This cartoon, One Big Happy, by Rick Detorie, reminded me of a couple of beach episodes some years back, when I lost my keys in the sand.

During the week I would go to a local beach, where not many people would be and on weekends, I went with my friends to Miami Beach where there was everybody in town.

Anyway, at the local beach I would hang out for an hour, maybe two or three. I left one day and walked the long distance to my car, only to see that my keys were not with me. I looked everywhere. At first I thought I might have left them in the car and they were stolen. I stupidly left my school ring in the car at the beach parking lot one time, and that was stolen, so I thought the same thing about the keys.

But I walked all the way back to where I had set up my towel and stuff, felt around the sand, and there they were – the whole keyring was there buried in the sand. Relief!

I didn’t bury the keys on purpose, they just ended up there, but some years later, I would bury the keys to keep them safe. I would leave my beach bag and towel on the beach and go out far into the water, very far, where I couldn’t even see my stuff anymore, so I felt burying the keys was a good idea.

One time, I came back and my beach bag was gone! I panicked.

Luckily the buried keys were safe, right under the towel, in the sand where I left them. I did walk around the bit, in a forest area near the beach, looking for my stuff, and there was my beach bag thrown on the floor. There was nothing of value in it, so the thief dropped it.

That was in the same area where a German shepherd bit me in the ass – but that’s another story for another time.

And at another beach I was lying out under a palm tree and an alligator named Big Joe was staring up at me from the lagoon – I was apparently in his spot under the tree, luckily a man and woman walking by yelled over to me to alert me. Another story for another time. I know, crazy stories. I know his name was Big Joe because they told me.

I did go back the next day with my friend Jorge, looking for Big Joe. Jorge seemed to love the idea, because after that, he would go often with a loaf of Wonder Bread and feed the alligators in the lagoon by holding piece of bread up and having them jump for it.

I’m not sure how long that lasted, but yes, today he still has all his fingers.

At that same beach, racoons would hover over people trying to get food and not leave until you threw them something to eat; and also I remember large groups of iguanas running en mass through the grass if something spooked them. It almost looked like a mini Jurassic Park. They were large for iguanas and they just ran across the lawn in one large group heading to who knows where.

I don’t go to the beach that often anymore, It has nothing to do with the German shepherd and Big Joe, or any of the other wildlife. I just got busy and don’t seem to have the time.

Until next time. . .

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My cartoons have been called “retro” and “old school” and that sort of bothers me in a way because I feel like they are being called outdated. But when I thought about it, I realized, the people saying that are younger and they sort of mean my work is not A.I. generated. Thank God. They are so used to seeing generated “fake” stuff that that’s their norm now.

One publication used to pick up my work, without permission and wrote about it calling it “old school.” I put a stop to that – the calling it “old school” and the stealing my work so they could use it for clickbait.

I like to think my “retro” look is original and timeless. And what comics are supposed to look like.

But ironically, it seems now that Gen Z likes retro things now. They are using flip phones and film cameras, VCRs, DVDs and vinyl records. They are fascinated by old technology.

When cleaning out my parents’ house not too long ago, I took a bunch of old cameras home with me – film cameras – movie cameras, all that old stuff. There were so many in the house, I guess they just accumulated over the years. I once had a boss who had shelves along the office walls with old film cameras on them, sort of as art. And I thought I would do that.

I didn’t do that yet, but I had a couple out on a table near my front door and a couple of times when I had workers here, they commented on them – they were fascinated by old kodak Instamatic point and shoot cameras, with the cube flash on top, remember those?

I have a neighbor who is way past Gen Z and she is installing a tv, the first time in years. She had not had tv because she said it distracted her, which I understand, and she also didn’t want to pay for cable, so her new tv is using an antenna now. Talk about retro.

The funny thing is that she called me to ask me where the antenna is on our condo roof. A friend told her that every condo has an attachment to connect to the antenna on the roof.

I had to explain to both of them that it is not 1980 anymore (although I wish it was) and that people use cable tv now or stream, or if they want to use an antenna, they have to attach it to their own tv and have it then attached to the window or something like that. I think.

I’m not sure how she made out. I’ll have to check and see if they got the thing working. Then tell her about a few of my favorite shows she should look into.

Until next time. . .

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

I see there is a big thing in the news about flock cameras – cameras that are following people around cities. They are posted on light poles and they are being abused, mostly by authorities. Police stalking ex-girlfriends and things like that.

A person can literally be stalked, starting with their license plate and then extending their reach from there. I love Big Brother, the tv show, but not this Big Brother.

What I don’t like about Big Brother the tv show it the spoilers all day long from people watching the feeds. They literally watch the feeds, then tweet or blog about them before they are on tv, so it ruins the show for those of us who just watch the edited show for the interesting, edited parts.

Anyway, back to flock cameras, which when you think of it, is part of the whole Big Brother tv scene. There are 94 high-def cameras in the house, following every move. Guess they were flocking before flocking was a thing.

I remember years ago, before South Beach was South Beach and Miami Beach was “Paradise Lost,” I would hang out on Lincoln Road with friends and every intersection had cameras. We weren’t doing anything wrong, so it didn’t bother me, and I guess they weren’t as advanced as these new-fangled Flock cameras.

