The Napkin Made a Mistake – A One Question Quiz

ego_3_sm

The Napkin made a mistake. Really.

Yep, really.  I started out with a quote I was going to illustrate this morning. I started my drawing, meaning to stop at some point so I could add the quote into the drawing. But I forgot and before I knew it the drawing was too filled up for me to get the quote in.

But my mistake is to your benefit.  Because you get a quiz out of it and here it is. Put your answer in a comment. And if you want, include a quote you think belongs with this drawing.

  • Which quote was I going to write on this napkin?

    1. The mind’s first step to self-awareness must be through the body – George A. Sheehan
    2. I don’t at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited – Oscar Wilde
    3. The problem with introspection is that it has no end – Philip K. Dick
    4. Contemplation often makes life miserable. We should act more, think less, and stop watching ourselves live – Nicolas Chamfort

Put your answer in a comment and if you want, include a better quote you think belongs with this drawing.

I will share the answer when I post my next drawing.

 


 

Drawing and quiz by Marty Coleman


 

The Blood Moon Murder – An Illustrated Short Story

 

Chapter One

Emily took the mirror out of her purse. She was looking for blood splatter but noticed her hair instead. She didn’t like how her hair looked when it blew in the wind. Instead of looking full like she wanted, it looked straggly and thin. She couldn’t decide if it was due to the hair cut she got, which she hated, or the product she had been persuaded to buy at the salon. Whatever the reason, she didn’t like it and wanted to get back in the car as soon as possible. This wasn’t just due to her hair looking shitty, but because of the body in the middle of the road. Emily knew the road was seldom travelled but she didn’t want to take chances just in case one of those survivalist nut cases up in the backwoods came down in a tank or something.

The Blood Moon Murder - A Short Short Story

 

Chapter Two

Emily reapplied her lipstick as she drove down the mountain. She got out her mascara and added a bit to her upper lashes when she got to the one and only stop light in town. She even got a bit of blush to each cheek before the light turned green. She was hungry and Chicken King was right at the corner. She liked Chicken King because the chicken fingers were easy to eat and the straws were just the right diameter. She was particular about these things knowing that it all contributed to her looking as good as she did.  People thought it was just her lucky genetics and that pissed her off. She worked hard and sacrificed to look this good. She wished people realized that.

She ate as she drove down the coastline. She wondered how long it would be until the body was found. She wondered if wild animals would find it and drag it off the road. Wouldn’t that be convenient she thought. She noticed the moon was red and thought that was very strange.

bloodmoonmurder-4_sm

After about 3 hours of driving she stopped for gas. She put on a pair of those cheap rubber gloves that come in a box before touching the gas hose since the worst thing in the world was to be able to smell gas on her fingers after she got back in the car. She went into the convenience store to go to the bathroom but the toilet was covered in pee and she couldn’t do it. She would just have to wait. She got a pack of gum and told the teenage clerk he should have been checking the toilets more often because one had urine all over it. He looked at her blankly and said, “Someone else does that, I just take money.”

Emily got back in the car and drove away. She was upset about that encounter, realizing that it was an example of the younger generation having no initiative to make something of themselves. What had gone wrong with America anyway, she thought as she searched for another gas station.

Chapter Three

She stopped at two more places along the way looking to pee. Both were unacceptable. One had a cracked toilet seat and she just knew it would pinch her flesh if she sat on it. As she walked towards the door she looked at the clerk, a young Mexican woman with dark blush on her cheeks and high arched eyebrows painted on, and said under her breath, “No wonder this place is in disrepair. You people are lazy.” The clerk didn’t hear what she said but did notice Emily’s red lipstick and thought it was too bold considering how dark her eyeliner was. When Emily got back in the car she looked in the rear view mirror and put a fresh coat of lipstick on. She was happy she had some style compared to that ugly clerk. “How could people want to look like that?” she whispered to herself.

The second store only had a unisex bathroom. A man emerged from it right as Emily walked up. Emily hated the idea of sitting down on the same toilet a strange man had peed in, especially as fat and ugly as that man was. She immediately turned around and stomped out.  She slapped her hand on counter as she left and said to the clerk, “What the fuck is wrong with you people?” The clerk, a Korean boy about 13, didn’t understand english and had no idea what she said, only that she was mad about something. His mother was in the back room and didn’t hear anything.

bloodmoonmurder-3_sm

She almost cried when she got back in the car after the third try because she really had to pee. But she looked in the rear view mirror, smoothed out an errant eyelash and said to herself, “I have my standards and lowering standards contributes to the downfall of society.” She had memorized that line from her “Planning For Success’ CD and repeated it to herself often. She also didn’t cry because it would have smeared her eyeliner, which had taken a long time to put on that morning.

