Cartoons and the stories behind them... Archives - Page 13 of 17

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.

WINTER FOOTBALL…UP NORTH!!

Cartoon ideas come from interesting places… Last night I went to a presentation by a Hand Surgeon on “Hand Pain”. I’ve been experiencing hand pain from all the drawing and computer work I do. As the Doctor explained some of the surgical options available, I identified myself as a cartoonist and asked how dexterity was affected afterward.

At the break, a really great couple came up and Jerry, the husband, said he had a cartoon idea but hadn’t been able to draw it to his satisfaction. He asked if I could draw it. He gave me some general ideas about playing football Up North… wearing snowshoes and skis . This is what I drew for him.

I decided to post it now because I suspect this year there are some people who aren’t Up North that can relate to the problem of winter football and snow.

Should I have drawn it with snow-covered palm trees?

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.

Report: FDIC mulls tighter Wall Street bonus rules (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

GREEN BAY PACKER FANS ARE COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK !

CONGRATULATIONS GREEN BAY PACKERS !!! For once, the Super Bowl was Super. As a lifelong Detroit Lions fan, I was surprised how easy it was to root for the Packers… After all, they have been frustrating the LIONS (who hasn’t?) for a long time! I can relate to the sense of community created by getting behind local heroes who, by hard work and perseverance, overcome incredible odds to succeed. This time, instead of HOOSIERS, its CHEESEHEADS!

CHEESEHEADS…. who would have thought something like that would take off and become a status symbol for sober people? I LOVE IT!

As I was reflecting on the whole idea of Cheeseheads, I realized there must be a lot of cheese in households of Packer fans. I visualized what it must have been like after the celebration and before the clean-up. I imagined that’s when the smallest cheeseheads, the original cheeseheads, would go to work.

This is going to be a great year to be a Cheesehead… I bet sometime soon, in Orlando, Mickey Mouse will be seen…wearing a CHEESEHEAD! How cool is that?!!

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?

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