I learned Spanish over the years, and sometimes when I speak, I remember where I was when I learned certain words. So, I can say a sentence and various scenes flash through my mind, having nothing to do with the sentence I’m speaking.

There was a pizza place on Lincoln Road back then that I would stop in once in a while for a slice. I learned the words cebollas (onions) and servilletas (napkins) from hearing a guy order who was in front of me in line.

He pointed to the pizza with onions and said, “Sin cebollas” which means “Without onions” and then asked for “Unos Servilletas por favor,” which is “some napkins please.”

So, whenever I say those words in a sentence all these years later, not necessarily both together, I think of that pizza place and the guy ordering, so many years ago.

Crazy how the mind works.

Until next time. . .

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My cousin recently retired from teaching, but for so many years that is what she did. This cartoon reminded me of her, I sent it to her. It’s a gag cartoon by cartoonist Tyson Cole.

I laughed out loud when I saw it.

She lives for summer, although she swore to me that she loved teaching. But it seems that many teachers are thinking of summer all school year. When she saw the cartoon she responded that she still feels this way. Summer is over when she says it is over!

I used to print school newspapers and other things for schools, many moons ago, and I was the opposite. Since there was no business in the summer, I looked forward to the first day of school, when all the school printing business would start up again.

The first day was quiet for me, while the schools were all buzzing with new activity in anticipation of the new school year. I literally would go to the beach that day and have the whole beach to myself. It was a ritual for me.

My cousin, let’s call her “Ruthie,” loved summer so much that we called her “Summer Ruthie” in the summer because she was a different person. She loved mojitos and we called it “Mojito season,” too.

When she retired I had a t-shirt made for her – it said, “Retired Ruthie meets Summer Ruthie. What could possibly go wrong?”

So many summers in The Hamptons were Mojito days. I feel it all just writing this, at the end of summer, soon turning into fall.

I love Fall, I think it’s my favorite season. I love the cooler weather and going upstate New York pumpkin and apple picking, but after so many years of not liking summer, I like summer, now, too.

I guess when it’s Fall I crave summer and when it’s summer I crave Fall.

Until next time. . .

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

CLICK HERE FOR MY CARTOON WALL ART.
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME THAT WAY.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

It hit 100 degrees in Miami yesterday! Luckily, I didn’t feel it. I guess I was inside most of the day. But I did go out for coffee earlier in the morning, but I guess it wasn’t 100 yet. They say 1942 was the last year it hit 100 in Miami.

I always remember when I was a kid and I would go to the beach in the summer, I would see it never really went above 85 degrees. Sometimes 87, but never up to 90 degrees.

I watched the noon news then hit the beach, so I would see what the temp was, just out of curiosity.

I remember when I was in grade school, the teachers talked about global warming and climate change. It wasn’t a subject, but it was an issue taken very seriously. I guess after all these years, no one listened.

Fossil fuels are mainly to blame – oil, gas, coal and also deforestation. Non-stop building is not helping. Livestock is also an issue and industrial processes like manufacturing cement, steel and plastics.

It’s almost like going back to the stone age is the only solution.

Until next time. . .

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I saw this story on CBS Sunday morning today – it’s amazing.

Twenty-three-year-old Lovina Hershberger Zook is an ex-Amish social media influencer now! Lovina grew up in an Amish community and had never used a cell phone or computer or driven a car. But she left the faith, and her family, five years ago, and today shares stories and recipes of the Amish with her six million online followers. Check this out.

Until next time. . .

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

CLICK HERE FOR MY CARTOON WALL ART.
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME THAT WAY.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

From the coffee shop to art gallery with period pieces, and witch pranks, this week’s cartoons have it all!

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I love ancient Rome and ancient Egypt. I’ve used them often in my cartoons.

I know they say that many guys think of ancient Rome often; sometimes once a day, which I find strange, but perhaps I do, too.

One thing I have in common with ancient Romans is the food stalls, known as “thermopolia.” They were food stands out and about the city, including Pompeii, which they have found in the ruins, and other “suburbs,” places all around the area.

Most ancient Romans didn’t have kitchens, they ate every meal out -and therein lies what I have in common with them – I basically eat every meal out. I don’t necessarily sit down at restaurants, but I do that, but also I get something quick to eat and bring it home. I try to avoid fast food, but I’ll get something fast.

The termopolia were bars with round holes in them where ceramic jars or other bowls with fires were and food was spooned out into something from the jars. They were affordable meals. People ate there daily and hung out and chatted and drank wine. These were small businesses, cared for by the owners, you can see by the beautiful murals, or what’s left of them, how much care went into these places.

And they ate Mediterranean. Which I try to do today. I even eat farro, which is an ancient grain, which is funny because when people talk about farro, they always follow it with “the ancient grain.” You can see the cartoon above where I featured farro. If farro is so great, why did people only live to age 30 back then?

Along with farro, lentils, stews, meats, fish and vegetables were served. There was also cheese and nuts and dried fruits. Most wine was served which was mixed with water to dilute it.

Over 80 thermopolium were found in Pompeii, they were very common and a part of everyday life.

My thermoplium consists of Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, Chicken Kitchen, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Sprouts, Cheesecake Factory, and lots of local restaurants when I do sit down at a table and eat.

Eat like a Roman – an ancient Roman.

Until next time. . .

Subscribe via email to this blog here – and each time I publish, usually twice a week, you’ll receive it in your email.