Chapter Four

By this time her bladder was close to bursting. She was glad she hadn’t compromised her standards but she also was getting desperate. The next place had better be acceptable or she wasn’t sure what she would do. She wasn’t holding out much hope when she walked in and saw that the clerk was a black woman. She had a big pile of what looked like black, brown and tan snake coils on top of her head. She had on a very low cut top that showed overflowing breasts. Emily wondered how someone could show that much breast and not show her nipples. “No wonder they all get pregnant so early”, she muttered to her self.

While it wasn’t pretty inside the bathroom, and that annoyed her, it was clean. She was comfortable enough to sit all the way down on the toilet and go.  She felt so relieved that she actually said out loud to herself, “Now I can die happy.”

She left the bathroom and walked back into the store. As she did she noticed a young boy, maybe a teenager, standing at the counter. He was in a tan, button down shirt, khaki pants and loafers. His hair was cut in a contemporary but still traditional look. He was standing up very straight and looking straight ahead. She thought some mother was proud of that boy, he looked like he was going to do great things in life.

thebloodmoonmurder_2_sm

She smiled as walked towards him, coughing in hopes of getting his attention. Right as she did this he raised his right hand and pointed a gun at the clerk. But he heard Emily cough at that same moment and, without thinking, turned his gun toward her and pulled the trigger. Emily had enough time to widen her eyes and drop her jaw in disbelief. The bullet went straight into her open mouth, hit the back of her throat and cut right through her brain stem as it exited. Emily’s brain was able to think one final thought before she died. “My lipstick…”

The store clerk, named Edna, ran to the back of the store when the shot was fired. The boy ran after her. He tripped and fell hard on a slick patch of wet concrete on the loading dock. Edna, hiding behind the dumpster right next to where he fell grabbed a piece of wood from a pile of broken pallets and hit him on the head as hard as she could. She didn’t realize the piece of wood had a big nail sticking out of it. The nail caught the boy in the eye and he screamed in pain as she kicked the gun out of his hand.

Epilogue

Edna was a local hero. She was given a civilian service award by the sheriff and that made her consider studying law.  She eventually earned her law degree and spent many decades representing immigrants before she retired and moved closer to her grandkids.

The boy went to prison as a juvenile, where his nickname was ‘Cyclops’. He got out when he turned 25 and moved to Alabama. Ironically he ended up being a clerk in a convenience store until his death in a car wreck at age 30.

The woman Emily murdered was found on the road where she died. Her name was Shannon and she was remembered by many in her town as a wonderful wife and mother and a dedicated volunteer at the psychiatric hospital. Her murder was never solved. Her husband of 12 years eventually remarried and moved away to Arkansas with his new bride and his 3 kids. They had a daughter together and named her Shannon.

Emily’s body stayed in the local county morgue for a month. No one claimed it and they were unable to find any relatives.  She was cremated and her ashes were stored in the morgue. The cardboard box they were in was put in a supply closet during a building expansion 3 years later. During some jack hammering in the parking lot next door the box fell onto the floor and broke open. When the custodian saw the mess he swept the ashes towards the drain in the floor and washed them down. The cardboard box was thrown away.

The End

The Illusion That Exalts Us – Ego #2

ego2-2015_sm

 

 

Examples Please

How about a racist?  She feels exalted by virtue of her inclusion in a certain race. Other races aren’t as good as her race, as proven by ‘history’. How does she sustain this belief? By ignoring the ten thousand truths that prove the ‘history’ (and thus the belief) is incomplete and wrong.

And a Sexist? He feels exalted by his status as the ‘stronger’ sex. He is bigger, faster, stronger, smarter than a woman. In addition, his religion and his tradition says it’s so. How does he sustain this belief? By ignoring the ten thousand truths that prove his religion and tradition are incomplete and wrong.

Why Yoga?

Then why do I have a person practicing Yoga in the drawing instead of a drawing of a racist or sexist? 

Good question. What’s your answer?


 

© 2015 Marty Coleman

Quote by Alexander Pushkin, 1799-1837, Russian author and poet

“The illusion that exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths”


 

Sometimes I Talk Too Much – A Quirky Quiz

ego1-2015_sm

 

Sometimes I Talk Too Much – A Quirky Quiz

I had a fancy schmancy quiz all figured out but it was the first time using the app and it conflicts with some ghost in the machine and was making the entire post invisible (told you it was a ghost issue).

