Just Kidding?

This is the time of year for lists, bests and worsts, reflections and hopes.

Winter here in my part of the world is colder, the trees are bare and more time spent indoors.  We exchange gifts, greetings and newsletters describing how well it went.  I like all that.

As one soured by politics, business and social trends and environmental destruction, this year brought hope that real change may be possible.  We’ll see, and I guess we should all do something to help.  Progress in medical science, communications technology, climate change awareness and the basic good humor of most of my fellow human beings have been all that stood between me and becoming a total poop.

What I’ll remember most about 2008:  SAM’s retirement after 39 years and our decision to walk down the road ahead, together.  My sons growing and learning from life’s experiences and finding how to make a difference in others lives.  Our new president’s amazing campaign and victory and the good he’s awakened.  Please keep him safe.

Can’t forget about my 401Ks collapsing.  Thanks, greedy Wall Street managers and righteous de-regulators.  While I wait for the stock market to rebound, I sure appreciate my cartoon and caricature clients and two consulting engagements and my trusty social security.  I’m very thankful to be solvent.

Fresh appreciation this past year of hummingbirds, butterflies, and WALL-E (even better the 2nd time); Stacey and Mark who left sunny LA to eat turkey in the mountains of WNC; pals Neil and Connie, Rose and Karl and Steve and Jacquie who also visited; founding fathers George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and, not so founding but still fascinating, Theodore Roosevelt;  flocks of migrating Canadian geese honking as they fly overhead.  Visits to new places: Stockbridge, MA and Hartford, CN, Oyster Bay, NY, Sussex, NJ, Raleigh, Cherokee and Tyron, NC.  Revisits to Key West, FL, Port Clyde and Camden, ME, Hopkinton, Needham, Harvard, and South Dartmouth, MA. And, with SAM all the way.

I miss running and TKD, the old James Bond movies, analog TV (soon), fresh tasting fruit, and going to work each day with no budget and systems that go down (I’m kidding.)  Never thought I’d have to learn how to pronounce “Blagojevicht”, but I love his hair.

We had a nice holiday, first with my sons and Anyta, then with SAM’s sister and family in Upper Nyack, NY, saw two great shows at the Met (MMA) and had a nice dinner with my agent Lou and his spouse/artist Marj.

If you actually made it this far, you may be wondering, “What’s the point?  Now and then I like to take stock and make sure I’m still heading in the right direction.  I am. There’s plans and serendipity and a lot of gratitude for family and SAM and friends.  2009 is what will be, Happy New Year.

Washington, DC.  This city is full of grand buildings.  My favorite, after forty years is the Capital.  Well, deduct the past eight years while this grand living monument to our constitution and government was surrounded by Jersey barriers, barbed wire and 8-foot plywood fences.  Yuk!  Bin Laden won that round.

Now that construction and ugly security is mostly gone and the visual access to the east-side is restored.  Underneath what was once a simple park separating the Capital and the Library of Congress and Supreme Court buildings lies a new park surrounded by Bollards and a lot of capital police.  Beneath is a giant new museum, welcome center, and tourist management facility, three stories down is - The Capital Visitor Center.  Considering the task for providing both access and security in post 9-11, not so bad.

The design, materials and workmanship are 1st class.  The history on display, staff and even the restaurant were impressive.  Not the old days, when you could just go in the front door of the Capital anytime, but OK with me.

Not so OK is the new, being redone, but still touted, Smithsonian Museum of History and Technology, Behring Center.  Very nice job on the star spangled banner flag (Thanks Hillary and Ralph Lauren.)  A “good” on Julia Child’s Kitchen, but the rest is a hodge-podge and the cafeteria is AWFUL!  Wait until it’s finished or at least until the computer history section is restored.

West Side Story.  It’s been 50 years since this Broadway, and later film sensation, auditioned at the National Theater here.  Mr. Authur Laurents (original story, and now director) introduced the rehearsal show recounting some history and telling us to turn off our phones.  Thanks to pals Jon (plays bass in the orchestra) and Kathy for the tickets.  A great pre-show dinner at M&S Grille (plug here because they comp’ed our meal after they ran out of SAM’s favorite tea.)  If you’re in/around DC in December looking for a good show, this is it.  The redo is bilingual, flush with young talent and the dancing and vocals are almost classical.  It moves, enchants and reminded me of my high school days.

Our holiday card is in the mail.  This is the first time I’ve ever had help.  The graphic, pictured above, illustrates our family busily multi-tasking in our new world of heart-felt communications, critters included.  Yes, I’m getting old - ho, ho, ho.

I understand better what it means to grow older. SAM and I spend a week with our adult children.  Sure, times and priorities and tastes change.  But these young folks are grown up now and want to be treated that way.  We the parents, have changed too, but it’s tough for the “kids” to see it.  It’s a subtle thing - a slow blurring of roles.

