The Terrible Catsafterme

Even if you don’t know Arline and Carl, you should appreciate these two photos from my vintage slides series. However, I do know them so they are even more special to me. Arline is my Dad’s first cousin, the daughter of Bessie, my Grandma Range’s sister. Carl, of course was her husband. He passed away in 1994. The little boy in the photos is their only son John Shirk. The bottom photo was taken in 1959 and the top one presumedly in 1960. These photos emit a strong sense of nostalgic Christmas’ past. We still see Arline often, especially around the holidays.

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On Sunday, January 14, 1990, I put the finishing touches on a comic book I had created for my Cartooning class at school. I can only assume that I chose this date to complete the assignment because Monday the 15th was the last possible day I could turn it in. Afterall, I started new semester classes that day and Cartooning class was now officially over.

I am actually quite proud of the result. Many of my friends liked it quite well, too. In fact, I actually made photocopies of it and sold them for $2.00 each! Some asked me to sign them in case I became a famous cartoonist one day. There are more inside jokes in it than you will be able to count – plus there are little things in the background of nearly every panel to amuse you. Like any good comedic work, it will take multiple readings to catch everything – if you care to. There aren’t many people who would even dare to be smart alec with the page numbers!! Yes, if you think I’m demented now, this will prove that it was a chronic state of mind that stretched back at least this far. (Actually, we all know it was even further…) Read the rest of this entry »

Tiny is one of the most incredible and unique cats I’ve ever had the pleasure to own. She was born on Sept. 9, 2005 and was named Anakin Beard by her foster parents. This adorable kitten came into my life when I was shopping for kittens to give to Ashleigh for Christmas. She was in a tiny cage with her two siblings at the SICSA animal shelter. Although she was soundly sleeping, I asked if I could remove her from the cage. Immediately, she passed my first criteria of a perfect cat by beginning to purr.

Next, I set her atop an eye-level cat tower to look her over and see how she responded to me. She quietly stared at me and then took her paw and gently removed my glasses from my face. That did it – I had to have her! Read the rest of this entry »