street: Browse The Strips

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The night I went trick-or-drinking, I wore a white-blonde wig, a Dolly Parton-style outfit, and my false teeth. In a British accent I'd learned from my mother, I greeted our wary hosts who repeatedly begged me to tell them who I was. I was one of the few revellers that night who got to do the big reveal the following day.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When we moved to North Bay and there were many neighbourhoods to canvass on Halloween, we knew that one of us would be carrying Katie home. One night, I saw a friend pulling a wagon behind her as she accompanied her costumed children and I said, "Whoa! Is that to carry all the loot they're gonna get?" and she said, "Nope...it's to carry THEM!"

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Lynn's Comments: My mother used to nag me to do my homework. She didn't have to--really, it was just something she had to do. Her nagging drove me crazy. I'd get my work done, just not at the precise moment that she wanted me to! Perhaps it was her need to have everything organized and under control--or perhaps it's because she was not allowed to finish her own education that she was so focused on homework and studying. My mom's father didn't believe in educating women because "they would just get married and have children and waste it all." How unfortunate. How narrow minded he was. I hope there's a life or two after this one and that she gets another opportunity!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I loved comic books and considered myself a superhero. Not a female superhero with a huge bust, skimpy costume, and impossible sexy powers (these women were Barbies compared to me!)--I was a REAL superhero. If I saw a smaller kid being bullied by a bigger kid, I'd take the guy on--even if it meant getting my dress torn or my face bloodied. I was a fighter, and when the mood struck, the energy I could put into a good punch-up amazed me.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Lynn's Comments: There is a lot being said these days about bullies and being bullied. I was picked on pretty viciously at school and I was guilty of bullying, too. We picked on each other because of our looks, our families, our clothes, and our income. We said mean things, wrote mean things, and passed on mean information--which was mostly untrue. Why? I can only guess. The thing is, we all grew up. The kids I went to school with have all lead full lives. With the perspective that only comes with age and experience, we have faced some of the kids we bullied. We can see now who they really are and they too can get to know us. With mature understanding comes respect and I confess, misgiving. As kids, we spoiled so many chances to connect with and enjoy one another. Because we were too young, too naïve, and too selfish to see past our own need for acceptance, we lost the chance to enjoy the friendship of some truly wonderful people!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I remember taking my mother's advice and being nice to one of the kids I "hated." It worked like a charm. After my enemy was certain that my efforts were genuine, the feud ended. This didn't keep me from fighting, though. I still needed the occasional pounding... and I gave a few in return. It's interesting to know now, having talked to some of the kids with whom I had serious differences, that we had all come from families where discipline was strong and physical. If "a pounding" was commonplace at home, then this is how we resolved our differences outside!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I have always wondered what it is that makes boys and men want to run around shooting each other, when a really good, moderated argument would resolve almost anything. My thinking is: If women ruled the world, we'd get the politics over with expediently, thereby saving the civilian population, then do our best to rejuvenate each other's economies by shopping! This said by someone who admits to having been a street fighter at the age of five!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The one time I remember going Christmas shopping with my dad was the time he decided we needed a new couch for the living room and wanted to buy one for Mom for Christmas. Bad idea. We bought a squared-off, ugly beige thing with fabric that felt like the rough side of Velcro. Mom hated it ... but, true to form, she never complained. They had that awful couch until they moved out of the house on Fifth Street. The next couch they had, she bought--with no input from Dad. Fair is fair!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: In Vancouver where I grew up, February could be four weeks of cold, bone-chilling rain. Now that I live in Ontario, February is a month of safe outdoor activity. Snow machines, and even trucks, ply the surface of the lakes. With the consistent low temperature driving can even be easier. Some folks look forward to February. Fishermen and skiers wait all year for a time when they can thoroughly enjoy their sport. Friends ask me which I prefer: the rain of the west coast or the cold of Ontario, and it's a toss-up. For me, either way, the month of February will always be far too long!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Everyone smoked when I was a kid. It was cool to have a cigarette in your mouth--you looked like a movie star. At the corner store we could buy packets of candy cigarettes. They were sticky and gritty and tasted vaguely like peppermint. If it was cold enough outside, our breath turned to steam and we'd pretend we were lighting up for real. When my brother and I finally scored the real thing, I was surprised to discover how horrible they were. How anyone gets "hooked" is beyond me!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: "Crazy Eddy's" was based on "Fergy's" in Lynn Lake--part confectionery, part pool hall; a place where boys of all ages liked to hang out. Fergy himself was a dishevelled, crotchety old guy whose motto (printed over the entrance) was "Buy or bye-bye." He sold cigarettes to minors, bent the liquor laws, and bragged about being just honest enough to stay out of jail. Even though we didn't like our boys to go in there, we knew where they were, and in a "frontier town," Fergy's was safer than some of the other haunts around town.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Video games were just coming to the fore when we lived in Lynn Lake. I spent a fortune on "Pong" and "Pac Man" and "Asteroids," which Aaron loved. Compared to the games of today, these were so simple, but at the time, they were a fascinating technological breakthrough. Suddenly, there was a new dilemma; how does one become proficient at this without turning into a large head with a thumb on it?

