Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, July 10, 2010

My friend Keith wrote me this nugget: “I’ll never understand the hard right. I mean, there are lots of places with weak governments and little regulation. They are called third world countries!”

Nicely done, Keith. (And by the way, no, it wasn’t Keith Olbermann.)

So since mid-May my friend Doug and his girlfriend Katey have been on a kayaking trip from Seattle to Alaska. They are doing this not only because they are adventurous, intrepid people, but also to raise funds for a righteous cause: Interplast, an organization that fixes cleft palates, releases debilitating burn constrictures (scarring), and helps uplift the developing world through education and empowerment.

So it has only taken me two months to realize, hey, this is the sort of thing that should be communicated to other people, maybe over the Internet, maybe in a blog…. Sigh. Still slow as ever on the social networking uptake. But link here to their Kayaking for a Cause website.

Unfortunately, I’m on hiatus for drawing comics for the Grand Rapids Family magazine. Not just me but other freelancers have been put on hold for the time being. No other story, really, than the current economics of the print/publishing world. If you happen to know a paying market for semi-autobiographical cartoons, I’m all ears.

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, July 3, 2010

Riptides are always a summertime story in Michigan, surrounded as we are by massive lakes and miles of shoreline. Casinos continue to be a story as somebody always seems to think it’s a good idea to add just one more.

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, June 26, 2010

When I was 8 or so, there was a family that moved into our neighborhood. They had a boy my age (I don’t remember his name), but his parents were much younger than mine. To broadly categorize his parents, I would say they were hippies. But that term brings with it some negative connotations, most of which I don’t think apply: I never witnessed them taking drugs or singing their virtues, they did not — to the best of recollection — add the word “man” to the end of every sentence, and they never publically wrestled naked in a mud puddle while listening to Hendrix. (I have a keen memory for “naked.”) Conversely, positive connotations don’t necessarily apply either: I don’t remember them being particularly open-minded, friendly, or willing to share their money.
 
No, they were more Sonny & Cher. Or more precisely, early 1970s Sonny & Cher: popular, hip, now, with clothing that had fringy material. They were, for the times, very cool parents. I cannot give specific evidence that this made them bad parents. They did have a “music” room that we were forbidden to enter. (It had shades, black-lights, a massive stereo, and lots and lots of velvet.) Ten points taken for that. But they also bought their kid a Mattel Vertibird and let us play with it on their kitchen counter. Ten points back for that.

Actually, my only problem with them was that they seemed so decidedly un-parental. That “coolness” thing (and maybe they were actually cool, I don’t know) just didn’t play for me. And it didn’t seem to play for their boy, either. Kids are perceptive like that — they pick up on these things. I decided then that I never wanted to be a cool parent. Nice, approachable, vaguely interesting: yes. Cutting edge of fashion, a friend first, stylish: definitely not.

This, then, was the feeling I tapped into for this week’s cartoon — the squeamishness of adults beyond a certain age trying to be and know cool. (So 10 points to me for knowing enough to look to my daughter’s iTunes library for a band to put on the young person’s shirt. And 10 points away for any sort of implication that Tegan & Sara are who I listen to in my velvet music room.)

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, June 19, 2010

 The backstory: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/06/questions_surrounding_hangar42.html

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, June 12, 2010

Sorry. Any extra time I had today for commenting was spent watching/listening to the USA getting robbed of a World Cup victory against Slovenia. I wonder how classy Maurice Edu and the ref are going to be about this one….

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, June 5, 2010

West Michigan in general and Grand Rapids in particular has had some pretty remarkable success stories where private individuals and organizations have worked in tandem with various levels of government to produce successful results. A dandy example is Grand Rapids’ annual Festival of the Arts (or simply “Festival” as it’s known here). When I hear the “all government is bad” mantra of certain Tea Partiers prone to hyperbole, it seems like such a cop out and a disservice to those who have made it work.

So next year, if you’re feeling grouchy about government, you should really check out Festival. Nothing brightens your outlook like a summer street party with live music and food-on-a-stick.

Actually, girls wore white gowns, but everything else is accurate.

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Press, May 29, 2010

So this was my second shot at the May 29th cartoon. (Go here for the first and the back story.)