Back in the day, forgetting your textbook at school wasn't just an inconvenience. It meant a race against the clock, a run back to school before the doors were locked, and Mom's reminder ringing in your ears: "You better come back with that book." 😄📚🏃♂️
I legitimately wondered what'd I do...where I'd go...if I couldn't get my book before they locked up the school! 😮💨
Did this ever work for anyone else?
No matter how many times I claimed I didn’t have homework, my parents always knew the truth. Funny how I kept trying anyway. 📚😉
My parents bought me a set of kid-sized handyman tools to spark my interest in building. Problem was, the hammer was so small I was more likely to hit my thumb than the nail. 🔨👍😅
Grant Avenue - the steepest hill in the neighborhood! It looked like a mountain to us when we were little. I always dreamed of skateboarding down it, but between the speed and my complete lack of stopping skills, courage usually lost that argument. 😅🛹
Some of my favorite childhood memories were the simplest - sitting on the curb on a crisp fall evening, listening to crickets and watching daylight quietly fade away. 🍂✨
Sunday afternoon...beautiful cool weather...windows open to let some fresh air in the house...and after procrastinating all weekend, I'm stuck inside working on homework assignments that are due in the morning. 😮💨📝
When the weather gets cooler and crisp, it's so refreshing! 😊
Nothing said "fall is here" quite like a family drive, the windows down, and your arm catching the cool crisp breeze as the family station wagon cruised along a country back road. 🚗🍁
When your teacher is a college football fan... 😄
We had a teacher that was a diehard Clemson fan. She even gave every student a water cup with the Clemson logo on it that we kept on our desk with a patch of white Velcro. I might not have known much about college football, but we all knew exactly which team she was rooting for! 🏈🐅
Time for another intermission!
Today’s cartoon was inspired by our pastor at church. I’ll admit, while he’s delivering his message, I’m usually sitting there sketching in my notebook. Since he’s right up front, Pastor makes a pretty handy subject to draw.
Over time, I’ve turned it into a little challenge for myself by trying a different cartoon style each week. Every now and then, one of those sketches comes together well enough that I decide to ink and color it, turning it into one of my finished cartoons.
This just happens to be one of those weeks! 😄
Sunday afternoons were made for family drives.
We’d pile into the station wagon, turn on the radio, and wander through the Virginia countryside with nowhere in particular to go.
Nobody talked much. We just listened to the music and watched the scenery roll by.
No destination. No distractions. Just a Sunday afternoon together.
Fun fact: I originally planned to show the back of the station wagon in this cartoon.
Then I remembered my little “game” of alternating the direction my characters face from cartoon to cartoon. Since Zack needed to face right this time, I had to flip the whole car around and draw the front instead.
Challenges like these energize my creativity! 😁
I’ll admit, I could be a brat to my sister…especially when I’d “accidentally” cross that imaginary line dividing the back seat of the family station wagon. 😅
Everyone has a favorite time in history to read about. Mine was medieval times.
Maybe I romanticized it a little, but knights, castles, swordfights, and jousting? As a kid, I couldn’t get enough. 😎🏰
Being the last one off the bus meant extra time to unwind, watching the neighborhood roll by outside the window. Funny how therapeutic a quiet bus ride could be. 😌🚌
Sometimes life’s demands can feel a bit overwhelming, and taking a moment to let it all out with a good yell can be a simple way to release some stress. 😫😮💨😊
One of my biggest frustrations was feeling that teachers didn't always appreciate how little free time we had after school. Each assignment on its own seemed manageable, but when all the homework from different classes piled up, the evenings felt far too short to get everything done. 😮💨
I still made the effort though... even if I couldn't get it all done, I always lugged every textbook home! 😅
Lockers were a challenge for me. Even when I knew the combination, I'd turn the dial just slightly off and spend several frustrating tries trying to get it open...all while losing precious time getting to class before the bell rang. 😡😅
A bit of a detour from my normal cartoons. This one is a tribute to my boss and fellow coworker who will be retiring this coming week. 🫡
I had a knack for letting my mind wander during class. Thankfully, my teachers always seemed to have a special talent for bringing me back to reality! 😳😅
Just because I didn’t make friends on the very first day didn’t mean I wouldn’t make any at all. I was incredibly shy back then, and it took me a little while to come out of my shell and get comfortable around the other kids. Once I did, though, the friendships started to form naturally. ☺️
Growing up, our parents thought friendships happened instantly. My sister and I worked a little slower - it took us time to start letting people into our worlds! 😊