So here’s the quiz in just plain text until I figure it out.  Give your answers in the comments section, ok?

1. Match the ‘Sometimes’ with the ‘I Should Have’.

  1. Sometimes it’s because the other person doesn’t have time to talk and I don’t realize it.
  2. Sometimes it’s because I think who I am talking to wants me to keep talking but they actually want to say something.
  3. Sometimes it’s because I am so excited about the topic I don’t get the message that those I am talking to aren’t.
  4. Sometimes it’s because I’ve told the story or given the coaching lecture to the same people before and don’t realize it.
  5. Sometimes it’s because I want something resolved RIGHT NOW but the other person isn’t ready to have it resolved yet.
  6. Sometimes it’s because I am just full of myself.

a. I should have seen their eyes glaze over.
b. I should have seen them looking at their watch or phone a number of times.
c. I should have seen them give a big sigh.
d. I should have heard them talking among themselves.
e. I should have seen them try to get a word in edgewise.
f. I Should have  done all of the above.

2. Match the word on the left with its language on the right.

  1. IGAV
  2. RAZ
  3. CHAT
  4. PAGBUBUTAS
  5. KEDELIG
  6. TRÅKIG
  7. LANGWEILIG
  8. скучный
  9. TYLSÄ
  10. NUDNÝ
  11. WOTOPETSA
  12. ZERIKARLI
a. Czech
b. Estonian
c.  Finnish
d. German
e.  Nyanja
f.  Uzbek
g.  Haitian
h.  Swedish
i.  Russian
j.  Galician
k. Tagalog
l.  Danish

 3.  All these words have the same meaning in English. What is it?

 


Drawing and quiz © 2015 Marty Coleman

Quote by Anonymous


 

Plain Jane and Wild Willy – A Short Short Story

brokenarrowlunch1_finished_sm

Plain Jane and Wild Willy

Jane was eating lunch in the little bookshop bistro on Main Street.  She sat reserved and composed, her hair pulled back with a nondescript band into a well mannered ponytail. She ate her soup silently, not moving her body much and never looking up. She didn’t look sad, just self-contained. Her clothing was baggy, not revealing too much of her figure and the colors were muted.

As she finished her meal a big, loud, wildly dressed man came in the bistro. He had on leather pants, fur vest, denim shirt, silver bolo tie, gold earrings, bright orange and purple cowboy boots and a big black cowboy hat. He had a big beard, his hair, part black part purple, was in a braid and he had 3 big rings on his left hand.  He walked over to the woman eating her soup leaned over her and gave her a big kiss on the mouth.  

She smiled and said, “Are you done shopping now?”

He said, “Yep, and you’ll be proud, I only got 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and one hat. Oh, and I got a new pan and some dishtowels and a plant and a new trashcan for the kitchen. But that’s all I got!”

She laughed and said, “Ok, I’m done. Let’s go.”

He scowled, “what a second, I want to find that cookbook I read about online.”  He walked towards the back of the store.

She turned her head and saw me watching their interaction.  She smile, rolled her eyes and said to me, “Whatchya gonna do, right? He wants what he wants and if he’s happy then our house is happy.”

He came back quickly with two books and exclaimed, “Look, I found the recipe book but also that book, ‘How to Organize Your Life and Closet’ I’ve been wanting.”

Jane got up, went up to the register and paid for the lunch and books.  She said, “Ok, Willy, now we have to go home.  The playoffs are on in 2 hours and I need a nap before that.”  She went out the door, holding it for Willy.

She smiled and waved to me as the door closed.

The End


Drawing and story © 2015 Marty Coleman


 

Here’s the drawing after it was colored but before I shaded it.

brokenarrowlunch1_colored_sm

 

Real and Imaginary Dangers

Imaginary Dangers

Intention vs Reality

I had a completely different quote in mind this morning when I went into my studio to draw.  But I saw a scary looking eye in the napkin pattern and drew the eye. That led to a fish, which led to a number of other fish, which led to them looking like they were about to attack something or someone which led to a woman on a beach covered in wounds and scars.

I didn’t intend it, much like the many things we say and do that hurt people. There is a scene in this past year’s Oscar winner for best picture, Birdman, that illustrates this perfectly.  The main character is freaking out about the possibility of being humiliated by the press and the public if the play he is directing and acting in (as well as having written) turns out to suck. He asks another character, a woman he is sleeping with, “Aren’t you worried about being humiliated?”  She says in response, “It won’t be the first time I’ve been humiliated.”  He says, “Of course it won’t be.”

