Dates

I was at the hairdresser's Friday.

I think men now call their hairstylist a hairdresser, don't they? She's not a barber. For a long time, it was kind of unmanly to say one goes to a hairdresser instead of saying a barber. I cling to very few macho stereotypes, but I'm still unsure about hair cutting.

But I digress. I was waiting to get my hair cut, and my hairdresser said, "I forgot to check what today is". I was going to say "Friday," but then remembered that she has the QlownTown Holiday Calendar hanging in her salon and was wondering what special occasion appeared there. Turns out it was Men's Grooming Day, and we all had a laugh about the appropriateness of my getting my hair cut on that day.

I went to an informal fortieth high school reunion lunch that afternoon--so informal that, out of a class of 177, only eight showed up--and I was glad that my hair was neatly trimmed. After all, try as one might, one doesn't want to disappoint the people one hasn't seen for forty years, does one? I was actually a little nervous beforehand, or so I thought. I realized after the fact that I was just excited to see people I'd seen almost every day of my life for many years. Funny how you can change so much over the decades, yet talk so easily with old friends. Even if we don't see each again for another long span of years, it was nice to check in and see that these people are all right. I continue to care about these people with whom I grew, even though the years have separated us.

There's talk of a more organized gathering in October, and I expect we'll see more alumni then. But eight of us will have special memories to share: "Oh, remember back in August, when we ate at the Yard restaurant and caught up and reminisced? Good times."

Evolution

It's been interesting, these last few weeks drawing QlownTown. I've made a conscious effort to give the characters larger hands and feet, and tweak their proportions. I like when a character like Mr. Katz is shaped unlike anyone in real life. It becomes more fun to draw when the clowns look really silly, and it's closer to the "stretch and squish" rule at Disney. The idea is that cartoon characters should stretch longer and squish flatter as they move, exaggerating natural shapes and movement. It's almost like imagining them made of Jell-O...and as we know, there's always room for characters made of Jell-O.

I've also tried lately to steer away from puns again. I like it better if they don't become the norm, although there are many strips---Shoe, Mother Goose and Grimm and Frank and Ernest spring to mind---in which puns are common and clever. I wish my mind worked more like Tony Carrillo's. He does F Minus: almost every strip has a twisted sensibility. I used to do stuff like that when I was in college. I think you're more open to irony as a student. As you age, life beats you down and you become tired of thinking creatively. Actually, it's just the way I think now. One-liners. But if the drawing style can evolve, maybe the humor can as well. 

Of course, having said that, I have a pun coming up concerning Toll House cookies next week...