Author: TraverseCityCartoons

FRESH PRODUCE…NOW?

The local Natural Food CO-OP, ORYANA NATURAL FOODS MARKET, has a great newsletter. This is a cartoon I recently submitted for the newsletter.

“Buy Local” fresh produce is the mantra of healthy eaters everywhere.  I wondered how that marketing approach would work for farmers in Northern Michigan this time of year.  Since I also know people living “off the farm” aren’t always clear on the origin of their food, I combined the two issues in a cartoon.  As the cartoon portrays, when in doubt…ask an expert.

A side note from an “Off the Farm” kind of guy:  Is Iceberg Lettuce a Winter Crop or do they really grow lettuce on glaciers?

EASTER EGG HUNT IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN

In 2007,  we had a big problem for the Easter Egg Hunt due to a late, heavy snowfall and an early Easter. It was bad enough there was some concern that it not only would it be hard to find eggs, there might be some problems locating the kids after it was over.  Fortunately, to my knowledge, no kids were lost that year.

Since I had no small children at the time, I didn’t participate in the event… I could only imagine how it went and drew the cartoon to depict it.

As I was sorting through my cartoons with the blog in mind, I found this one and it made me think…not one of my strong suits, I might add…This year is looking a lot like 2007 for snowfall.  We need to plan ahead and call in the most qualified people to oversee this year’s Easter Egg Hunt…the “SNOWBIRDS”!  It might require an early migration back to the North, but what group of people should be more qualified to help?  Wouldn’t it be logical to assume that Snowbirds should be able to find eggs in snow and not lose their young ones in the process?  Just a thought…

KEEP OFF THE GRASS!!!

This idea came from a good friend, Ron Crawford.  He has the mind of a cartoonist! (He keeps it in a jar on a shelf in his motor home…)  He is retired and travels a lot and periodically emails me with an idea for a cartoon.  He is blessed by a wife, Linda, who shares his humorous view of mankind.  I’m sometimes afraid to ask where he gets his ideas.  All I know is his ideas are usually great.

He sent me an idea about a “Keep Off The Grass” sign outside a Re-Hab Center.  As I was thinking about how to draw it, I thought about the individual that might be most affected by the sign and decided to portray it as an orientation setting.

This is a classic example of how a common sign has a double meaning when attached to a different set of circumstances.  Good Job, Ron!

TRICKLE-DOWN THEORY…EXPOSED!!

Over the years, I’ve used a character “Mr. Truth”, to explore concepts (often in the insurance industry…) where I thought the powers-that-be seemed to be overlooking the obvious to sell their agendas.  Mr. Truth only can tell the TRUTH…The WHOLE truth!  It didn’t always (translation: never…) make me popular with those in positions of power, but it felt GOOD to be able to point out the disconnect from reality by people making decisions that affect our lives.

Politicians often tout the concept of “Trickle-Down” as the answer to most economic issues.  Now, I have to give them credit where credit is due… From their perspective, being on the other side of the control valve, it IS in THEIR best interest to promote the trickle-down concept.  However, there is a very different way to look at it if you are on the trickle side of the equation…

Think about it… Would Big Oil Companies invest in drilling oil wells if they thought the end result would be a TRICKLE?  (The only time Oil Companies get excited about a trickle is after an oil spill in the Gulf is contained, right?)  Trickle, no matter how BIG you make the print, is still a TRICKLE!  Companies who have a CASH FLOW PROBLEM (translation: cash trickle) tend to cause management-types to panic.  How will they survive if they only get a trickle bonus?!!  Am I making a point, here?

Not all my cartoons were meant to be funny.  I think the reason “Trickle-Down” gets any traction as a viable economic answer is because we, the working class, subconsciously think that if we work hard, some day we will be in a place to benefit from the cash flow side of the equation.  How’s it working for YOU…today?

THE INVISIBLE PHOTOGRAPHER!!

A good photographer is reallly hard to find...

First and foremost, Seth Kaye is a phenomenal photographer!  I had the privilege of meeting him and watching him photograph my daughter’s wedding last summer.  I had seen examples of his work when Kris and her fiance, Tamar, had directed me to his website.  This is NOT your average wedding photographer!  Having done a lot of photography myself, I was excited to get to see him work.

Therein lies the problem… He was invisible!  How does a guy, who takes a lot of pictures in a semi-dark environment (with flash, of course!) remain invisible…?  For starters, wear black… and crouch down a lot!  I was struck by the fact you knew he was there…somewhere, but he seemed to disappear into the crowd.

Later, when I saw the pictures, I was amazed.  He caught me when I WAS LOOKING… and, still didn’t know he took the picture.  This guy is GOOD!

I couldn’t let it go without a cartoon.  I drew this cartoon and sent it to him.  Let the record show, he is not only a world class photographer, he’s a world class guy.  Check him out… He’s not hard to find, just hard to see when he’s working!