sunday: Browse The Strips

Sunday October 30, 2022

Lynn's Comments: In Lynn Lake, Manitoba (where we lived for six years), there was a Halloween tradition called, "Trick or Drinking." Lynn Lake was a tiny town. You could walk from one end to the other in about half an hour, so you could visit a friend, drink your fill and not have to worry about driving home. "Trick or drinking" happened after the kids were done with their rounds and had gone to bed. It was a time for the grown-ups to have some fun by dressing up, going to a friend's house and demanding a drink. If the host couldn't figure out who you were, they still had to invite you in, give you a drink and then wait until the next morning to find out who had been in the house! One Halloween, a gorilla walked into our house and demanded a drink. I gave him a beer and watched as he worked it into his head. No matter what we said or how hard we tried, we couldn't determine the gorilla's identity. Around noon the next day, we found out it had been the bank manager—one of the shyest and most unlikely pranksters in town! This just goes to show you that a costume not only changes the way you look, but can change your personality as well.

Sunday November 6, 2022

Lynn's Comments: A neighbour in Lynn Lake used to take in foster children. She had just accepted a little boy who had been left in a backyard. His mother knew that the people who lived there would feed him. She had left him there before. Charlotte asked me if I wanted to see a truly malnourished baby. This little one had an enlarged tummy and all the features of a starving Third World child. She told me he had to have a cookie in each hand before he could go to sleep, and that he constantly hid food in his clothing, so she always had to check the pockets and cuffs of his pants. He hid food in his bedclothes and around the house. He was like a little squirrel: making sure he would have something to eat, making a cache, preparing for winter. With this in mind, I did this drawing...knowing that my own children were lucky to be safe and cared for and fed and loved.

Sunday December 18, 2022

Lynn's Comments: This is another true story. My daughter was happy to deposit a donated gift on a table at the church but couldn't understand why it had to be left there. She wasn't the only kid to be taken away from the service in tears. It takes time to understand that it's better to give than to receive!

Sunday January 29, 2023

Lynn's Comments: My husband was good with kids—as were his staff. One day a mom wanted to be in the operatory with her son because she was sure he'd be too afraid of the dentist to be there alone. Everyone told her the kid would be fine, but she insisted. They let her stay. Everything went well until my husband was about to do the first injection, and the mom, in a loud sing-song voice said, "Here comes the NEEDLE!!" Well, the kid jumped out of the chair and headed for the hills. After that, parents were not allowed in the operatory!

Sunday February 5, 2023

Lynn's Comments: This was MY dad! He could make up anything on the spot, and the way he read stories was hilarious. When my own kids were little, I turned stories around and made stuff up and the kids loved it. I'd learned from the best.

Sunday March 12, 2023

Lynn's Comments: When menopause hit, I couldn't believe how uncomfortable I was. The heat I produced was amazing. I would get up in the middle of the night and stand on our deck—happy to have a -30 degree temperature to cool off in. At times, I thought that heat-seeking satellites would be able to pinpoint our house when I was out there suffering!

Sunday March 19, 2023

Lynn's Comments: Ahhhh...I see here that I drew the wrong door in the background. The door you see at the end of the hallway, belonged at the back of the house. The front door had a different window. Some errors I haven't noticed until now!