In the Beginning, There Was Chaos: For Better or For Worse 2nd Treasury

By Lynn Johnston

As its title implies, In the Beginning There Was Chaos follows John and Elly Patterson as they tackle the everyday joys and sorrows--and surprises and frustrations and challenges--that arise when raising a young family. In her second For Better or For Worse treasury, Lynn Johnston takes readers back to the 1980s, when Elly leaves her column for a job at the library. As Elly chases her professional goals, she struggles with spending less time at home. Meanwhile, John provides consistent comic relief, as he plays Mr. Mom, breaks his foot with a 25-pound turkey, and gets arrested for trying to steal a potty. Of course, the kids are always in tow--Michael learning that with age comes responsibility and Elizabeth discovering the thrills of kindergarten.

Combining strips from Johnston's fourth, fifth, and sixth cartoon collections--Just One More Hug, The Last Straw, and Keep the Home Fries Burning--In the Beginning There Was Chaos reflects Johnston's longstanding tradition of portraying family life with charm, humor, and honesty. Devoted fans will love reliving the Pattersons' younger years, and first-time readers will discover why this endearing foursome is North America's favorite funny page family.

In the Beginning There Was Chaos includes Johnston's commentary on the inspiration behind strips, as well as photos and newspaper clippings from the early days, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse for fans of For Better or For Worse. Join the Patterson family as they find humor in everyday life's challenges.

Lynn Johnston was born in Collingwood, Ontario, and grew up in British Columbia. Today, she lives in Corbeil, Ontario. Johnston is the first woman to receive a Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society in 1985. She has also received the Order of Canada and claims a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

For Better or For Worse has been syndicated since 1979 and was named Best Syndicated Comic Strip in 1992. For Better or For Worse appears in more than 2,000 newspapers in 23 countries, and is translated into 8 languages for a devoted readership of more than 220 million. The strip boasts a lively Web presence at www.fborfw.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449420581

Lynn Johnston

Lynn Johnston is the creator of one of the world's most popular comic strips, For Better or For Worse, which began in 1979 and is published in more than twenty countries. A Pulitzer Prize nominee, Lynn's many honors include the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award and the prestigious Order of Canada. Farley, the Old English Sheepdog from her comic strip, is based on a beloved dog—of the same name—she once owned. Lynn lives in Northern Ontario, Canada.

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Other For Better or For Worse® Collections

Just a Simple Wedding

Home Sweat Home

Seniors’ Discount

Teaching … Is a Learning Experience!

She’s Turning Into One of Them!

Never Wink at a Worried Woman

Striking a Chord

Reality Check

With This Ring

Family Business

Graduation: A Time for Change

The Big 5-0

Sunshine & Shadow

Middle Age Spread

Growing Like a Weed

Love Just Screws Everything Up

Starting from Scratch

There Goes My Baby!

Things Are Looking Up …

What, Me Pregnant?

If This Is a Lecture, How Long Will It Be?

Pushing 40

It’s All Downhill from Here

Keep the Home Fries Burning

The Last Straw

Just One More Hug

It Must Be Nice to Be Little

Is This One of Those Days, Daddy?

I’ve Got the One–More–Washload Blues …

Retrospectives

Suddenly Silver: Celebrating 25 Years of For Better or For Worse®

All About April: Our Little Girl Grew Up!

The Lives Behind the Lines: 20 Years of For Better or For Worse®

Remembering Farley: A Tribute to the Life of Our Favourite Cartoon Dog

It’s the Thought that Counts … Fifteenth Anniversary Collection

A Look Inside … For Better or For Worse®: The 10th Anniversary Collection

Treasury

Something Old, Something New

With Andie Parton

I Love My Grandpa!

So You’re Going to Be a Grandma!

Graduation … Just the Beginning!

Leaving Home

Wags and Kisses

For Better or For Worse® is distributed by Universal Uclick.

In the Beginning, There Was Chaos copyright © 2011 by Lynn Johnston Productions, Inc. All rights ­reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any ­manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

an Andrews McMeel Universal company

1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

E-ISBN: 978-1-4494-2057-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011923009

Author photo by Ed Eng

www.FBorFW.com

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Andrews McMeel books are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchase for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail the Andrews McMeel Publishing Special Sales Department: [e-mail]

Foreword

Reading through this material really does take me back in time. For the most part, the gags and the story lines in For Better or For Worse were fabricated, but the characters were definitely based on our family and the people I knew — sometimes, all too well. The small town of Lynn Lake, Manitoba, was a perfect place to do research. We all seemed to live in each other’s back pockets, and if a story wasn’t true, I knew it had happened to somebody, somewhere!

Syndication deadlines and other comic art-related stuff kept me busy from nine in the morning (when Aaron was in school and my friend Marian Barnstorf looked after Katie) until noon. Then I was a mom again. After dinner, I could get back to the studio — and, fortunately, I worked fast! Even so, there was a lot to do in a day and there were times when life was chaos!

We owned a small floatplane at the time, and my husband, Rod, would fly into one of the native villages each month to provide dental care to people who were unable to travel to clinics in the south. I knew the sound of our Cessna 185 so well, I could hear him flying overhead and would be able to drive to the airport before he landed.

We made our own fun in Lynn Lake. There were no city restaurants. We made dinners for friends, ­entertained with rented movies, and got involved with events in town. We put on skits, joined the curling club, ­organized festivals and carnivals, and watched our kids play hockey. In the winter, the sun came up around ten in the morning and set before four in the afternoon. In the summer, it was the reverse: The sun came up at four a.m. and went down again around midnight. Winter temperatures could go down below fifty degrees ­Celsius making even a short walk to town for milk or a change of scenery dangerous. Outside, we hid in our heavy parkas with hoods covering our faces. We walked with a purpose, and knew folks on the street by the shape, size, and colour of these arctic coats — which puffed white clouds of steam from frosty faces ­inside. Cars not plugged into block heaters wouldn’t start, and at times it was too cold to fly.

