For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for January 18, 2015

Years later, John and Elly’s third-born child makes a band if I remember correctly.

Wonder what all the Elly-haters who complain that she suppresses her kids creativity will find to say about this…

_Lynn’s Notes:

One of the things I love to do is sound effects. Trying to come up with the phonetic spelling for the sound a head makes as it hits a pillow, for example, is so much fun. (“FWUMPP” would do it). I think the sound effect I am most proud of is the sound of a toilet plunger. It goes: “Ka_FLOOMP-a-GUSH.” Sometimes you have to decide whether to repeat a letter as in “FWAPPPP!” One “P” just won’t do it. A smack with a wet towel, for example has to sting. This requires several P’s.

If you are a fan of Mad magazine, you’ll remember the wonderful comic art of Don Martin. His sound effects were fabulous. I think he coined “Fwoooommmm!,” and “Ka-chingggg!” One of the weirdest letters I ever received was from Don Martin’s wife accusing me of stealing her husband’s sound effects. I didn’t think I had. The sounds I wrote all came from my head. Then again, can you really lay claim to a cartoon sound? WHHHHOOOOO!!! I sure hope not_-Sorry, but I can’t get the GoComics symbols for bold and italics to work…-

When my daughters indulge in a little “creative expression”, before I get annoyed, I just think about the alternative: that they may not BE here to make that noise. It makes it not annoying. Also, since my husband works 3rd shift, they don’t often have the opportunity.

Curse words are not very creative! He must not have much imagination.

It can’t be very ‘musical’ because Farley is leaving the room, like he has been beaten with a stick, to get away from the noise instead ‘howling’ along with ‘music’ !

Similar experience with the trumpet. And I always used the mute.

“Creative Expression” is still encouraged in schools, especially in the arts but also in science. However, “creative expression” does not have to be an uncontrolled or unguided free-for-all. This particularly applies to the volume (dynamics) of musical expression. Loud is not always better and, in fact, it can get in the way because a person who just bangs away is not usually critically thinking or organizing their art. In addition, uncontrolled noise can damage hearing and cause permanent hearing loss.

Where’s Mike’s horn I thought he could play?

Poor Farley!

I never knew John was such a jerk

I wish Lyn wouldn’t have restarted this strip it would have been better if she continued it as she already had Mike Kids in the pic, Liz wedding to Anthony, Liz becoming a stepmom. Mike Success as a book writer as what people say past belongs in the past stick with the present. they could have still had the for better or for worse. Show the realizing of Liz and Anthony finding out they having a baby together, them raising the baby and to see how the half sister reacts to the baby,showing how april goes thru vet school meets a handsome vet guy and they take over the family farm while being vets, get married and they have their own family. But right now they have Liz in kindergartener years. So I imagine in 5 years Lyn will be writing about Liz getting glasses.

Lynn won’t BE writing anything. That’s the whole idea. She retired.

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Yes, John , especially when you use profanity to the young ones and wonder where they get their foul language from! And punish them for their creative expressionism that came from you!

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Don Martin WAS the best. Like Basil Wolverton with sound effects.

Not exactly — Many of my college students in the 2000s had only had creative writing and had never written anything resembling a professional paper.

Thanks, will try again in future…

Ok. John, don’t be upset when your children “creatively express” those words you just used. Like, let say,…..at school…..on the playground……to you!!

I’m a grandpa and I have been known to follow in my grandpa’s footsteps a few times. One of those is to buy noisy toys (drums and such that don’t use batteries that run down) for my grandkids. ;)