Our turkey this year (left) was stuffed with a can of beer with a hole in it.  No kidding.  It was good.  Below are son Chon, SAM, Stacey and Mark.  Missing this year were son Will and Chon’s friend Anyta.

What was not subtle, was how much we looked forward to, and enjoyed their Thanksgiving visit in Asheville.  They all traveled a long way and with some disruption to their “normal” schedules to be with us. They were somewhat captive to our interests - the places and activities we enjoy - and still “went along.”  Everyone cooking parts of the turkey meal, tours of the Biltmore, Folk Arts Center, hiking the Chimney Rock area (right,) and visiting local urban sites seemed tolerated.  Shopping, pool, card and Wii games, and horror films also made it into the entertainment mix. So, sorting out what to do was fairly easy and we all found common ground overall.  Dinners out at some of Asheville’s wonderful restaurants were the easiest part.

Finally, back in DC, friends Bob and Cam gave us tickets to the annual USAF Band concert at DAR Constitution Hall.  (Bob plays trumpet.)  T’was a very cold and windy day, but the seasonal music inside warmed us all.  We loved the program and the happy conductor, talented musicians and the chorus.  The vocals were outstanding.  Our military bands are a national treasure. Later, we had a great meal at Mark’s Duck House with sons Will and Chon.

That’s my Fall mouthful.  Delicious.  SAM and I have been traveling for the past two months and now it’s time for a reflective synopsis.  SAM and I are together now all the time and, as my caricature pal Terry from Perth would say, “It’s lovely.”

We took a slow drive through New England at the height of the tree color explosion.  The theme was revisiting our roots, mostly mine.  I grew up in South Dartmouth, Needham and Hopkinton Massachusetts and when my parents retired to Port Clyde Maine, I spent a lot of time around there as well.  SAM spent her early years in Sussex county in Northern-most New Jersey.  Along the way we visited historic homes and museums and monuments for Mark Twain, Theodate Pope-Riddle, Wyeth’s Olsen house, Norman Rockwell, John and Abigail Adams, David Thoreau, Louisa Alcott, Henry W. Longfellow, and Teddy Roosevelt.  We enjoyed Art museums in Portland, Ogunquit, Bath, Mystic and Rockland.  SAM ate a lot of lobster.
We finished our NE tour along the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut, then over to Long Island to Oyster Bay and Sagamore Hill (close to Hoftstra University and the site of the final presidential debate.)  At Sagamore, we were interviewed by Richard Uliano (CNN radio.)  Then on to SAM’s little-girl-on-the-farm days in the beautiful rolling hills around Sussex, NJ.  During October, one son began a new job in Falls Church, VA and the other went on a business trip to Singapore.

Along the way we were able to visit with my sister Linda, niece Kayla, and old friends Joey and Maureen, Billy and Johnny, Gail and Howard, and in Sussex, Carol and SAM’s sister Karen. 

A few days back in Maryland, and then off to Raleigh, NC for the annual caricaturists’ convention (see it right here), a first for SAM.  I was reunited with, and inspired by, my playful, poignant, abstract portrait pals from all around the world.

After voting absentee in October, on November 4th we watched the historic election on TV.

Still here?  OK, below are a few pics with mercifully brief comments.  It was a fun time and we learned more about our mutual histories and family.  Riding along we spent less time listening to books and more time with conversation.  Like, that’s actually real-time, direct, interactive, voice messaging - awesome (for those under 30.)

Samuel Clemens’ house in Hartford, CT and Marshall Point light house in Port Clyde, ME.

Olsen House (subject of many Andrew Wyeth paintings.)  Sam and I in Camden, ME.

Lifelong pal Joey and Maureen in Harvard, MA.  Peak Rock Farm (grandparents’) site of boyhood adventures.

Pouchung Lake and Medaugh Farm where SAM grew up - Sussex, NJ.

Terry and Nola, Emi and Jan at the caricaturists’ convention, Raleigh, NC.

Caricature artist heroes: Kagi Nakanishi, Terry Dunnett and Jason Seiler.

I call it a draw - debate-wise, but change is in the air and methinks Gov. Palin will unravel.  A great election.  I hope everyone votes.

The next day we were on the Mall at the National Book Festival, listening to authors: Joseph Bruchac, Neil Gaiman, Daniel Schorr, Bob Schieffer, Cokie Roberts and Immaculee Ilibagiza.  A fantastic day and event for the few remaining book readers.

Working through Tom Friedman’s “Hot, Flat and Crowded.”  This should be required reading for all, especially our Congress and the next President.  Finally someone has framed the issue and it’s resolution in terms that can unite our country rather than divide us further.

My NCS DC-chapter pals had a summer party at Bud (Pirhana Club) Grace’s St. Michaels estate with tasty steamed crabs, BBQ and great conversation.  Good to see Bud, Jay, Ron, Chuck and families again.

