Around 1986, I was a happy-go-lucky tv producer and playwright in
Washington, D.C. I wore the gratuitous gray pinstripe suite and red or
yellow power tie. I lived on Capital Hill, just a few blocks from the
Smithsonian. I never went unless I had out-of-town guests.
One day, my friends Julie and Beverly called me and told me to get
dressed, that we were going to a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit at the
Smithsonian. I didn't want to go.
Don't misunderstand why I wanted to stay home, given this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I loved and still love The Far Side,
but at the end of the day I was usually exhausted and the though that
went through my head was, "Why wait in a long line for an exhibit, when
I can simply open the Post or Times any day of the week and there's The
Far Side.
I could tell Julie and Beverly were not listening, soI got dressed.
They picked me up and we at the museum within five minutes. The lines,
though long, moved quickly and the exhibit was beyond my wildest
imagination. The panel cartoons had been blown up onto 5 or 6 foot
poster boards and were hanging from the ceiling. Many of them were some
of my most memorable from the newspaper.
The blown up paperboard only served to make the Far Side better and
funnier. The details that made it so brilliant were no longer so subtle
or hidden. It was like Disneyland.
Suddenly a feeling came over me that I can't explain. It was an odd one
and not very comfortable. Though I laughed and chatted with my friends
about our favorites throughout the event, I remember the discomfort
that I couldn't seem to shake.
It was a long exhibit with hundreds of images but well worth it. Now,
back home, I was too sad to eat or watch television. Then I remembered.
I had created a similar panel cartoon in the early '70's and stuffed it
away in both my psyche and closet. I had done so with so many dreams, I
wondered if any of them would ever die. Obviously this one was with me
a long time.
Everyone has dreams. Some are more potent than others. I Continued to
do my homework in business clases nd had no idea why I was even in
colege. But there I sat.
Publishing and newspaper syndication are a difficult business for cartoonists. Nedles to say, most do not get published.
If anyone thinks art is not a powerful medium, think again. It cultipated me from obscurity to heavy Interet saturation.
In the movie "Field Of Dreams" Kevin Kosner says, "Build It And They
Will Come." Though I found the line a bit arrogant, it turned out to be
true. No hype, no pop up ads, just a site full of good humorous free
content.
