Cartoons and the stories behind them... Archives - Page 6 of 17

MOREL MUSHROOMS: THE HOLY GRAIL IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN

Hunting Morel Mushrooms in Northern Michigan is a big deal. Drive around the countryside in the Spring and you’ll witness cars parked at weird places as the annual hunt for the illusive Morel Mushroom occurs.

Go to a local bar at that time of year and the stories you hear will rival stories from any fishing tournament on Earth. Everyone seems to brag about the place they know where the mushrooms are bigger than anywhere else. The trick in the storytelling seems to be the ability to brag convincingly without giving any specific information about the location. No one wants to risk giving unscrupulous mushroom hunters (which, by definition, means anyone else in the woods) access to their secret mushroom Garden of Eden… The Mother Lode, so to speak.

They go to great lengths to keep the spot secret… Even to the point of walking in the opposite direction if someone approaches their stash and wandering aimlessly as if there is nothing to be found. Wandering aimlessly seems to be the method of choice for mushroom hunters. I’m not sure if it’s strategy or if they simply have no clue where they’re going and don’t want to admit it.

There is a definite similarity between hunting mushrooms and fishing. As in fishing, size seems to matter more than quantity. Bragging rights go to the person with the largest Morels. But, as in fishing, there always seems to be a person in the group that will say they saw it first but claims someone else picked it before they could get there… the mushroom version of the “one that got away”.

I got the cartoon idea when I overheard someone talking about “hunting for Morals”. I’m sure they were talking about “Morels”, but I heard “Morals”. At the time, I was doing a series of cartoons about humorous Catholic issues and “Father Murphy” often was the lead character. Morels, Morals and Father Murphy seemed to be a natural combination.

I’m sure he would understand if the confession about the actual size of the mushroom didn’t include the location where it was found… That would be a sin for a mushroom hunter!

Cyber-Psychology… it’s going to be BIG!

I’m not a Techie kind of guy… When it comes to technology, just turning a device on is a challenge. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in front of computer screens scratching my head and wondering where “it” went when I saved it… Or wondering if a “Fatal Error” is as serious as it sounds.

When it comes to technology, I often find myself surrounded by people speaking English but in a different language. You know what I mean? They’re using words that make no sense to me… For example, the other day I overheard a conversation about the importance of the “Cloud” in the future. I thought I knew what clouds were, but now I’m not so sure. They were young people of course and seemed to be talking about technological stuff. It made my head swim.

You can’t just push an “ON” button anymore and expect to know how things work. Technology seems to have a lot of secrets buried in the vernacular. My kids tell me, “Don’t worry Dad, it’s intuitive.”…. Right!

The whole idea for the cartoon came to me when I was tearing my hair out… well, not actually tearing my hair out. I don’t have any hair to tear out anymore. You know what I mean. I was looking for a padded room to vent my frustration with computers, etc. My inner voice said, “This is going to drive me crazy!” My other inner voice (They talk a lot…) replied, “You should ask for help.”

Asking for “Help” can mean a lot of things. To a guy, it means surrender. It would be like asking for directions. Who actually does that? Or,… even worse… seeing a therapist and admitting you don’t know what to do! As I listened to the voices inside my head sort it out, it occurred to me a new field of Psychology would emerge. One that would help people like me. That other voice, the cartoon idea guy, whispered in my inner ear, “Do a cartoon about it. Maybe no one will notice you don’t have a clue…”

I rest my case…

WELCOME TO MY WORLD !

Every once in a while I draw a cartoon that can be used in multiple ways. I drew a cartoon of myself to add to the Header for my website with the caption, “Welcome to my world !”. It also had each of the characters of my books, Annie Oxidant, Phyto (her dog), TC Bear, Rudy Baga and Brock O’Lee, the farmer.

As I look at the drawing, I can see a lot of uses for it. It looks like I’m telling a fish story about the one that got away. Or, maybe, with a few lines to make it look like I’m waving my arms, it could be me saying, “Yoo Hoo! I’m over here!”

I could be at Spartan Stadium (my college Alma mater) doing the wave or on the bow of the Titanic yelling, “I’m the King of the World!” Put a wand in my hand and I could be parking a Jumbo Jet…. Or, Sky Diving.

As you can see, being a cartoonist is like being the Chief Executive of the Universe… We decide what it all means and what happens. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t I do something about the cartoon happening in Washington these days? That’s another cartoonist’s territory. It’s out of my jurisdiction. My Universe is pretty small…

THE KEYS TO THE UNIVERSE

This cartoon idea came from an art class. The art instructor, Betsy, promised to give us the “Keys to the Universe”. The class focused on getting your logical, problem-solving left brain out of the way to open up the creativity of your right brain.

I have always recognized my strong creative side but it’s often in conflict with the logical side of my brain. I like to fiddle with stuff and try to repair things I know nothing about. Therein lies the problem.

For example, when I was a kid living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, I had an old balloon tire bike with coaster brakes. The brakes were a little sluggish and in Colorado that’s a problem! Knowing nothing about bicycle brakes, I decided to take it apart and fix it.

Taking it apart was a snap… It was the putting it back together that presented the challenge. The problem, as often is the case in my “repair” efforts, was the parts I had left over. More specifically, were they important to the issue of stopping? I was smart enough to try them out on level ground and… They worked!

I owned that bike for another 2-3 years. I never got to the the place where I fully trusted the brakes. Was it just a matter of time until they failed? Like I said earlier, in Colorado, a brake problem is a BIG problem. The bike eventually solved my dilemma by lying down behind my Dad’s car and getting run over in the driveway. Stupid bike!

That brings us back to the original question. Is being creative a hindrance when the situation requires logic? I figure the person that knows the answer to that question invented Duct Tape to bridge the gap. There ain’t nothin’ that Duct Tape can’t fix! It doesn’t have to be logical. Slap on the Duct Tape and you’re good to go… Ask any guy.

MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES… WITH UNIFORMS?

I overheard a conversation between two contractors discussing how to get more production out of their workers. The preferred method of motivation appeared to be “a swift kick in the butt…”.

I used to work for a company that seemed to think the only way to look businesslike was to emulate a penguin when dressing for work. “Look professional” was the reason given at the time. I always wondered about that. It seemed to me, looking intelligent would be better.

In hot, humid weather, wearing a black wool suit and tie while visiting a farmer’s barn didn’t seem very intelligent… nor professional. More like stupid. I imagined what the company would come up with if they adopted the attitude of the contractors and devised a “motivational uniform” for their workers. A cartoon idea was born…

I know for a certainty, the term “team player” would come up somewhere in the introduction of the new rules. Then, true to corporate form, they would drum up an award ceremony to recognize those who complied. What I’ll never understand is that it seems to work… for some people. The others are probably self employed. Either way, it still requires a certain amount of “kicking butt” to get it done!