Earlier, I was busier than normal with some illustration work including a hurry up farewell to Shell Foundation’s head, Kurt Hoffman.  Also, I did a book cover, thanks to a referral from Lou at Speedway Custom Photo in Daytona, FL.  It was for Bill Lear Jr’s newest tale - an outrage fantasy, a satire for frustrated folks living beyond the beltway - Bernie’s War.  Soon to be available on Amazon.

Later, I helped out with caricatures at a company picnic near Dulles, Va and later had a chance to see some of the buildings that house the Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Facebook data centers near there.  These are the cloud computing nodes for our present-future. Nerd heaven.  Dinners with son Chon and good friend Anyta, and a few days later with son Will.

Earlier still, a three-day jaunt to post-Labor Day Rehoboth Beach, DE.  This is a good time of the year to visit this beautiful town.  The crowds are gone, the beaches still warm and the evenings cool.  Such a nice get away with SAM.

Finally, back in NC I had the chance to join a  “draw in” of local caricaturists at Side Street Pizza in Tryon, NC near the SC border.  Sort of a micro-con.  When caricaturists draw each other it is especially fun.  As subjects and artists we feel and appreciate the freedom to push the exaggeration a bit and experiment with new techniques - seldom comfortable in retail, party or studio situations.  We all had a good time.

Next,  a Fall journey with SAM through New England and some of our roots.

Hmmmmm. Sorry you have to wade through this overdue update. No excuses. Since SAM retired I’ve had two nice visits back to the DC area and had good friends drop into my Asheville bunker, now well SAM-ified.

Here’s the overview: DC activities - dinners with sons, Artscape in Baltimore, Lion King, movies, and Asheville - Bele Cher, friends visit, Mary, Biltmore, NCS Shop Talk, and our river.

Lion King. At last, the stage version - the Julie Taymor designed and directed production seen by millions, and SAM thrice before. The character actor-puppets were magical as the Pride Rock inhabitants entering slowly down the aisles of the Kennedy Center summoned onstage by Rafiki. By the time the opening song “Circle of Life” was finished I, moist-eyed as ever from this Elton John classic, had my money’s worth. This show is theater at it’s very best. Bravo!

Movies - the Dark Knight is not saved by Bruce Wayne’s strength and gadgets but by Heath Ledger’s over-the-top performance. Lot’s of explosions. WALL-E the 2nd time is even better - I could concentrate on details. Academy Award!

Each time I have dinner out with my sons I see not so much how they’ve grown (they’re full size now,) but that they are maturing inside and yes, showing the signs of grappling with life. Like all parents, we want our children to be always happy, but that’s not the way life works. There are the joyful moments, but we all swim upstream and their work-a-day world is tougher than mine was - or seems so. They are both strong in different ways and I’m a very proud dad. This time it was Bangkok 54 in Arlington, VA (trendy Thai.)

Urban/neighborhood summer festivals can be fun to attend. I know they’re mostly predictable crafts and arts booths and bad food, but the marketplace bustle and serendipity encounters are appealing to me. Three best this year were Artscape in Baltimore, Sourwood in Black Mountain and Bele Cher (the big one) in Asheville.

At Artscape we met a young woman who had been on Baltimore TV that morning promoting the festival. I did her picture and gave her the page from my sketchbook with her name, DUH?

At Sourwood it was my turn to get drawn by NCN’r Dave Washburn - up from Atlanta. Brian Vasilik, spoken of here often, was given a prime booth for his great caricatures of Bele Cher’s visitors. I think he had a good three days.

We had the very good fortune to spend an afternoon sipping wine with Mary, the “grand dame” of Asheville on the porch of her beautiful and historic Charlotte Street home. Mary’s personal narrative spans more than nine decades and is clear, fascinating and funny. I hope this absolutely charming lady is with us for many more years and some of her many friends are able to coax her into recording an oral history for the benefit of generations to come.

Many people visit Asheville to visit the Biltmore home and estate. (Yikes! there’s 250 rooms with 43 bathrooms you can’t use.) How could I have lived here for over a year and not looked in? I was saving it for company, which I had beaucoup in August. A product of the gilded age and the enormous wealth of the Vanderbilt family. It is, at the same time, a monument to excess and model of architecture, landscaping, forest and agricultural management.

This was George W. Vanderbilt’s major project with important help from Richard Hunt, Gifford Pinchot and Fredrick Olmstead. The enterprise, which manages the attractions and events of the Biltmore, offers 12-month passes which are are good deal and a clever way to enable you to easily return and spend even more money.

We had high tea at the Inn and great meals at the Bistro, Arbor Grill and Stable Cafe. And, let’s not forget the Winery and all those tastings! No humbug here, this is a terrific destination and brand. Click Here for more information.