Summers came fast. The ice would begin to candle around mid-May. June would bring clouds of mosquitoes and black flies, then dry, hot, sunny days would follow until September, when the leaves of the short, sparse deciduous trees would turn yellow and fall. Summers were wonderful. We spent our time at a small cottage on Berge Lake, which was about four miles from home. Here the kids learned to swim, paddle a canoe, and enjoy the clean, untouched wilderness of northern Manitoba. Because the sun went down so late, we put quilts on the windows, but still you could see daylight and hear the sounds of kids playing and ­neighbours fixing their cars, building things, or socializing outdoors. It was a lifestyle so new to me that I went from loving it to hating it and then loving it again. For our two young children, it was healthy, exciting, and fun. Where else could you travel regularly by floatplane, watch dog teams run, and play baseball at midnight?

I want to tell you about Lynn Lake because it was a world away from the imaginary town the Pattersons lived in. For Better or For Worse was about a family living in Millborough— a fictional suburb of Toronto. People would ask how autobiographical the comic strip was, and I had to say, not at all. On the other hand, it was about us, our friends, our families, our memories, and so on. It was life as I saw it, drawn and written from a perspective that was, perhaps, made clearer from a distance. I could look at these characters from space — my space — not clouded by the realities of city living.

In a way, I was lucky to have been sequestered. The publicity that accompanied the strip took me away from my family all too often, and it would have been far too easy to believe the hype. I had a hard enough time separating fantasy from reality as it was! Those first few years were chaos. But they were rich with ­experiences, accomplishments, adventures, and friends. Some of this you will read here, between the lines. Some is from somewhere I can’t explain. All of it is from the heart.

The strips in this treasury include almost everything published between the spring of 1981 and the fall of 1983. At the time, For Better or For Worse was running in more than 350 papers … and I was running in all directions!

A few Sundays were moved forward to the first treasury, and a few new strips have been added here (these are marked with an asterisk).

We’ve sorted through countless boxes of photos, slides, and newspaper clippings to try and show you where the ideas came from, who inspired the characters, and how the process evolved. This job has been a gift in so many ways … and the best part of this gift is passing it on.

Getting something new — ANYTHING, can enhance my tolerance for mundane chores. Get a new coat? Clean the closet. Get a new bath mat? Clean the can. I think of it as a reward in advance for doing something I really don’t want to do.

I was earning my own money, but we budgeted just the same. I was used to living close to the wire, so when an expensive stereo arrived, I was miffed beyond measure. When this strip was published, I was accused of airing my grievances in public. I said that I wasn’t … oh, but I was!

Katie would toss food onto the floor for the fun of watching both the splatt and my expression. Fortunately, she enjoyed her own leftovers, and if eating meant sitting under the table, so be it. I readily washed down a lunch space and let her dine. Isn’t it amazing how relaxed we are with the second kid?!

I remember kneeling on the couch in the living room, looking through the window at the rain, and thinking, There must be more to life than this. My mother would suggest any number of things to do, but the feelings of boredom and confinement weighed heavily. With no wheels, no money, and nowhere to go, I wished I was a grown-up. Meanwhile, my parents were saying, But, Lindy! These are the best days of your life!

My parents were determined to teach us the proper way to speak. My mother would say, If we only have one language, we’re going to learn it well. My brother and I were given a thesaurus as soon as we could read. We were encouraged to learn a new word every day, and to know how to use it in a sentence.

I didn’t panic when the kids were sick, but I was on red alert the whole time. Every scenario, every dangerous possibility crossed my mind. Even with little or no chance of emergency, I was ready for anything. Never have I cared so much for someone else. When it came to the lives of my children, I discovered I was more than willing to sacrifice my own.

This was a publicity photo taken by the Hamilton Spectator for a newspaper article in 1982. It ties in well with this story line!

Parenting is such a complex career, and these panels reflected my insecurity. We all have our own spin on the subject, our own rules and strategies. We all ask each other for advice, but in the end our families are unique and whatever works is generally what happens! I used to have all kinds of advice for friends with children until … I had kids of my own!

This photo was taken by the National Film Board of Canada when a crew was sent to Lynn Lake to make a documentary about our family. Katie, sitting on my knee, was about two years old.

Elly grumbled so bitterly about being a housewife that I began to get letters from folks who suggested she go back to school. This was a good idea. Since she had been an English major, it made sense for her to take a course in creative writing. I sent her off to class, not knowing where this would all be leading.

I wanted Elly to gain some independence, to have a life outside the family, and make a few new friends. Complicating my life by complicating hers was something I did too often perhaps, and I often wrote myself into a corner. Does one develop new characters and new locations … or stay focused on the family? With only a few seconds a day to tell a story, it was hard to decide, and I often left ideas hanging.

Lynn Lake was so far north that spring didn’t arrive much before May. The lakes were still frozen when the buds began to form, and I remember taking the kids to the lake, where they waded in the slushy water in their rubber boots, wearing shorts on the bottom and winter jackets on top.

As summer progressed, the days lengthened until sunset was around eleven in the evening. People barbecued, washed their cars, and let their kids run wild until midnight.

Getting kids to sleep while it was still light outside was a challenge. A pillow fight was a good way to tire them out, but if that didn’t work … we used threats.