We interrupt regular broadcasting once again to bring you a few cartoons from our resident cartoonist…
My beautiful Denise always gets the first look at all my blog posts, as she acts as my muse, my editor, and my cheering section. She does it all so well! When she emails back my reviewed and edited blog post articles, she invariably includes some loving and kind words. For example, after reading the one about fathers she replied, “My darling…. I loved this blog post from start to finish. I’m not sure how it is possible but your writing is getting better with each blog. You share your wisdom and your humor in such a remarkably entertaining way. I love you and I love your blogs and your cartoons. Please keep them coming.”
It was while thinking about the compliment above that I wrote the intro to this blog post….
This blog post is just some random thoughts made into cartoons. Hopefully you will find something in them that is to your liking; that you find some humor, some entertainment, and some wisdom. Pressure is on! 😁
1.
All Good Things – Created by Don Cheke
Just recently we purchased a transfer chair for Denise. As her Parkinson’s disease progresses, she is finding her balance and endurance waning. We picked a transfer chair because she couldn’t utilize a typical wheelchair and we didn’t want to spend the money on an electric scooter just yet. The transfer chair we got can double as a walker since it has brakes on the handles. As such, she can walk behind it and use it as a walker, or she can sit and I can comfortably push her in it. So far, I think it was a good investment.
I just finished watching all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The last episode is called, “All good things…,” meaning, all good things must come to an end. Keep that in mind!
Not so long ago I watched a TV series called Shetland. Like many detective shows, the main character in this series is a tortured soul, trying to get on with life after the death of his wife. Keep that in mind too!
Lastly, I watched the series called Mr. Monk. He too is a tortured soul due to the death of his wife. Note the common theme as the two above. Personally, I can’t see wanting to live at all if my dear DeeDee was to pass on, but if I could manage it, I am sure I would be just like the fellows in the TV shows I mentioned. I would most certainly have a shrine with Denise’s cremains as the focal point, as well as many pictures of her to add to the ambience. I would leave all her things in her room and never part with anything. I would spend time in her closet smelling her clothes to help me feel the awesomeness that defined her. I have many voice recordings of her from the time we worked on The Prophet project, so I would listen to them often to help me feel a continuing bond with her. I would carry pictures of her in my wallet and keep hundreds on my phone gallery to share will the folks I encounter, which might be few if I found I could not leave the house due to my depressed state. I am sure people would eventually tell me to move on, but I never would. 😢 By the way, I had Denise promise me that I had to go before her since she is the strong one and could go on without me. She promised! Besides that, I told her she could get my brother Dave to move in and look after her. He doesn’t know this, so keep it a secret for now. 😊
The cartoon above was made to illustrate the ultimate in not letting go. I would wheel Denise around in her, hopefully by then ancient, transfer chair, and I would share my world, the world, with her. I would talk to her continually and I would hopefully continue to feel her presence.
2.
Parallels – Created by Don Cheke
One day, I was listening to a song on YouTube and the visual was a spinning record that had the RCA / HMV logo on it. It reminded me of the days when everyone recognized the dog at the gramophone. Are you familiar with RCA’s His Master’s Voice (HMV)?
I decided to do a bit of research and found this on the internet, probably Wikipedia, or something similar.
His Master’s Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a dog named Nipper listening to a wind-up disc gramophone and tilting his head. In the original, unmodified 1898 painting, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph. The painting was also famously used as the trademark and logo of the Victor Talking Machine Company, later known as RCA Victor. The painting was originally offered to James Hough, manager of Edison-Bell in London, but he declined, saying “dogs don’t listen to phonographs”. Barraud subsequently visited The Gramophone Co. of Maiden Lane in London where the manager William Barry Owen offered to purchase the painting if it were revised to depict their latest Improved Gramophone model. Barraud obliged, and Owen bought the painting from Barraud for £100.
Here is a web address to a wonderful article about it. It brought me a few tears of joy as I read about how well Francis Barraud was treated over the years by the company that bought his painting and the rights. Copy and paste the address in your browser to read it. https://meador.org/2023/12/05/remembering-his-masters-voice/
As I thought about his master’s voice, I couldn’t help thinking that this would make for a great cartoon. Of course, in true outdated male humor, Loaf sees the parallel between the painting and Loafetta being his master. When she calls, he is right on the spot. Yes dear!?
3.
Degrees – Created by Don Cheke
It has always bothered me that I have never received a university degree. To me, having a university degree means that you made something of yourself. Over the years I spent studying psychoanalysis, psychology, and other things in the realm of being human, I always felt that I deserved an honorary degree of some sort to show that I had put in the effort, probably more than one would have even having gone to university. This was especially true after I wrote my first book, which felt almost like a thesis to me.
At some point in my life, I heard a standup comic say that he had three degrees, all below zero. I could relate to that and here we see that Loaf feels the same. I told Denise once that I might start putting letters after my name, something that only her and I knew the meaning of. It would surely look impressive, right!? Hummm…. Donald B. Cheke SGFS, MOD (Smart Guy for Sure, Master of Delusion.) What do you think? LOL!
4.
New Pants – Created by Don Cheke
I have a list of thoughts about cartoons I want to create. Sometimes, Denise provides some ideas and I appreciate that very much. Having just purchased some new jeans and a new belt, Denise suggested that I create a new cartoon about that, perhaps Loaf holding up some wide pants and saying that they don’t look wide enough. I jotted that idea down. Step forward a couple or so weeks and I am working on this blog post. I have just finished the other four cartoons and am wondering what this one should be. As I am pondering this, I am listening to Bob Dylan and the song, “Just Like a Woman,” is playing. 28 seconds into the song he sings the line, “Everybody knows, that Baby’s got new clothes…,” so that settled it. The cartoon must be the one about clothes since I have just received a message from Bob himself. Spooky, hey!?
Although I didn’t draw exactly what Denise suggested, I did use a thought in the same realm that I have when I buy pants. Embarrassingly enough, it is that I am as round as a sheet of drywall is wide. Sheesh! Don’t tell anyone that, it will be our little secret. 😊
The sales guy where I buy clothes always says, “what else do you deserve,” whenever I finish selecting an item. It’s kind of annoying as it feels like pressure to keep shopping. One day, long ago, I went in to get a pair of jeans, and with his constant sales line and Denise’s encouragement, I went home with two pairs of jeans, four or five new shirts, some new gotch (Canadian slang for underpants or underwear), and a leather jacket, so I could look more like my brothers when they come to visit in their leathers. Five or six hundred dollars later, I realized that my budget for the next 10 quarters was shot. That’s sales speak for 2-1/2 years of shopping.
On this last trip to the store, I got the same spiel from the sales guy, and although I told Denise that she could only come if she let me buy only the two items I wanted, a new pair of jeans, and a belt, she made me buy two pairs of jeans and two t-shirts! Yep, so much for sticking to my guns, as that saying goes.
Note that I purchased jeans that have a tighter fit, so that will likely reflect in Loaf’s appearance. Doesn’t he look fifteen years younger and sixty pounds lighter? 😊
5.
Awards Night – Created by Don Cheke
I created this cartoon specifically to introduce this comic interlude. I thought that Loaf receiving an award for his comic series would be in order, something like an academy award. In typical Loaf Dubronovich fashion, the statue is a clone of Loaf. Best Cartoon Series – yep, he’s happy with that! 😊
We now return to regularly scheduled programming….
Donald B. Cheke – October 28, 2024