Good friends from Wappingers Falls (Rose and Karl) and our long standing reunion group: SAM, NYC Connie, and soon-to-retire Neil, all visited the estate and later sat on my front porch watching butterflies and (later) hummingbirds. I learned what a “finial” is, can you top that?

The local sub-chapter of the NCS arranged for a very successful “Shop Talk” event at the local Montford Community Center. NCS pal Marcus Hamilton (Dennis the Menace - dailies) drove over from Charlotte to speak. Also featured were Kaysha Siemonds, Phil Hawkins and super organizer James Lyle.

Back in Maryland, SAM and I had a great dinner at a new (for me) Clydes Tower Oaks Lodge in Rockville, MD. Service and food were first rate, but time with friends Jon and Kathy was even better. Just back from a big trip to India they shared their adventures and stories. Here they are posing perfectly with their abstract comic portrait. Be careful who you send those travel snapshots to. Who’s sari now? Tusk, tusk..

Then, there’s the GOP’s Vice Presidential nominee. A long shot? At least Sarah’s a better shot (with a rifle) than Mr. Cheney.

Vetting takes time and is difficult when you want a big surprise, and a bunch of little ones later. Since this is all theater, (admittedly, with high stakes) her presence in the debate is welcome.

Finally, we need rain. SAM and I spend a quiet morning beside the French Broad and we could see the drought first hand. Still, there were two fisherman fly casting for bass, a great egret, good ducks and some average geese. Look closely…

After almost 40 years, my dearest friend SAM, has arrived at that stage of life called retirement. Those who know this remarkable lady, realize how inadequate the “retired” label will be for her. SAM is so engaged in our world - a voracious reader, patron of the theater, exhibit openings, historical sites, tea rooms and occasional bars, she winds down with crosswords and sudoku puzzles.

Over her long professional career, she worked tirelessly and touched thousands of young lives and those of her colleagues, in a system that can be painfully inefficient and frustrating. She was never discouraged, nor did she let her high standards bend. She put education and the kids first. Her work made a difference in this world.

During all that, she was a devoted and enthusiastic mom and community leader. Her example will be her legacy with her successful and charming daughter. Family has always come first for SAM, and that includes an extended family of close lifelong friends. She never forgets a birthday.

Her passions for history, travel and art can now move to the top of her agenda.

At her retirement party, after many tearful tributes, a bunch of colored balloons were released. As they rose into the sky, one broke free. This was a fitting symbol. She can now soar, travel and inspire us all, as we look up to her example. I’m in awe of this grand lady, mother and teacher.

Its been 5 days since we met. This character is still with me, and he’s not even real!

Sorry SAM, you’ll understand when you meet him.

First, a little perspective. My emotional depth can be best summed up by how I dealt with depression back in the day. I would go to a Muppets movie and sit in the middle of an audience of 4-to-8-year olds laughing hysterically for 90 minutes. Total lift.

If you prefer high energy gratuitous violence, this may not be your movie. WALL-E borrows from ET, Star Wars, Finding Nemo, 2001, Toy Story and Short Circuit, but is not derivative. It merely stands on their impressive shoulders.

It is a bit dark. Earth doesn’t look too good 700 years from now. An Inconvenient Truth on fast forward. We made such a mess, all the humans have fled and devolved into Big Gulp blobs that can’t walk and languish on a Cunard Cruise space ship. Link to trailer.

Back on Earth our delightful trash compacting automaton labors on. He (yes, robots have gender) has evolved into a curious, but lonely contraption whose only companion is an impervious super cockroach. We follow him for about a half hour in a delightful no-dialog exploration of his world. Enter the G-rated love interest, EVE, a sleek coquette iMac-like reconnaissance robot. They quickly become an “item.” An hour of outer-space high-pace adventures follow. Pay attention to the the thick layer of trash still in orbit around our fair planet.

This Pixar production is hardly cartoony. Its amazingly realistic and yet fantastic. WALL-E director, writer Andrew Stanton should take yet another, deeper, bow. The accompanying short feature “Presto” has a more traditional cartoon look.

Back in Montford I drew the son of one of the Nine Mile chefs, Jenny. He was more excited about the movie Kung Fu Panda, and I had no WALL-E action figures to show him - hint, hint. Hey, now I do. Thanks, stimulus check! Money goes to China?

Hero and pal KAL is traveling in Azerbaijan, giving speeches and keeping a journal. Read all about it.

Finally, there was another meeting of the WNC branch of the SEC of the NCS at Frank’s Roman Pizza. Huh?

Shown, left to right are Clay, Brian, Mike, Brandi, Karin, Doodle, Kaysha, Steve, Michael, Phil, and Greg.

Most humor has a short shelf life. Watching Rowen and Martin’s Laugh-In from back in the ’60s is fun but not really funny anymore. Nice to see Goldie Hawn and Arte Johnson again though.