She stares at him and says, “You’re an asshole.” She walks out and he is left completely baffled, having no idea why she said that or why she is mad.

He is baffled because he had no intention to hurt her feelings. But her feelings were hurt nonetheless. It was an imagined hurt that led to a real wound. He later realizes that what he said hurt her feelings and apologizes to her. He doesn’t apologize because he intended to hurt her and he is now sorry. He apologizes because he realizes it doesn’t matter if he intended to hurt her. What matters is the effect of his words hurt her.

Dangers all Around

There are dangers in life, real scary dangers.  Some we can see coming, like the severe weather we have here in Oklahoma. Some we don’t ever see coming, like an earthquake in California.  And some we understand as part of the risk of everyday life, like driving a huge hunk of metal down a road, flying in a giant tube in the sky, or being in a relationship with another human.  Those are real and wounds from them going wrong can be real wounds.

 There is enough danger in reality, no help comes from adding imagined danger to the things that wound you.

 

This and all other napkins are for sale as originals or as prints.  Coming soon The Napkin will be a secure ecommerce site and you will be able to buy direct. In the meanwhile, please email me at marty@napkindad.com to inquire.

 


Quote, drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman © 2015


 

Crystal’s New Race

Running and Coaching

As pretty much all the Napkin Kin know, I am a runner and a coach of runners. It’s actually my part-time paid job. I coordinate the 10k and 15k training program called Pathways for Fleet Feet, a specialty running and fitness store here in Tulsa. I’ve been doing it for 5 years now.  We have 4 sessions a year, ranging from 8 to 12 weeks. We have had up to 170 participants split between 3 locations. They run 3 days a week with another run or cross training they do on their own. I typically run with them 5 days a week between the two main locations. 

pathways-fall2014

Pathways, fall 2014

To coach all these runners I have over 20 volunteer coaches under me.  All the coaches have been participants in a Fleet Feet program, most of them having gone through Pathways at least once. We are a tight knit group, many having ran and coached for 3-4 years with me. They not only coach but they also train for their own races, usually 1/2 or full marathons. They are incredibly supportive and encouraging to those they coach, and they are the same for each other. I think many of them would say their best friends are now those they run with.

This past week we had one of those coaches, Crystal Gee, go down. This wasn’t down by twisting an ankle or getting overheated. This was down by something far more severe. We had just finished our final training run for our goal race, which was to occur two days hence.  A final training run is a very easy, casual affair. We don’t run long (it was only 2.5 miles) and we don’t run hard.  We are doing what is called a taper, easing out of the heavy training so our legs and bodies will be fresh for the race. It’s also a celebratory moment for everyone. We have finished the training and we are ready! The air is filled with excitement, nerves, relief, last minute details about the race and much encouragement from the coaches and fellow runners.

Crystal and Angelika

Crystal helps lead a group with another coach, Angelika. It had been a great final run and Crystal was in fine spirits. She hung around the store for a bit after the run with the rest of us but soon had to leave to pick up her daughter. She said goodbye to Angelika and walked to her car.  Moments later Angelika got a call from Crystal. She was in her car, still in the parking lot. She told Angelika she felt really bad and something was very wrong. She asked her to come help her. Angelika went to her car, no more than two rows away, and found her slumped over towards the passenger seat. She was in pain, saying her head felt like someone was squeezing it terribly. Angelika pulled her back toward her to see what was the matter.  Crystal tried to get up and out of the car, Angelika trying to keep her in her seat, telling her not to get up. Angelika asked if she wanted her to call 911 and Crystal said yes. That’s the last she said. As Angelika called, Crystal slumped towards the open door and basically slid out of the car onto the asphalt. Angelika was able to help as she slid out so she didn’t fall and hurt herself further.

crystal-angelika

Crystal and Angelika

Meanwhile I was among the usual crowd at the front of the store after the run. I looked over when I saw a small fire EMT truck show up out in the parking lot. I went over to see what was going on and found Angelika kneeling over Crystal.  Crystal was on her side and was rhythmically moaning with pain.  She was drenched in sweat which initially made some think she was suffering from some sort of heat exhaustion. It was pretty obvious though that this was more than that.  What, we didn’t know.

Crystal could not have asked for a better co-coach to come to her aid, not just because of the friendship, but because Angelika is a nurse.  She was in command of the scene.  She made sure her breathing was not obstructed (she had thrown up a few moments earlier). When the paramedics arrived Angelika gave them all the important information, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.  

