of the World regularly. Who could resist headlines like the ones I had fun with in this strip?! The stories were so wonderfully preposterous, I secretly wished I was one of their writers. A few years before this fine rag went belly up, I read a headline that was very similar to "Octogenarian gives birth to triplets" (panel three), and I hoped it had come from this strip!

Monday, August 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother was a wonderful seamstress. She could make anything, which was a blessing because we couldn't afford to buy much in the way of clothing. One year, she found several good quality raincoats at the Salvation Army store. She washed and ironed them, took them apart, and remade them into coats for my brother and me. They were attractive, stylish and beautifully finished. Nobody could tell they had been made from second hand fabric. Even though it looked good on me, I refused to wear mine--not because it was second hand, but because it wasn't what the other kids were wearing. My mom was near tears but said nothing as I put on my blue cardigan. I never did wear that coat. This is one of the many nasty little things I did that I still regret. Guilt. Sometimes, it can last forever!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Yes, this happened--and with all the theatrical sarcasm seen here. This was what made our marriage so much fun. We were both able to laugh and make jokes out of just about anything.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I never went shopping with my husband; having a man wait patiently, or impatiently, while I peruse a dress shop would be horrible! I would have to rush, which would take away from the true shopping experience. Whenever I see some sad chap sitting uncomfortably outside the change room in some frou-frou boutique, my heart goes out to him. I want to say, "Get off your duff, go do something YOU want to do, and meet her somewhere else!" This strip was done in solidarity with those who shop and those who wait.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Lynn's Comments: After this strip ran, I received dozens of letters from readers who wanted to know what the heck was Michael doing with a bag of milk! Everyone knows that milk comes in waxed paper cartons or in plastic jugs, so what was this all about anyway?!

All an artist has to draw from is what she sees around her, and in my place of residence, milk comes in cartons, but also in strong plastic bags with a set of three bags of milk inside. Each smaller bag contains a litre of milk and we use special plastic or pottery jugs to keep them upright in the fridge. This way of packaging milk is as familiar in Canada as Coke in a can, so I assumed my readers everywhere would get the gag! Not so. The thing that struck me about the questioning letters was that some of them were as cruel and derisive as the trolls on the internet are today. They spoke with indignant authority, demanding to know what the **** I was talking about! Didn't I KNOW that milk doesn't come in bags?

Fortunately, this was when mean messages came with return addresses and we had a lot of fun sending photos and copies of milk advertisements to those who needed to see it for themselves. The impression I got from this was that not enough people travel, and they should!--Especially to Canada.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Lynn's Comments: I used to wonder as I sat on Santa's knee, why sometimes he had a false beard and sometimes he had a real one. My dad had the answer; he said that sometimes mice got into Santa's beard, so he'd shave it off. This meant wearing a false one until it grew back--which made sense to me at the time.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Lynn's Comments: Katie did exactly this while I was shopping in a department store. With too much to carry and deadlines to meet, I ran from the store wondering how long it would take for the management to discover her handiwork.