This past weekend one timeless comic, George Carlin passed. This clown in the finest sense of the word helped us laugh and think. He was one of my favorites. Most remember him for his seven words but he had a lot more to say about our society’s foolishness.

Last week+ was spent in Maryland and DC. Had a great Fathers’ Day dinner with my sons and time with SAM. One of her long time friends, the family pictured below, came to an anniversary dinner. We also had nice visits to Annapolis, the portrait Gallery for the Herblock retrospective and we caught the Puppini Sisters and Montford’s own Mad Tea Party at the Birchmere, thanks SAM.

Driving up and down, I listened to Joseph Ellis’ book “His Excellency, George Washington,” a fascinating biography. This one man flawed yet uniquely suited to put our unsteady, experiment in nation building on the right course - our true founding father. If only we had abolished slavery and granted the native Americans their lands and culture. Alas.

One can only wonder what he would think of our country now? Armed militias and the 2nd amendment, our Department of Defense, Mount Vernon, and iPhones.

June’s first week brought an interesting collection of events, experiences, insights and lessons. As Kurt Vonnegut’s uncle Alex would say - appreciating the happy times in our lives - “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

A politically historic week (observations.) The long hard fought Democrat primary marathon ended with more of a sigh than a bang. Two great candidates with very similar policies, but different packaging and tone. Now, will McCain be able to raise enough money and still reveal his “independent” streak? We live in a center-conservative country that may finally be disgusted with the neo-cons and fundamentalist hijack of the Republican party. We are capable of progressive spurts, but still amazingly isolated and arrogant. I hope we can become a “super example” instead of a “super power.” I choose optimism.

Mountain cartoonists (meeting.) Asheville is located in the vast Southeast Chapter of the NCS (link). I was invited to the monthly pizza gathering to meet local WNC members and associates. Lots of enthusiasm and talent.

Nine Mile owners, right . Nate and Aaron (at the neighborhood linguine spot I frequent) were willing to hang my pic while awaiting a bronze sculpture I told them was in the works. Shhhh.

Johnny Bunko (by Daniel Pink.) Favorite NYT bestseller author of A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation has adopted a manga format for a career guidance book. In Japan this popular graphic format is used for all sorts of books. Is it a recognition of the compressed attention spans of our offspring? Graphic novels, now graphic non-fiction. I like the six lessons wrapped in a story that may be read by my sons. Link to book trailer.

Brown’s gas (really?) Hydrogen and Oxygen (HHO) gas mixture produced by electrolysis will burn in an internal combustion auto engine. Water-gas hybrid? Cold fusion redux. Watch this space.

Wii Fit (really!) Oh yes. This thing really works and the style/voice of the “game” is so inviting and the exercises easy and challenging. Sorry, grownups only.

Adirondack chairs (DIY) 32 pieces of cypress wood in a box, oodles of 1.5″ screws and terse instructions. Three hours later, nice porch chairs stained and polyurethaned, ready for friends. Have a seat.

Kelly Waghorn (master caricaturist.) Discovered this long-time editorial caricaturist/illustrator from Vancouver, BC whose work I really admire. More than just his inking style, his portraits take a very fresh look at familiar faces. See a collection of his work? (link)

Rene Magritte (master surrealist.) I’ve only seen a few of his originals, but reproductions are everywhere for inspiration. The 20th century Belgian artist really took painting in a new direction and, except for Dali, was one of the first painters that made you think and smile at the same time. Much of NYer’s Bob Mankoff’s great book “The Naked Cartoonist” rests on his principles.

Summer movies (Indiana Jones and SATC.) Not serious, but fun. Harrison Ford (my age) did it well, but Kate Blanchard was best. Very aggressive ants instead of snakes this time. The four New York City ladies? are back with the same stuff ten years later. The shoes and fashion looks were lost on me and I’ve never had their luck in getting a cab so quickly. Coming soon to an iPhone 3G near you.

Just a little way down Montford Ave, there’s a new restaurant that I’ve mentioned before - Nine Mile, No, I’m not getting any free meals, but the lunch prices are very reasonable. Nate and Aaron, along with June and Leigh opened the place a couple of weeks ago and looks like the word is spreading. Thursday’s seafood special (mussels, scallops and veggies on linguine was so good.

Just about every day I take a stroll in my neighborhood. Normally I look at the houses, wave to the people, and just make the dogs bark. Lately, I’m beginning to notice the plants, as many are in bloom now, like I was 40 years ago. So, with apologies to my photographer friends, here are some images from my walk today. I know, some will say I’m going soft. Perhaps it’s true.

Local plants, animal and minerals…

I don’t know all the names, honeysuckle reminds me of SAM, but poison ivy and I are not friends, Rover (not her real name) was a bit piqued.

I used to love to swing on a rope or vine. The feral cats are always happy for a pet, then slowly back home.

