Category: My viewpoiint

HAPPINESS IS…

Cover of
Cover of Live In The Moment

I was asked by a Senior Citizen friend to draw a card with his dog on it.  He asked me to make the dog smiling because he was going to send it to a little girl in the neighborhood who had helped him  and loved his dog.

After I had drawn it, I got to thinking about dogs…  If we could adopt their attitude towards life, we’d be a lot happier.  Dogs don’t worry about the future or brood over the past.  They live in the moment.  If you own a dog, you know what I mean.

Just the mention of going for a walk will throw them into a frenzy.  Pick up a ball and they quiver with anticipation.  They don’t dwell on “I wonder how far he’s going to make me walk” or “Why don’t you go get it yourself?”  Dogs are just happy to be dogs… They live in the moment.

Humans spend too much time looking for happiness rather than experiencing it.  We all have the ability to be happy.  Think how your day would go if you decided to greet everyone you meet the same way your dog greets you when you get home.  Wouldn’t that change things?  Do you think people might treat you differently?  I don’t necessarily recommend you lick someone but wagging your tail wouldn’t hurt!

Now, on the other hand, if your dog happens to be a biter… You might want to reconsider how you greet people if you’re using your dog as a model for behavior.  You also might want to ask yourself, “Why is my dog a biter?” Since our pets usually follow our lead, does he reflect his owner’s attitude?    Think about it.
Most dogs will do almost anything for a treat.  We, as humans, will do almost anything in the search for happiness.  Follow your dog’s lead on this one… Decide to be HAPPY… relish the moment.  Your best chance is now!  Unless, of course, you decide otherwise.  In that case, don’t be surprised if you get bitten…

6OO MILES ON A TANK OF GAS… Be careful what you wish for!

Advertising  is like politics… It’s all about the spin.  Like the car ads that talk about how many miles you can drive on a tank of gas.  I drew this cartoon after listening to one of those ads.  I’m learning that when listening to ads and political speakers, it’s more important to pay attention to what they DON’T say, than what they do…

Take the car ad… First, it was an electric hybrid car and they were talking how far you could drive on a tank OF GAS… if you lived near where you work.  Think about it.  Most electric hybrids use the electric at low speeds and the gas power kicks in at highway speeds.  The announcer was claiming you could get 600 miles on a tank of gas.  He didn’t mention the part you couldn’t drive more than 30 miles from your house or over 40 mph.  Is that spin…or what?

I tried to envision what a gas-powered, “600 miles per tank” vehicle would look like.  I realized they weren’t talking about gas mileage… They were talking about Gas STORAGE!  It doesn’t matter how many mpg you get… if you have a big enough tank!  Take that way of thinking to the next level and soon they’ll be talking about vehicles that can go 1,000 miles on a tank of gas.

I only have one question… Where are you going to be able to park it?

IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME…

Now that Apple and Verizon have joined forces for the iPhone network, I figure it’s only a matter of time before they go after the Senior Citizen market with a cell phone designed specifically for Seniors.

The slogan (“Can you see it now?) will be a natural fit! After all, the phone will have a touch screen with large print format.  What do you think they’ll call it?  How about the “Ver-eye-zone”?

Don’t forget… You heard it here first!

STRESS MANAGEMENT-101

Stress is the one thing all humans have to deal with.  There’s a lot of money being spent on stress management techniques when, in reality, we were born knowing what to do.

I drew this cartoon back in the 60’s when I was enrolled in a Psychology class in college.  It pretty much says it all.  We don’t need to spend a lot of money on seminars, tapes, videos and the like.  All we need is to find our thumb to suck and drag out the time-tested security blankie…

WHOA!! I can hear it now… What about the germs and bacteria?  Shouldn’t your thumb and blankie be sterilized before use?  What if you sneezed into it when you were two… are the germs still there?  And, mold?  What about that?  How do you know the blankie wasn’t made by a Third World manufacturer that used lead in the dye?  Oh boy!  I’m getting all stressed out just thinking about it!

See what’s happened to us?  We worry too much about things that MIGHT HAPPEN.  What’s the saying?… “Paralysis by Analysis?”  The next thing will be stressing over who to sue because we’re stressed out about being stressed out!

Let me make a suggestion…  We need to find ways to reduce our stress by sharing the load in ways that benefit us all.  For example, when I had decided to produce my first book, a coloring book: “UP NORTH WITH TC BEAR“, I got all stressed-out trying to wade through the maze of information about self-publishing.  The more I got involved, the more I realized I didn’t know.  Fortunately for me, I happened to be illustrating another book: “ADVENTURES OF MR. BILL”, for BILL PARRISH.  Bill was struggling with the same issues but he is smarter than me and sought help.  Long story short… He was referred to an expert in self-publishing, MARY JO ZAZUETA, who proved to be a Godsend… the best form of stress relief.

We are surrounded by talented people who can reduce our stress by helping us achieve our dreams.  Mentors and consultants are stress relievers… we don’t have to know it all!  If we network and find the expert or person that already knows the answer, we all gain.  Look around you. Reach out and let someone help you!

NOTE: If you have an interest in the process of writing and publishing a book, you’re in luck!  The MICHIGAN WRITERS Organization is sponsoring a class at the University Center (Boardman Campus) at Northwestern Michigan College on February 24th, 2011.  Mary Jo’s Class should help you understand what is needed to write and produce your own book.  If you decide to sign-up, tell her you heard about it here.  I’d like to know if anyone is reading this! THANKS!!… Help is on it’s way.



WALL STREET VS. MAIN STREET…IT’S UPSIDE DOWN!

UPSIDE-DOWN CARTOONS….  Cartoons that change perspective when turned upside-down, seem to be a  good way to look at our Government in Washington these days.

I drew this upside-down cartoon in response to the Wall Street bailout.  Not much has happened since then to change my view of what went down… MAIN STREET WENT DOWN!

Having worked all my life for an insurance company, I found it ironic that the Government went against the basic insurance principles I was taught as a State Farm Agent to justify the Bailout.  We had a saying in the insurance business when describing policy language: “The BIG PRINT giveth… the little print taketh away.”  We had another more specific word for the little print: “EXCLUSIONS”.

I was taught the reason exclusions were necessary in a policy was to not have to pay for things that a reasonable person should be expected to take care of themselves, like routine maintenance on their house or vehicle, for instance.  “SUDDEN & ACCIDENTAL” were the cornerstones of the Exclusion concept for claim payment management.  If it was in any way considered intentional or a logical outcome of an insured’s activities, chances are it was excluded from coverage.

Think about it… First, the government decided to Bail-out AIG, an insurance company “too big to allow to fail” and then, adding insult to injury, they bailed-out the Wall Street criminals that used the same business practices.  Where were the EXCLUSIONS for paying out tax dollars for intentional acts when we needed them?  In most of the commentary surrounding the process, I heard experts on both side of the issue say, “It’s all about MONEY.”  Those of us on MAIN STREET agree… It IS about MONEY!…ours!  If you’re going to use our money…Bail US out!

My cartoon is about the  money… both Wall Street and Main Street ARE thinking about Money!  Unfortunately, for Main Street, it’s more of a dream (nightmare?) than reality.


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