Fellow Coaches

The paramedics took over with her still assisting while others started to work on contacting her husband. It wasn’t easy since her phone was locked and we couldn’t talk to her. We got the emergency information from the store records and another coach, Caddie, tried to call but there was no answer.  

We went through her purse and wallet looking for other phone numbers.  Another coach, Susan, found some and tried to call them but to no avail.  One of the other coaches, David, had been friends with Crystal for over 10 years and figured out the best thing to do was to start Facebook messaging some of their mutual friends to get the message to her husband, mother, brother, etc.  Communication started flowing at that point.

crystal-david

David and Crystal

Angelika, David and I went to St. Francis hospital, which was right across the street. Angelika actually works at St. Francis so after Crystal’s best friend Natalie arrived the two of them went back to see her. David and I waited for the family to arrive and when they did we told them what had happened.

At this point it was pretty obvious she suffered a brain trauma of some sort.  Maybe an aneurysm, maybe a stroke, we didn’t know.  but we did know that Crystal was in for the new race, the race of her life to beat this and recover.  David and I left after the family arrived. Angelika stayed a while longer helping out in the ER.

Why Are We Here?

Two days later two things happened.  Pathways had our goal race, the Aquarium Run 10k, and Crystal had brain surgery.  They couldn’t find the source of the bleeding the first night but the next day they found it and went in to repair it. It turns out it was a stroke from an aneurysm.  

At races we usually gather for a big group picture.  I used the opportunity to ask a question of the group I have asked during training over the years, ‘Why are we here?’  My answer that morning, as we dedicated our run to Crystal, was ‘because we can’.  We sometimes take it for granted but knowing Crystal’s situation drove home the truth that we never should.  We never know, do we.

Pathways ran the race strong and victoriously, hoping that Crystal would feel our love and strength as she ran her own, far more dangerous race.  Many of us wore ‘Running4Crystal’ bibs on our backs in addition to the usual race bib.

crystal-bib_sm

Marty’s extra race bib

The next day my wife, Linda, and I went to the hospital to deliver a card that the Pathways and Fleet Feet family had signed.  On the way there I thought of another reason ‘why we are here’.  We run so we are in shape, so we are fit. That may seem obvious but you then have to ask why do we want to be fit?  It’s not only so we are healthy in our day to day life. It’s so we are healthy in times of trauma.  Crystal has the race of her life ahead of her.  The fact that her heart, muscles, lungs, bones and even her brain, are strong and healthy from running, will no doubt help immeasurably in her winning this race.  I told this to her family in the hopes of encouraging them as they run the race alongside her.

Crystal’s New Race

As of today (Monday April 13th, 2015) Crystal is resting comfortably after having successful surgery Saturday. She is going to be weaned from the respirator and brought out of sedation so she can start her road to recovery.  We believe things worked in her favor so far. She was able to call Angelika before she started to drive off. Angelika is an incredibly competent and sharp nurse, she knew what was happening and got her help immediately.  The hospital was literally right across the street and she was in expert hands within minutes.  The start of Crystal’s new race was harsh but filled with good timing and good people.

We have every expectation that she will run the rest of this new race she has in front of her victoriously.  We will be cheering her on.

Helping

If you would like to keep up with her progress you can subscribe to her CaringBridge site.  

If you would like to donate to help offset expenses you can help at her gofundme.com site.

On Saturday April 18th from 11am-3pm there will be a silent auction at Charlie Mitchell’s Restaurant at 51st and Yale. 100% of the proceeds will go to help offset her recovery costs.  10% of the lunch proceeds that day will also be given.

On Saturday April 25th from 9-11am there will be a pancake breakfast fundraiser put on by OKChive at Applebee’s in Broken Arrow (101st location)

Update Friday, April 17th:  She’s off the breathing tube and the sedation. She is talking and walking and eating!  She is very weak though and is spending most of her time resting and sleeping.


 

© 2015 Marty Coleman

p.s.  I wrote about Angelika before, in a blog post from 2013 – Angelika and the Painful Procedure – A photo/art essay

 


Moment of Relaxation – Tuaca Napkin Contest

 

Moment of Relaxation

 

Nina and Tuaca

Last year my friend and fellow napkin artist, Nina Levy, submitted and won the annual Tuaca Napkin Contest (Tuaca is a liqueur).  She couldn’t submit again this year so she encouraged me to enter and I came up with this napkin as my entry.  Here is her winning entry from last year.