NEW SUBJECT! Back in the day, I used to dream about attending the annual TED Conferences out in California. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design - three wide-ranging subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. Every year, 1300 of the world’s leading thinkers and doers gather together for four days of networking, education and exposure to new ideas.  Drool.

Now, we can all view all the 20 minute lectures (TED link.) Two that I can’t forget are by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor (about left lobe egos) and Dr. Ray Kurtzweil about the exponential pace of change and nano technology possibilities for blood cells and solar energy. Other fascinating and entertaining lectures are there by Al Gore, David Pogue, Amy Tan, Mark Pittman and many others.

..as Tina Turner says.

The Reuben awards are the annual recognition of the best cartoonists and the best of cartooning. Mort Gerberg observed that cartooning is in decline. That’s mostly because newspapers are fading away. People everywhere love our graphic gags. Maybe we need to move to cell phones. Many of the all time greats were here and a lot of folks who are less well known but nevertheless talented and passionate about the cartoon arts. The field is evolving in many directions - animation, advertising, greeting cards, Internet, book illustration, and so on.

Mike Mikula, above (Roll Call and more) is one of my pals, heroes. So good to visit again with him and Sarah and hear about their family - two boys - and life in Atlanta.

The Ruben Awards is a formal affair, but totally wacky and fun. This year there were about 300 attendees.

At table #22 we passed around my sketch book for contributions.

One of my all time favorites, Richard Thompson (below with the Kodak) rode the train down from Washington DC as a nominee for his feature, Cul de Sac. He’s a very talented guy, who used to be a neighbor in Arlington, VA.

Mike Peters, this year’s MC, is a genuinely happy positive person. Creator of Mother Goose and Grimm, he also does political cartoons and caricature, and he uses a lot of India ink. A fine choice. Below, right is Mike, mugging with moi.

Many of the “old timers,” from the golden era in the 40s and 50s were there, thankfully. Roy Doty, Frank Springer, Bill Wilson, and of course, Mel Lazarus. Below left are Bunny Hoest and Jack Davis.

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In N’awlins for the 62nd Reubens a day early. About 120 of us had signed up for a day as “Voluntourists” as the Habitat folks called us, to lend a hand with some of their projects in the post-Katrina St. Bernard neighborhood. Two buses were waiting for us at 7am at our hotel on Canal street for the 35 minute drive past endless abandoned single family homes and gutted strip malls. Camp Hope (Habitat HQ) is where organizations from all over the world (except FEMA) come and are briefed and assigned to their 50 or so projects. NCSers: Jeff Bacon, Ron and Max Evry, Ed Black, Jeff and Melinda Keane, Mike Peters, Hillary Price, Tom and Anna Richmond, Brian Walker and many many more joined in this day to shingle and put up siding. Hammers, nails, and one-liners - being a part of something larger - cartoonists working cooperatively. An unforgettable day. The Reuben weekend post will follow above…

Five of us worked as a “siding unit” and did so well we were dubbed the “Alpha” Team. Later, at the hotel, after showers we reunited at the opening reception. Below are (left to right) Don Peoples, Elaine Bernside, Bill Schorr, Aileen Heimlich and moi. Also a view of our house. We completed the roof and finished about 3/4ths of the siding.

The story here is the quiet stream of volunteers that are coming to help rebuild this unique city. This is a truly American response. We all were depressed by the devastated neighborhoods, the quickly painted “X”s with grim #s and the likelihood that it will happen again. Still, many residents are returning and rebuilding.

What was a major surprise, returning to the hotel we filed off our bus through a gauntlet of applause and thanks from hotel staff and NCSers. It wasn’t needed. We all felt very thankful already. This experience, and the Habitat organization will not be forgotten.

For more great coverage of this event see Tom Richmond’s posting (link here.) BTW, Tom won the Advertising and Illustration category award this year. Steve Silver, another NCNer, won for TV Animation.  Bill Schorr (one of the Alpha team) won for editorial cartoons!

Yes! A beautiful spring day, yesterday. Right along Montford Avenue, less than a mile northwest of Prichard Park, our shady residential neighborhood came to life with bluegrass, jazz, English clogging, Chinese dragons, paintings, dancing, activism, crafts, great food, flowers, and yes, caricature.

There were dogs, large and small (I saw no cats,) tattoos, beards and pony tails, strollers, skate boards, babies, beautiful ladies and happy retirees.

A wonderful day in Asheville, NC.

Next day, I visited the just opened Nine Mile Restaraunt on 233 Montford Ave. George and Nate were very welcoming. The food, a Caribbean-Jamaican-pasta with great spices (yummy) and beverages - local beers on tap and a large selection of bottled brews - and nice wines, add up to a welcome addition to our neighborhood. Check it out!

