Did you have a magical Summer that changed everything? Did you come of age? Did you learn the journey itself was more important than the destination? Was the treasure the friendships you found all along?
I used to hate this time of the year as a kid. I hated school and this was the time of the year where the whole school year was ahead. My birthday is next month and I’ll write a bit more about how I much prefer my 30’s to any of the decades that came before.
I got a haircut recently and I realised two things. One, I don’t pay big to get my hair done at a studio, I pay small to get my hair cut at a barber. A studio is all about the experience and cultured side of getting your hair done. At the barbers I’m not getting my hair done, I’m getting a job done. It’s something to tick of the list.
Two, I’ve been going to the same barber shop for over 15 years and it dawned on me recently that I don’t think either of the men working there have ever learned my name. We naturally talk while the haircut is going on. Usually about sport, the weather, nothing major. But I honestly don’t ever recall them using my name. And in fairness, I only learned one of their names earlier this year when another customer said it. The other guys name is on the sign.
This is one of the longest running interpersonal relationships outside of my family and we’ve never formally exchanged names. I have a lot of interactions like that around my town. People I frequently swap ‘hello’s’ with. There’s an elderly woman who lives near my regular coffee spots and a few years ago we started regularly saying hello to each other. I think I started it, I was a young man and was walking through the alley where she lived and didn’t want her to be intimidated so said hello. Since then it’s become a never ending back and forth. It’s gotten to the extent where when we pass each other we not only say ‘hello’ but have to actually seek out eye-contact with each other so the other one knows we’re saying hello to them. I’d like to hear her side of the story. Are these constant renditions of ‘hello’ a burden for her? Was she worried I’d be intimidated by her? I may never know. But I’ll certainly notice the day they stop.
Most of my life revolves around my hometown. There are things I do that involve a bit of a commute on busy days, namely working in a radio station. But for the most part on my days off I’m around the same alley way in 1 of 3 coffee shops writing, reading, or drawing. It occurs to me that the amount of time I spent in and around that alley way probably means I’m a recurring background character in some other people’s lives. I see the same faces regularly around and they see me too.
I like the idea of being a recurring character in a sitcom. Or better yet, a cartoon. A side character with good lines without the pressure of carrying a plot. I can drop in when I feel like it, say something funny, and leave. My aspiration is to spend my free time pottering nearby in case an episode is running short and somebody needs an irreverant non-sequitur in their day, before they return to the main storyline. I’m already the main character of my own life, I don’t want to have to headline anyone else’s story. So if it’s not my art, cartoons, or music, I’m fine to be someone who drops by someone else’s story without actually having to play a significant role in anything they are doing. Maybe I’ve developed a catchphrase inadvertently without meaning to.
It’s the 8th of the month so I have some cartoons of course. The haircut gets a mention, and Bruce asks permission for something important. And the Lord of Eternal Darkness makes they’re return.
Remember to look at my Made to Order section for handmade greeting cards, custom pet cartoons, and more.
He’s trying something with hair gel and needs the validation.
We didn’t realise it at the time but a little part of our childhood slipped away when we started hoarding reusable bags for storing more reusable bags in.
More birds need to include a synthesizer in their songs.
Doing introductory ice-breakers is an unintentional part of the torment because the Lord of Eternal Darkness thinks they’re fun.
The only one who hasn’t weighed in on the discourse.
Does Bruce have your permission? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no.
Cartoon Sampler 16 will be out on October 8th. I might have a new video on my music page in the mean time so stay tuned for that.
If you enjoy my work you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi from as little as €2. That’s the price of an espresso in a nice Italian café! You want Bruce to have an espresso from a nice Italian café right?
Any tip is greatly appreciated and goes a very long way.
Ronny Punctuation 