When the Lismore App put a call out for a cartoonist to draw a topical cartoon idea, well-known national cartoonist Ron Lyons put up his hand.

Rod, who lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, has been following the Lismore App’s reporting of the recent devastating floods.

When we spoke to him and he drew this cartoon for us, we were blown away by his amazing skills and this cartoon.

Ron, who originally worked as a computer programmer, said he got into cartooning in 1985 when he saw some cartoons drawn for the Computer World magazine “by someone who had no idea”.

“My wife said ‘you can draw better than this guy’, so I started drawing drew for Computer World in Australia and New Zealand for 12 years,” Ron said.

“Then I drew a comic strip for a while for The Australian computer section - before I needed to have a break."

Remember the 'good old days' of Covid? - a poem

Once upon a time, in the city of Lismore, residents had to wear masks to protect themselves from getting a virus called Covid-19.

Then, as times changed, masks became optional.

But in Lismore, many of the people still wear masks today.

Now it's to stop the bacteria, mud and dirt flying into their mouths when they pressure-hose flood debris from the walls, floors and roofs of their homes.

When Covid restrictions were happening, we had homes to be in and isolate ourselves in.

We had local supermarkets, shopping centres, cafes, take away stores and medical clinics.

Now, we have evacuation centres and free food distribution warehouses.

We have damp homes, stripped of furniture, bathroom and kitchen fittings.

We have borrowed dehumidifiers to stop the mould growing on the inside of the still damp walls.

We have $1000 flood disaster payments - maybe to buy a new mattress and portable gas cooker.

We have streets without electricity, filled with flood rubbish.

But, we have each other.

We sleep in borrowed beds at friends' or strangers houses.

We have small wins of finding precious items from home, tossed in the rubble on the footpath.

We have hugs and hot tea and cold beer and lots of love from our community.

We are no longer terrified of an invisible disease.

Now, we turn to each other for comfort, support and hugs.

Because we survived the great flood of 2022.