Those I Read

 
Last night was the 2025 Harvey Awards. 

 During the ceremony, Peter was inducted into their hall of fame.

 It was a nice awards ceremony with killer appetizers and an open bar.  Which is a good way to get the comic industry to show up.

 Paul Levitz gave the introduction for Peter. He talked about Peter’s love for the industry and how he was a friend you could count on. It was a lovely speech.

Then it was my turn to speak for Peter. I could feel the melancholy in the room. I decided to lighten the mood. I opened with, “Peter David is officially a ghost writer.” The room howled with laughter and applause. The mood changed and I talked about how Peter loved the industry and the people in it. I think I did well. I did get compliments afterwards and met a lot of people who had their own Peter David story to share. I learned from several how important his work is in their countries. It was comforting to know how beloved Peter was by his colleges.

Today I am taking a break from the convention. My right knee is acting up and I want a day to get it back in shape before hitting the floor one last time on Sunday as I still have some people to visit at the convention.

I am grateful that Peter is in the Harvey Hall of Fame

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to

make.”

— Jane Goodall 

Kindness costs you very little. Kindness should be one’s first go to. A kind word can make someone’s day especially if they are having a bad one. I compliment someone’s hair or outfit or shoes, many times they smile, and their face brightens up. I have recognized them as a fellow person in just the comment. I try to be kind to all. I don’t know what sort of day/week/month/year they had.

Polite is a good reflex too. It doesn’t matter who it is, they deserve politeness. I try to be polite even in difficult situation. It’s just good manners. I have gotten a lot further with taking care of problems with being polite. I watch that play out at DragonCon when I went to check in. It was two different people checking in. One was being rather rude. They kept harping on their status with the hotel and how dare his room was not ready right now. The other gentleman took the news rather graciously and gave them his cell number to call when the room was ready. The gentleman was called back in pretty short order and got his room. The other guy came back about the same time I did to get his room. There was a lot of muttering about calling corporate about how long he had to wait. It was about an hour.  I told the clerk whose name was Susanne that if she needed a witness as to what happened here is my phone number since I had been there for both incidents. She thanked me but said it was not necessary due to the camera system they have set up there.

Nice is a reflex with me. I always try to be nice. Again, it costs me nothing except breath. Everyone deserves to be treated nicely. When I was at MoMI two weeks ago, I gave information I knew to others who had questions I could answer. I helped some new puppet owners how to operate their puppets. One said they hope they are as cool as me when they get to my age. I said keep practicing.

Respect the other person. Not that easy when the topic is a tough one that one will never see eye to eye. I am of the “agree to disagree” group. There are times that one can totally lose respect for the other person. It is about the time the discussion becomes a war of words and ideas. Shouting is not winning an argument in face it is pretty much losing it. Slurs, implied or blatant, are the end of the argument. “I know you are, but what am I” is the kiss of death. We, as a society, need to relearn how to debate.

I learned most of this from my parents who live what they say. They were my models on how to act in public. They also taught me some tricks to discussion and debate. Other things I learned from mentors in my life. 

I am grateful for the people to raised me.

Now I knew I was creative, but I never really thought of myself as an artist. Bill Sienkiewicz was the one who made me see my work as art. He managed to get me to see what I did was not just a technical trick but creative art. I thought of puppets as practical objects. I didn’t see them as art. Now that I do, I think of myself as an artist. I am proud of my art.

I can write. I enjoy stretching that part of my mind. I am always thinking my way through stories and scenarios. Peter did the same thing and we would bounce ideas off each other and were each other’s first readers. 

And we were honest with each other. Peter would warn people they would be getting his opinion good, bad or ugly. I got his honest opinion which sometimes was just the words “it sucks. Try again with out the story sucking.” He would tell me when I was wasting my time on a story for various reasons. I would tell him the same thing on that rare occasion where I could tell he was at a dead end.

I like making dolls. I haven’t done it in a while. I learned the kind of doll I loved making from Wendy Froud. If you ever get the chance to take a workshop from Wendy, take it. It will change your life. Yesterday a friend of mine gave me a box of eyeballs. These are much smaller I would use for the puppets however, they are the perfect size for smaller dolls. Most of my doll work is with anthropomorphize animals or fantast creature. I kept my favorite badger to remind me that I can do these things. 

I like making stuffed animals. Another thing that I haven’t done in a while. Again they go to the fantastical side of the road.

I like making costumes. I am doing less of that. For one thing Caroline learned to sew for herself, so she makes her own costumes. I don’t have that gang of kids I had to make costumes for. I am starting to make stuff for me. Some of it can be used as street clothing. Other pieces are costume only. I am in the middle of making a swallow tailcoat. It is very complicated. I think I can do it. I am probably going do a muslin mockup before I take scissors to the real fabric.

My mind is never bored. It is aways scheming all kinds of things. Right now, it is working on the answer to a question a friend asked about how to do something with a puppet. I came up with several ways just off the top of my head. I am now going through them to see what would work for my friend since this is their first puppet.

I am grateful for my creativity.