This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “linked”. “There have been people who have tried to take advantage of me. They want to be linked to me just because I’m Ethel Merman.” Ethel Merman That quote from Ethel Merman, about herself, is baffling. One would think a more charismatic celebrity with a more compelling …
It was 1978. I sat behind the wheel of my mom’s ’69 Ford Galaxie trying out my newly acquired driver’s license. Sam sat on the passenger side of the huge vinyl bench seat. We talked as I maneuvered the Galaxie down Bustleton Avenue in northeast Philadelphia, when suddenly Sam screamed “What the fuck are you …
Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: an extra piece for Sam’ »
The current challenge on the Monday Artday illustration website is “castaway”. Earlier this week, Corey Haim, another former child actor with a hard-luck story, passed away at a young age. Corey was just another in a long line of former child actors following an unfortunate path Dana Plato at 35, Brad Renfro at 25, …
This week’s Monday Artday challenge word is “train”. I have been riding the train to work for almost three years. It is a pleasure to let someone else take the responsibility of being in charge of my morning and evening commute. I don’t worry about traffic or weather or other drivers. I also get to …
This week Illustration Friday challenge word is “muddy”. Twenty-eight and a half inches of snow fell on Philadelphia today and it got me thinking about warmer times. On the first Saturday of June 2008, my family and I attended The Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival, an annual outdoor all-day concert. This particular show was …
This week’s challenge word on the Illustration Friday website is “hatch”. “Hurry up, Ma! Hurry before they hatch!” A little background… I was at a total loss for this challenge when it was announced early on Friday morning. My mind was blank. I had no ideas at all. That afternoon, I went to lunch with my …
1965 was a tumultuous time. The country was still healing from the wounds brought on by a presidential assassination. Alabama state troopers clashed with civil right activists in Selma. The first wave of US Armed Forces was being deployed to the jungles of Viet Nam. In 1965, I fought a demon of my own. My …
As I watched the 2009 baseball postseason, I thought about my long association with the Philadelphia Phillies. As a kid, I was never a sports fan. My brother and father would park themselves in front of the television and rabidly watch anything that remotely resembled a sporting event. Depending on the time of year, our …
This week’s challenge word on the Illustration Friday website is “strong”. “Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.” — Ronald Reagan On a recent trip to Walt Disney World, my wife and I witnessed something we found very unsettling. To alleviate the effects of the central Florida humidity, …
This week’s inspirational word on Inspire Me Thursday is “chair”. My brother was born in 1957. The Pincus family was a nice, sweet, calm family for four and a half years. Then little Josh was born and all hell broke loose. It began when I was brought home from the hospital. My parents thought it …
