-
Archives
- January 2025
- December 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- February 2024
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- October 2021
- July 2021
- May 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
-
Meta
Action by action
“You have to assemble your life yourself, action by action.” – Marcus Aurelius
I had a dream the other night that I was back in college. I was in the same dorm and even had the same freshman roommate. But this time around, I didn’t go down to The Daily Beacon (Student Newspaper) and didn’t draw cartoons — because I was lazy.
I literally am who I am because I had the courage to try out for the cartooning job (even after my advisor told me not to bother). Looking backwards, I realize how each step brought me to where I am today. And I think my dream was a reminder to stay busy. I did the work back then. I have to do it now. Urgency is the key — but there is also something else.
Seeing into the future is harder than looking back.
Obviously it is harder to look forward and see where you’re going. That requires planning. And as I am getting older, I don’t have the time to waste like I did when I was 20. I can’t bounce from rock to rock as my raft floats down the stream. I need to paddle with purpose. The last chapters of my life will require more outlining as I assemble them.
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Kids coming over for Thanksgiving? Here are some recent coloring sheets
I’ve done nearly 700 of these coloring sheets since the pandemic began. I really need to put them into a book.
Posted in Cartoon, Coloring Sheet
Leave a comment
Cornucopia
As I type this, I’m shivering because the heat in my house went out. I’m waiting on the repairman and praying it isn’t too expensive of a fix — otherwise, Christmas will mean a new heating and air system (NOT something I asked Santa for this year.) But instead of worrying, I’m focusing on what I do have and how I can use that to get past this hiccup. How can I reframe the situation and make it a positive? Or if nothing else, how can I hustle to pay for this.
This Thanksgiving, remember that gratitude is a superpower. It illuminates the dark and lifts us above our worries — or at least gives us the strength to handle it.
Thanks to John Cerami (Cerami Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration) for coming out so quickly and getting the furnace back operating again. On this day before Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for him.
Posted in Cartoon, Writing
Leave a comment
Paradise on a Cold, Cloudy Day
The Florida Panhandle has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Its white sand makes the water a beautiful, translucent green color. It’s a place that pops off of postcards. Last weekend, the weather was definitely not from central casting — it was cold, drizzly and gloomy. But a quirk in how I see things is that I can find beauty even in the middle of the gloom. Last Sunday, I went for a walk along the beach and saw the sun struggling to burn through the clouds. There were patches of the trademark green water. The sand was white but not quite as vibrant. But the sea oats and scrub had patches of brown and yellow that gave a warm glow.
Here’s my painting of what I saw:
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Meeting Old Friends in New Places
Last weekend, our nephew Ian got married to his wonderful girlfriend Lindsay at the town hall in Rosemary Beach, Florida. It was a grand affair — one of the happiest weddings I can remember.
They’re off to a good start.
During the reception, a voice from behind me said, “Are you Marshall Ramsey?” Considering 99.9% of the crowd was from the Atlanta area, it caught me off guard. Maybe someone else besides us was from Mississippi? I turned around and saw a woman about my age. She was attractive but I didn’t recognize her.
“Yes.”
She replied, “You took me to the senior prom.”
I looked again and sure enough, she was right. It was Tammy Wayne, who had gone with me as a friend. We ate, went to the dance and then I dropped her off afterwards. She was dating someone else by that point. I went off and had fun with my friends.
It was nice night.
I didn’t see her again after that.
Thirty six and a half years later, there she was.
We caught up on three decades of life, I introduced her to Amy and my middle son. I couldn’t hear well (the band was amazing and loud and I’m deaf when things starting getting the least bit loud). I did hear her say a couple of times that I hadn’t changed.
I drink Formaldehyde after all.
She is a good friend of the bride’s mom. I’m uncle to the groom. What are the odds?
She walked away and I didn’t see her again after that.
Life is totally random. And I’ll probably bump into her again in the nursing home.
Posted in Writing
Leave a comment
Learning to Swim
If you are thrown off the boat, you can either thrash around in the water or you can swim. Of course, you need to know HOW to swim — that’s helpful. Panic causes the thrashing. I can tell you from experience, if you think you are drowning, you get tired very quickly. Easy, measured strokes can take you were you need to go.
In 2008, the newspaper business started cutting people. For two years, I lived in fear as my colleagues got laid off around me. I ended up having stomach issues and had to have a couple of procedures to make sure something wasn’t wrong. Stress is a killer in more ways than one.
Twelve-years ago this week, I was thrown off the boat — with a rope still attached to my leg. After coming back from running the Marine Corps marathon and raising $13,000 for charity, I was made part-time at the Clarion Ledger. (And my dog died — If my mom had been hit by a train, it would have been a country song) It initially cost me my benefits (which were later restored) and half of my salary. I still did six cartoons a week — which meant the paper got me for half off. They told me that I could get another job — which I did to keep my house. I got a job at SuperTalk. Soon all the promises made to me like “you can work from home some” went away. I was sitting in the CL building at 6:00 a.m. sharp. I’d get home at 6:30 at night and then do it all over again the next day.
I was thrashing in the water.
Back then, I was afraid because I didn’t think I could do anything else other than draw editorial cartoons. Today I know better. I am a storyteller.
Twelve years ago, the management at the Clarion Ledger did me a favor. I am grateful to them. First of all, they didn’t lay me off. Being part-time, I still had some money to survive on. Second, their business decision allowed me to start making some business decisions of my own. I published books, I got better on radio, I did TV and I now work with a great team at Mississippi Today.
There were some costs in those twelve years. But as I look back this morning, I thank God and need to get busy swimming.