homework: Browse The Strips
Sunday, January 14, 2001
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Monday, November 8, 2004
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Lynn's Comments: During the 80's there was a Canadian television "reality" type show called "Thrill of a Lifetime". A young woman from Montreal had written to the producers to say that her thrill of a lifetime would to be to appear as a character in For Better or For Worse. I thought it was a fun idea and agreed to participate. The TV crew contacted me and asked if it would be possible for her to visit me at home and to watch me draw the comic strip in which she appeared. This was OK, too!
Monique was a librarian, and so a scenario involving the local community library was concocted. Travelling all the way to Lynn Lake Manitoba was quite a hike from Montreal and when she arrived with camera crew in tow, she was exhausted, nervous and wired. She was to come to the door, wait for me to open it and then the two of us had to be surprised and happy to see each other. This we did many times! Finally, they allowed us to hug and laugh and enjoy the fun of connecting for the first time.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this sweet, enthusiastic young woman. With her ready smile, thick hair and glasses, she made a fine cartoon character! She stayed for the day, I drew the strip, we had dinner together and she left the following morning. We promised to keep in touch - which we did for awhile. I later met her for dinner in Montreal, but our time together was interrupted and I regret not being able to get to know her better.
So, you have the real story behind this strip...and, Monique, if you're still in Montreal, I'd love to hear from you and find out what you've been doing after all these years!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Lynn's Comments: This one was a regular scenario. My studio was in the house and the kids knew when I was so into my work that I was "gone". They were pretty good about it, but now and then, they let me know - in a way kids do - that it was time to come out of the zone and be Mom again!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Lynn's Comments: I remember the misery of having to do social studies while everyone else watched "Gun Smoke" so, I was pretty understanding, when my own kids found the extra work to be a chore. Aaron had the habit of telling me just the amount of truth I needed to know- especially when it came to how much homework he really had. This is another actual quote from my son. He did all of his work that night... and I got a "daily" out of it!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Lynn's Comments: We started to get real homework around grade three. At first it was simple things- like read a story or complete an art assignment. This was easy. I actually liked homework. Perhaps it's because we had no TV and, yes, it rained a lot in North Vancouver...or perhaps I truly enjoyed doing something extra. I confess- I was one of the kids who really enjoyed school and all the challenges that went with it!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Lynn's Comments: I confess. As a busy mom, I went for looks. If things looked tidy, I was content. Likewise, if something looked clean, I left actual fumigation until it was really necessary. After an orange juice disaster that rendered every surface of my kitchen tacky with residue, Aaron (who thought the saying "cleanliness is next to Godliness" meant "invisible forces did the laundry") suggested I wash the kitchen table when his cheek stuck to the surface. I took this as an opportunity for a learning experience...and asked him to wash it himself.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Lynn's Comments: I couldn't quite remember the short story Aaron planned to submit, but it did go something like this. After some discussion about creativity, responsibility and pride, I left my stubborn charge to face the wrath of his teacher. He returned home with an "F" on his paper...and was told it meant "Funny".
"Next time," Sheena Baker told me, "I'll tell them how many words they have to write!" Aaron did well in Sheena's class. She was direct and honest and had a wonderful sense of humour.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, February 23, 2015
Lynn's Comments: My mom (who was good at business and bookkeeping) tried repeatedly to explain simple math to me. I was never able to get it. Years later, my husband, who was also frustrated by my aversion to math said, "The reason you don't like numbers is because they make SENSE!!!" At the time, I was making a good living, daydreaming and making stuff up, so I took this as a compliment!
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Lynn's Comments: There is a reason why parents wait a very long time before buying good furniture. Our living room couch belonged in the nuisance grounds.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Lynn's Comments: Paul Bergan was indeed one of our son's teachers. Paul and his wife were also good friends of ours. It was always fun to use the real names of friends in For Better or for Worse®.
Sunday April 9, 2017
Lynn's Comments: I did this for Aaron…to let him know that I put stuff off, too. What surprised me was the kids really did read my work, and sometimes they knew it was personal.
Monday January 22, 2018
Lynn's Comments: I laughed out loud when this idea came to mind. I remember looking up into the void and saying "Thanks" to the spirit who was writing this stuff.
Tuesday September 11, 2018
Thursday September 13, 2018
Tuesday June 4, 2019
Lynn's Comments: I signed the 20-year contract. For Better or For Worse was "made in Canada" and the content proved to be acceptable everywhere.
In this strip, the idea came from my mother, who told me she had once, in grade school, mixed up the words population and copulation on a test. Yup! …Good stories deserve to be retold!
Tuesday October 22, 2019
Friday March 6, 2020
Lynn's Comments: I omitted the top of the first 3 panels here just to see if it would make a nice change to the look of the strip. I think it did. It was around this time that I started to white out borders and let parts of the illustration extend outside the line. I’ve never been one to keep things the same; another reason why the characters "grew up."