( Always sketching faces. This one from Business Week…)

Spring has come to Asheville and we’re green again. Not in the eco-sense, although here there is much attention and effort on that behalf. The leaves are back on the trees and the mountains a beautiful blue green. Even one of my opposing digits has acquired that hue, OMG.

One of the nice features of this month is the opportunity to honor our moms. There are 365 other days as well, but you know how busy we all are. I was fortunate to have a smart, warm and supportive mother. She had a long and productive life. Dorothy is with me every day. There are of course many great moms who deserve a hand (literally) for all they do and are.

One of them, Hillary Clinton, was here as part of the hard fought NC primary. For many Democrats this is a very very tough choice, very close, for different reasons. In the end, I feel Hillary has the best chance of defeating McCain, which turned out to be my most heavily weighted criterion. If Barack Obama wins the nomination, I will be proud to support him for President.

Soon it will be time to visit barber Jack and prepare for the Reubens gathering, this year in New Orleans. “Just a trim, Jack.” Will my tux still fit?

At this annual gathering of the National Cartoonists Society, our members recognize the best among us in 15 categories and overall - for works produced largely in the past year. (NCS Reubens link) It is a grand affair with a formal dinner and hilarious awards presentation. Each year we attend seminars and smaller social activities generously hosted by some of the syndicates. This year many of us have also signed up for a day with Habitat for Humanity and some local work there in the city. Cartoon illustrator and caricaturist Tom Richmond from Mad Magazine and also a leader in the NCN has done a great program cover illustration - AGAIN!

On the other side of the world, (Dumagueta in the Philippines) a great family is celebrating the 80th birthday of an amazing man, Alexander Amor. I would love to be there. Mr. Amor is still a practicing attorney and quite vigorous. When I was on my RTW, he and family members living nearby took wonderful care of me and taught me about this natural paradise and the some of the history and culture of the Philippine people. One of his sons made his way to the USA and remains a good friend, despite his humanitarian impulses.

I’m not really fond of many landscapes, less so of most still life pictures. This week it was my turn to do a real landscape, my front yard. In the end, I’m lucky if there’s still life in me.

None of this would have been possible without Timothy, a business student from Queens University. He did all the heavy lifting for three days, did a great job, and then went off to umpire Little League games in the evenings. He’s now working a summer job at the Grove Park Inn, one of WNC’s premier spots. Thanks Timothy!

The idea was a low/no maintenance design, but I’ve planted some shrubs and spices. It better rain when I travel. Outdoor plants are OK.

As my reward, Iron Man came to town. (trailer link) I went to a Saturday morning showing with 14 other men and boys (OK, we are all boys.) The main character, alter ego, Tony Stark is a smart ass industrialist. Inside his metal suit he’s a smart ass flying Robo-Cop. This movie definitely should be seen on a big screen or, if you’re a gentle, nurturing, intelligent women, not at all. Yes, yes, there’s a lot of gratuitous violence, pyrotechnics, and some questionable science, but there’s also criticism of the military weapons industry, a fresh start for Robert Downey Jr. and a potential new source of sustainable energy.

I left the theater with a smile.

Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions and Cat’s Cradle. I’m on a Kurt Vonnegut binge. I’m enjoying his stream-of-consciousness, dream-like fantasies and style of telling his wacky and poignant stories; thinking-out-loud narrative about writing, and then writing that; bizarre characters that are one millimeter from real, fun and provoking too; and, vocabulary like “pissant and ice-nine, and so on…

I’m a student again. Not really fond of college classes back in the day and muddling through as a chemistry major and smoking Pall Malls “In Hoc Signo Vinces” just like Kurt. He was part of my father’s “greatest generation.”

Now, I’m happy to be in school again, at ABT (Community college) and UNCA. Lifelong learning makes more sense than just cramming it all into those hormone-high, shaky, awakening years. My sons will enjoy this.

“Abstracting the figure” Time to loosen up? Emily, the instructor is a very energetic and pigment passionate artist, soon to move to New York City. She brought in models that were pals, spirited and who worked hard. Good class.

“American Art” Architecture, painting, furniture, and sculpture from 1620-1865. Ben narrates with great enthusiasm a slide show of 35mm slides with a Kodak Carousel projector- whoa!. So much of our history is embedded in our art. VanDerLyn painting to the right was shocking at the time. Thanks Ben.

“Tai Chi?” No, this is not slo-mo Tae Kwon Do. Looks easy but it’s like animated Yoga with a self-defense core. I’m struggling to remember the choreography. The trick, of course is to practice daily.

“The Progressive Era” With a retired professor sparkplug. What a trip! (so sixties, sorry.) TR, Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, but what an era just a century ago. Our country was in crisis and revolution and yet optimistic. Mary, the instructor enlists class members to channel characters of the time ala Chautauqua-esque presentations. Mine, of Chicago Columnist Peter Finley Dunne, of course had to be illustrated with a cartoon. What a great class! BTW she agrees that the arc of the USA empire peaked around 1950.

