For Better or For Worse Comic Strip by Lynn Johnston

January 2013
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

« Wednesday August 1, 2012 | Main | Friday August 3rd, 2012 »

Thursday August 2, 2012

E.B. White, in Charlotte's Web, beautifully expressed the miraculous in the ordinary. About spider webs: "Ever try to spin one?" asks the family doctor. When Fern's mother says she can knit and crochet, the doctor points out that she was taught. "Well, who taught a spider? A young spider knows how to spin a web without any instructions from anybody. Don't you regard that as a miracle?" he says. I gave birth three times. It was work in patience carrying, and work in endurance delivering. But I didn't actually do anything but make love with my husband and it all just happened after that. I don't think you have to give credit to a god to call it a miracle. The appreciation for the "ordinary miracle" in this enchanting natural world is valuable beyond words.

Jane, Nova Scotia

Dear Lynn Johnston, I enjoyed reading your Lynn's Notes from August 1, 2012 where you described how you took every opportunity to drive large farm equipment during your summer at the Cruikshank farm, so you wouldn't have to cook. Was this back in the days before Manitoba required a valid licence to operate heavy and agricultural equipment - like tractors, self-propelled farm equipment such as combines; or did you have such a licence before you worked on the farm?

Paul S. Oro Valley, Arizona

To Heather R., following a definition of the word "miracle" doesn't mean a person is missing out, or they have a worse outlook on life. The universe is full of beautiful and awe-inspiring things, and I think both groups in this debate can recognize that. I think it's a little unfair to say that because just others might not use the word "miracle" to describe that patch of wildflowers means they're overlooking them. On an unrelated note, I wish I could've gone to Comic-Con! I was even thinking about cosplaying as Chell from Portal, but obviously I didn't get the chance. Maybe next year!

Ashley Williams, Eden Prime

I don't have to over-attribute to everyday things the concept of the "miraculous" to find wonder in the world.

Cyn, TN

I, too, enjoyed similar, blissful solitude to that of the grain-gatherers when I rode around on my lawn mower. The sound of the engine obliterated everything else and the monotony gave me the perfect landscape to focus on whatever I wanted to think about. Rarely did any of my four children bother me while I mowed and all the beautiful plants and trees on our acreage kept me visually entertained as I cut those grassy circles.

Diane Siracusa - Hollister, MO

My apologies if this is misquoted: "A man can work from sun to sun but a woman's work is never done." (and we know it's true!)

Geri C NY