Around Christmas time often memories from your childhood comes to mind. One of those things were the “swapping-gifts-thing”. You brought a gift to a party, put it in the big pile of secret gifts mixed together. Later you got a gift that someone else brought. In theory very clever as you get a surprise. In reality that´s not always the case. If you have hurtful memories from this kind of game, just remember that you´re not alone!
For this snowless winter I have chosen a Little Al strip reminding me of my childhood with plenty of snow and its horror of horrors: the plough car. I remember the kids from the block digging with energy and lust, transforming the banks of snow to phantastic labyrinths with long snow tunnels lit by candle lights. Once we counted to eleven kids in the large cave from where you continue to crawl further in a snow tunnel hunting game. It never crossed our minds that digging snow tunnels and lighting candles in them could be dangerous. It was a happy childhood, where the plough car was a demolishing monster.
The previous dating starting in 1987 were more correct but not exact. Now I change to the exact time for upload even if the strips were still drawn in approximately 1987-89.
Live well – and beware of the PLOUGH CAR!
Burträsk is a small village 30 minutes drive from the coast line in the north of Sweden, famous for its very special Wästerbotten cheese manufacturing. In Burträsk you greet each and every person you meet, and last year the cheapest house in the country could be found here. You know if a person is from Burträsk as they grow hair under their feet.
Quote from an ex Burträsk citicen:
”That hair under the feet thing appears in more or less true stories. True for sure anyway is that it falls off when you move from there”.
Either with or without feet fur, my favourite Burträsk sticker travelled with me on my suitcase for many years: “Burträsk – in the middle of the world”.
Knitted mohair sweaters were fashion in the 1980-ies. I remember this one very well, I made it myself. The Little Al comics were inked using the type of pen architect uses- widths 0,25 and 0,50 mm. You had to shake them once in a while to get the ink flowing, that is what I´m doing in frame number three. But those pens used to dry up fast and get unuseful so I rather don´t use them anymore.
As a kid there was a kids programme about a boy that went to the world of his own unfinished drawings. He had to meet girls without legs, dogs without ears etc – and he had to finish them to help his two dimentional friends. I guess that old story influenced todays strip, and I hope I won´t have to face my own unfinished creatures some day.
This is a favourite! When we are kids the world is so perfect and we look forward to so many things that we deam of doing as adults. But there are many things that are good when we are kids too. You just have to enjoy the benefits of the point in life that you are in at the moment.