Why Lions

I included lions because the research I did showed the lion was integral to the Tuaca company heritage as an icon and a brand identifier. Other than that addition I pretty much drew a nice moment to enjoy a cool drink on the rocks.  

Sharing and Winning

It will be up online at the Tuaca Napkin Gallery as soon as they see it doesn’t break their rules (I can’t show a drunk human or lion for example) and/or not perverse in some way. I hope you will go there and share my napkin on your social media platforms. While there isn’t a formal voting element to the contest I would hope a lot of shares might indicate to the judges the popularity of the drawing. 

The winner gets some nice swag and a check for $5,000.00 from Tuaca.  I would like that!

 


 

 

Drawing © 2015 Marty Coleman


 

Same Outfit, Different Day – Dressing #1

Same Outfit, Different Day

#sameoutfitdifferentday

 

 

Dressing the Same

This morning I read an article, ‘Can Women Get Away With Wearing the Same Thing To Work Everyday?‘. It’s interesting and has some insightful and funny responses.

My response at the time was, “Here’s my thought on it. Unless the expectation of a woman wearing something different everyday is going to get you fired or demoted if you don’t adhere to it, then the decision is on the woman. It’s not about society’s pressure, or other women’s expectations or anyone else on the outside saying anything, it’s the woman making the decision on what to wear who is responsible for the decision. We constantly talk about how we are suppose to NOT worry about what others think. As a woman, if you believe that AND you like the idea and reality of wearing the same thing most every day (or even more than once a week) then wear it and be confident in your choices.”

But that is a bit simplistic of a response from a man and creative artist point of view.  Since I am not a woman, I wanted to find out more about why or why not my female family and friends think.

Here are my questions:

  • Is ok or not ok to wear the same outfit more than one day in a row, in a week, etc.  
  • What are your rules for that and why do you have them?
  • What do you think when other women break those unspoken rules?
  • If you don’t like the rules because they are expectations from outside, why and how do you get around them, or do you?
  • What wider opinion do you have about this?

Here is what my wife said about it. She would wear the same earrings or shoes, no problem. Jeans as well. But a skirt, dress or blouse? No, she wouldn’t.  Why not I asked. She said it might show she doesn’t have much to wear (meaning she’s poor to some degree) and that it might smell, or people might think it smells even if it doesn’t, just by virtue of it being worn more than once.  She said if she was traveling she might be more likely to repeat an outfit.  

Retweet and Share

I would love to know what you think of the drawing and give a retweet or a share of the image and the blog post would be great.  Use the hashtag #sameoutfitdifferentday to connect to others talking about the article.

Keep the conversation going among your friends, male and female, see what they have to say.

Bonus Points

Where do the texts on the towel come from?


This drawing and any of the napkin drawings are for sale – original or print.  Please email me at marty@napkindad.com to inquire.

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman


 

 

Parenting in Anger – Shame #2

 A Question

Is this quote true?  

shame2_sm

I think it might be. Here’s why.

The Anger of My Father

When I was growing up my father was often angry.  He wasn’t pissed off at little league games or piano recitals (and I am grateful for that), but he was angry at many things for many years.  

Life got pretty difficult in the early 70s due to his drinking, and the drinking of my mother, who was inebriated most every single day for years. The alcohol brought out intense, angry battles between them, with us three kids being collateral damage along the way.  My older sister and I were teenagers during this time and we often got in arguments with them as well.  Most of my arguing with either of them basically was telling them to get their shit together, that they were the parents and we were the children and I wished they would act like it.  It was frustrating and unstable, not only for us two older ones, but especially for my younger sister, who was between 6-9 years old during the worst years.

And it got worse before it got better, a lot worse. But it did get better.  My mother and father both stopped drinking.  My father’s anger, while never complete gone, was greatly diminished and well within what could be considered ‘normal’.

20 Years Later

I don’t remember my father telling me he felt shame from all those years of anger, but I think that was one of the main emotions he felt. Why do I think that? Because when it was my turn 20 years later to be the adult with problems of alcohol and anger, that is what I felt.

What do you think?

From your experience, does something begun in anger eventually end in shame?

 

This drawing, and most every napkin drawing, is for sale, original or print. Please email marty@napkindad.com to inquire.

 

Here are my other posts on shame –

Headline Walking – Shame #1

Sara Haines, Kim Kardashian and the Power of Empathy – Shame #3  


 

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman

Quote by Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, American inventor, diplomat, politician, business owner, printer, writer.