Once or twice a week, there’s figure drawing sessions at the Fine Art League of the Carolinas. Very classic and facilitator, Gully, does a great job of presenting professional models. The sessions are attended by really terrific artists. Sometimes Brian and I go out for an apres-nude beverage and sketch bar patrons fully clothed.

Mid April, I had a wonderful visits with my sons and SAM. Pal Kathy did a poetry reading, and a beautiful day at the National Arboretum. Next, I’ve got Tim, a local student, to help take care of my pitiful front yard.

If you got a hiccup at this site recently. I was a little over zealous in a cleanup and, thanks to Robert at Dreamhost, he got this puppy back online.

Part 1

This morning, I awoke to an odd noise, downstairs – little clicks and a high pitched “yeeeeh, yech, yeeeeh…” Something, an animal was in my house. I went downstairs and turned on all the lights. I looked under the couch and chairs, under the bed in the guest room, behind the big reading chair in the library. The door to the lower level was shut so, I didn’t go down there. Nothing. My imagination?

I returned upstairs for my morning ritual of shower, shave, vitamins and a good teeth brushing. Still, my mind was on my intruder, where was it hiding?

I went downstairs, made my pot of French Roast, fixed a bowl of mueslix with a sliced banana and turned on my laptop for the news and mail. In Asheville, I’d decided to pass on a daily newspaper, but I do miss it sometimes. My attention drifted.

Then, I heard a little shuffle and saw a quick shadow. I really did have a visitor. Now, to action! CAPTURE & CONTAIN! That was my objective. I’ll need to be a little creative here. How about a stick (a bamboo shaft) and my fish net? Yeah, that should work. The cardboard container box for my Wii system should do for a container, temporarily. In less than a minute I had collected my capture tools.

It was there in my food room, my bistro – a combination kitchen and dining room where I spend time reading, working on my laptop and eating - under my tea cart of all places, looking out. At first, all I saw were the two shiny black eyes. Then I could see the long face and round ears. A weasel? A young martin? I remembered from my trapping days as a youth, there are few animals as fearless and aggressive as a weasel, vicious in fact. In an instant he ran past the hand net when I poked it from behind – so fast. But there was nowhere to go or hide. I cornered it in front of my pots cabinet and got the hand net over most of his nine inch body. Adrenaline, whoa. I could see a long tail which was whipping nervously. Its body was dark with a white chest, it looked more frightened than mad.

I knew it could bite, so I kept my hands out of range. The hand net was deep enough so it couldn’t jump out as I flipped it over into the Wii box. The top flaps closed and I put a heavy pot on top. Done. It was making a lot of noise inside, but it was contained.

I plopped down in my bentwood rocker to collect myself. That was exciting, even fun, but now what?

(my story continues, click here)

Key West is about 180 miles SW of Miami, last stop in the Florida Keys and a community very far away from mainstream USA. The Conchs (local residents) live in a progressive, tropical garden surrounded by green water, purple coral reefs and blue skies - far from my Blue Ridge mountains and SAM’s Chesapeake Bay.

SAM and I stayed with George and John and cats Paloma and Cumquot. Uncle George, profiled here earlier, is an old friend from college days and a hero. We had a great visit, seeing the sights at Hemingway’s house, Sloppy Joes, The Truman White House, KW Museum of Art and History, Fort Zach Beach, the Red Barn Theater, the Butterfly thingy, Sunset at Mallory Square (almost) and a Cuban breakfast with Nancy 3. And, great dinners and conversations as always..

These were perfect hosts and a beautiful home in the old city. Sigh…

Still thawing out and waiting for Spring? Next winter, schedule a visit here.

A good friend told me recently that “men are afraid to fight!” Well, that makes it difficult to explain war. It’s true, a lot of folks of both sexes do avoid conflict. They are passive and impotent and actually make things worse. There are sometimes reasons to fight, and also good reasons to “be very active without harm.” Anger is not an excuse for violence, but properly focused, anger can be a powerful “change” maker - a fire in the brain.

To be sure, there’s a lot in our world today to be very angry about. I’d like us to get to a place where we’re very smart instead of shock-n-awe violent.

To me, this resonates with some of the messages in Tom Friedman’s outstanding book, Longitudes and Attitudes. He writes about 9-11’s underlying causes and our reactions - anger, violence, and understanding?

We have a long way to go - back - to make our commitment to our country, to understand our history and that our strength comes from our diversity, our democracy, and our freedom, not from flag lapel pins. We’re slipping. We have to become a good and peaceful world citizen, an example, not just the most powerful.

Hello? The guy on the right, Tolle - SAM and I are reading his books as part of the Oprah’s read-along mentioned in the prior post. I’m keeping an open mind. I just thought he had an interesting face.