Monthly Archives: September 2012
Lynn's Comments: When I was having marriage problems (the first time), I went home to stay with my parents for a while to clear my head and see things from a different point of view. I said to my mother that I wished I had lived with my partner before we had married. In reply, she said she would have disinherited me. "You wouldn't disinherit Alan (my brother) if he lived with someone before marriage!" I said. "That's different." she huffed, "He's a boy."
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Here is another strip that got me into hot water. Removing Michael's towel while he was changing was a reportable offense! The problem with a static image is the subtle elements, which would otherwise explain things, are not there. You can't show subtle things like eye movement, shrugs, knowing smiles, and reassuring gestures. The artist knows the situation is all in fun, but the audience does not. What should be funny is therefore sometimes misinterpreted.
As kids, we would change on the beach under our towels so fast that even the swiftest voyeur was unable to catch us in the buff. We'd yell out "I'm changing!!" just to goad someone into pulling off our towels. That's what kids do! Anyway, this ran and I knew as I saw it in print that I would soon be getting more mail. I learned another lesson... but then again, this job is all "towel and error!"
As kids, we would change on the beach under our towels so fast that even the swiftest voyeur was unable to catch us in the buff. We'd yell out "I'm changing!!" just to goad someone into pulling off our towels. That's what kids do! Anyway, this ran and I knew as I saw it in print that I would soon be getting more mail. I learned another lesson... but then again, this job is all "towel and error!"
Monday, September 3, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This is the truth. As a kid I said the same thing. Kids clean up their rooms to please their mothers and as a mother, I felt I deserved this small effort!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Lynn's Comments: In the north, we always had pork and beans on hand. This was serious "bush" cuisine. P&B accompanied most guides and trappers into the woods. It was common to hear a hunter say, "I'm goin' out with a couple of pork an' beaners" ---meaning he was going hunting with a couple of guides. My daughter Katie loved pork and beans. She liked to mash them into her plate, fire them onto the floor, and occasionally eat them. They kept her occupied. And to this day, I still call her "Beans!"
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Lynn's Comments: After dinner we had a routine: Check to see what homework had been brought home and "remind" Aaron until he got it done. Oh, he would have done it without the nagging. He would have left it until the last minute and dashed off enough to make do. He might even get up in the middle of the night to complete a project, but we liked him to finish it earlier. We wanted to teach him responsibility and pride in having done something to the best of his ability. We didn't want him to do what WE did!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This is a rather revealing commentary. My husband's mom was the kind of parent who said, "Wait until your father gets home!" This made his dad the disciplinarian; one who was tired, hungry, and impatient. On a number of occasions, Rod told me he had been afraid of his father and I was surprised. In my opinion, he was kind and gentle and good with children, which shows how different we can be when we're under stress.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This was me. I remember tying knots in the curtains, jumping on the couch, melting crayons on the radiator, peeling the wallpaper, and dropping toys into the biff. I don't think I was doing these things to be destructive as much as I needed stuff to do. We didn't have a TV, mom worked all the time doing laundry, canning, cleaning, and making meals. And when she wasn't doing housework, she sewed for us and did repairs and alterations for the dry cleaners down the street. She tried all kinds of things to keep us occupied. It's just that we needed constant attention and she wasn't superhuman. She did the best she could. Rainy weather often kept us indoors even in summertime, so it would be interesting for me to poll some of my fellow North Vancouverites to see if they too were as full of mischief as we were.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Lynn's Comments: When my children started going to school, I found it interesting to hear them talk about their teachers' private lives. Teachers talked about their children, their summer holidays, their childhoods, and so on. In short, they admitted they were real people! I think this helped my kids to relax, to trust, and to enjoy their classroom experience.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Lynn's Comments: People complained when they saw things in the strip they thought were bad for Farley and poured out their concern.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This short vignette about Farley's illness made close followers of casual readers who thought they were going to witness his demise.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Farley had always been a healthy pooch, but since dogs suffer like we do from illnesses and accidents, I thought it was time to explore a story about going to the vet.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This gave me the opportunity to show how worried the children would be seeing their dog go to "the hospital." We take each healthy day for granted, and to a child, the family dog seems invulnerable to anything that could take him away. Showing concern for Farley's well-being was, I thought, a story that families could relate to. My sister-in-law Beth (the vet) was a great resource at this time.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This strip brought in a lot of mail. People said they prayed for the safety and well being of their pets as much as they did for friends and family.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I don't really like this strip. Even though the things Elly says about herself are exactly the way I felt, I don't think I handled this idea well. What I wanted to say is: It's easy to criticize, but the truth is... nobody's perfect. Oh well. When a strip I hated came out, I'd cringe, wish I had done something better, and be glad that it would be forgotten by the next day. This was before we started reprinting the duds for everyone to read in perpetuity. So, do me a favour... skip this one and go on to the next!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This was a quote from Beth who has a great sense of humour. I was always thrilled to get a good one-liner "for free!"
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Here is an example of bad lettering. Hand lettering has to be neat, clean, and legible. Spaces between the words are important as well. You have to make sure that the reader's eyes flow easily over the text and that he knows exactly what's being said. I never thought twice about the lettering in this strip until I received a note from a reader saying he couldn't understand why: In the second panel, Elly had called herself a "goon."
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Lynn's Comments: These are some of the one-liners Rod often heard in the clinic. He always had to laugh as if he was hearing them for the first time.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I was happy when this punchline came to mind. I thought it was too good to have been thought up by me alone, that some other cartoonist had surely thought of it too. So far, I haven't been told of a duplication, so perhaps I'm home free. Believe it or not, there are days when two of us will think up the exact same line, and on rare occasions, these are printed on the same day!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Aaron came in one day from playing outside and he was filthy. I told him to go upstairs, take off his shirt and pants, and throw them in the laundry. I told him to then fill up the washbasin and give himself a thorough wash. He was gone a long time. When he finally appeared, he was wearing pyjamas but he looked as dirty as ever. I asked him if he had washed himself and he told me to look at his face. Around his mouth was a circle of clean, pink face. He had licked off the dirt for as far as his tongue could reach.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Aaron had one excuse after another for not going to bed. It seemed as though he never slept. I would hear him late at night doing stuff in his room and I wondered when he'd get into a "normal" routine. Well, he's almost 40 now and he's still a night owl. It's not unusual for him to be up and working at 3:00 am!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Before I had kids, I used to have a very tidy home. After the kids arrived, "tidy" meant there was nothing on the floor you could trip over!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This was true, as I guess it is for many couples. We were both so busy that we seldom had time for a good heart to heart talk. For this reason alone, buying an aircraft was the best thing we ever did. It meant long hours of silent, beautiful flight. Sharing the view, talking through headsets, we really had time to communicate. I wish I'd known then that it was more than a vehicle. Not only did the plane keep us in touch with the outside world, it kept us in touch with each other.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Lynn's Comments: When I was about 12, I decided to draw the man I would marry. I sat down in my dad's yellow recliner with a pad and pencil and I asked the "spirits" to guide my hand. I drew an average-looking Caucasian man with light-coloured, wavy hair, a nondescript mouth and nose, and large, bright eyes. Once finished, I looked at the face; thinking it was a dumb thing to have drawn, I wadded up the paper and threw it away. Wow. I don't know how many times I wished that I had kept that drawing!!!