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Gordon Mayes was a composite of a number of people--kids I knew who had problems too big to talk about. We all knew who had troubles at home--without knowing what those troubles were. Sometimes the signs were too evident to ignore. The surname "Mayes" was for Carol Mayes--a friend of mine in elementary school.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Remember eating snow and believing it tasted like ice cream? If you don't, you didn't grow up in a northern climate! The only snow we didn't eat was yellow!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Some of Aaron's friends did have keys to their houses, but again, the town was so small that we all looked out for each other. In general, the kids didn't get into too much trouble. Small towns are a relatively safe environment for kids--which is probably why they all say they can't wait to leave when they hit their teen years!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron was eight years old when he decided that he'd like to go to Vancouver by himself and visit my mom and dad. We were surprised by his courage. Most kids his age would have been terrified of flying alone--and for such a long distance.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When this strip appeared, I had immediate responses from stargazers who told me that on that date in our time zone, the crescent would be going in the other direction. They were right. From this time on, I made sure I checked out the phases of the moon on our calendar before drawing a moon in the sky!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: So many times I ran around my neighbourhood with a finger or a plastic gun, pointing at friends and crying, "BANG! You're dead!" It was exciting. It was fun. We heard the headline news and listened to our parents. Dad had been in the war, but nothing they said made a difference. We were on a mission to win something. We didn't know what. There was no real sense to it, nobody explained why we were fighting or what death meant. We were just caught up in the thrill and the energy and the noise and the fun. Later, as a cartoonist, I saw a striking similarity to a child's attitude and what really happens in a war.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The first day of school was always exciting for me, and a new teacher was fresh meat. The ones who were most successful in taming our classes began by setting down the rules. They were strict, no-nonsense people who could stand up to the most irritating kids. If they also turned out to be creative, entertaining, funny, and fair, they had us in the palms of their hands, and we learned--just to earn their praise.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My husband actually admitted to me once that he put the dishes in the dishwasher "the wrong way" on purpose! It meant that I did it all the time so it would be done "right!"

Friday, November 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The thought of not allowing my kids to dress like punk rockers makes me smile. Unlike some other moms, I encouraged my kids to dye their hair and wear crazy outfits. They wouldn't go for it. Perhaps it's because I insisted, or maybe they weren't into that kind of stuff. Either way, they never did the punk thing, and I'm OK with that, too!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Sure enough, a man from Ohio sent a letter telling me that he had indeed broken his foot by lifting a heavy frozen turkey by the tag, breaking the wire tie. The worst part of his injury, he confessed, was that nobody felt sorry for him. He said that as soon as they heard how it happened, they laughed. "If I had been skiing or hiking and had broken my foot, I'd have had some sympathy!" I sent him a strip. He wrote back to say it made him feel better!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Looking for a wayward mutt on a night like this is one of the downsides of dog ownership. When our small spaniel, Willy, wandered off, it was usually "Mom" who put on the boots and jacket and went out into the gale to find him. I was convinced he could hear me quite well and was just ignoring me. This was something the kids did too. It infuriated me. At least kids understand a mother's wrath. When a dog comes home to a fuming human, he just pants and wags.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The snow in Vancouver was rarely the right consistency for making snowmen, but when it was, every kid (and lots of parents) would be outside rolling and packing, and making the most of the best construction material there was. As long as a project was in progress, we were oblivious to wet knees, frozen mitts, and running noses. I remember my dad out there with a shovel making the best forts and the biggest sculptures. One week, the local paper featured a page of photographs of the most outstanding snowmen in North Vancouver -- and despite competitive efforts in every neighbourhood, the snowman that received the most comment was done by a three year old!

Monday, April 7, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I confess; when I went on business trips to cities where relatives were accessible, I would often "forget" to tell them I'd be there. I had so little time--most of which was taken up with meetings, interviews and book signings. I had little time to adjust before packing up and moving on. Sometimes folks were offended, but my philosophy was: If you can't have a really good visit, then don't visit at all! Later on, I made up for these fast take-offs and landings.