by Marty Coleman | Jul 17, 2014 | Anonymous, Promises Promises - 2014-16 |
I promise to deliver #4 in the Promises, Promises series!
Pleasure and Pain
Having chosen my quote for the day I visualized two faces, one while making the baby (making love) and another during childbirth. I was thinking that the face of someone having sex would be happy looking and the childbirth face would be intense and full of pain. But when I went to face research (yes, I did research) I came across a site that had portraits of people right at the moment of orgasm. And guess what? They looked almost exactly like the face of someone giving childbirth. Intense, scrunched up, teeth gritted and looking like they were about to explode, which of course, metaphorically at least, they are in both cases.
Pleasure and pain aren’t that far apart. Whether it’s people eating hot chiles that make the roof of their mouth burn off, or people enjoying going into a polar bear plunge in February, people combine the two. It can be combined in sex, eating, vacationing, relationships, drinking, sports, etc. You name it and you will likely find a co-mingling of pain and pleasure.
Keeping Promises
Promises are the same way. It’s easy to promise something when you are turned on, when you are feeling or pursuing pleasure. That’s why we constantly are telling young women and men to not trust what a person promises when he or she is wanting sex, right? The painful part of a promise is in the delivery, not in the proclamation. If there has been any struggle for myself and most fathers and mothers I know, it’s that. How to deliver on your promise. Your promise to your wife, husband or partner, to your kids, your work, your extended family. As I have gotten older I realize I am much happier and more successful when I simply let my delivery be my promise and forego the grand proclamation, how about you?
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Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote is Anonymous
Promises are like babies, easy to make, hard to deliver
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 16, 2014 | Jennifer Donnelly, Promises Promises - 2014-16 |
I promise that this is #3 of my Promises, Promises series.
Do or Die
During my first marriage, I broke promises. Somewhere along the line the combination of me breaking those promises and my wife’s own issues and realizations, led her to file for divorce. She made one statement that has stuck with me all these years. It was the statement that clarified for me how bad she saw her situation. She said, “I feel if I stay, I will die.”
There really wasn’t much arguing to do with a statement like that. She had reached a point, whether I understood it or not, where the promise she made to marry and stay married was going to break her. She needed to save herself and the only way in her mind at that point was to divorce me. I didn’t fight it.
Compassion For Breaking
I am not a fan of divorce. But I understand how it can come to pass when what seemed to be just a small ring around your finger becomes a ball and chain around your neck. I wish rational arguments could sometimes win the day, but I know that the human heart and human needs are such that rationality isn’t what drives us into a marriage and it isn’t what causes us to dissolve a marriage.
All this just to suggest we have some mercy and compassion for those who feel the need to divorce, to break the marital vow before it breaks them. Really, truly listening deep to what is going on inside their heart and mind is the best way to assure you understand.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Jennifer Donnelly, 1963 – not dead yet, American writer
Jennifer Donnelly
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It’s a bad thing to break a promise, but it’s also bad to let a promise to break you
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 14, 2014 | Alexander Archipenko, Art, Artists I Love |
The Hidden Gems
There is a museum here in Tulsa, a gem relatively unknown outside of Oklahoma and the art world. Philbrook Museum of Art was originally an Italian inspired mansion built in 1927 by Waite Phillips of Phillips 66 lineage. He and his wife gave the estate to Tulsa in 1938 as an art center and it’s been Tulsa’s center of art appreciation and education ever since.
Philbrook Museum of Art and Gardens
Alexander Archipenko is also a gem relatively unknown outside the art world. If you know Cubist and Modernist art history, specifically sculpture, you may have heard of him. Otherwise it’s not likely.
Alexander Archipenko, 1887-1964
Giddy Rediscovery
Even though I am an artist and studied art history, I know of Archipenko for a more personal reason. My grandparents had a great collection of art in their house growing up. Most were mid-twentieth century American drawings and prints. But they had one art piece that was different than all the rest. It was a small figurative sculpture by Alexander Archipenko.
I had largely forgotten about this sculpture when In 2012 I was leading a group of photographers on a photo shoot called ‘Black and White at Philbrook’. I turned into one of the 72 rooms of the mansion/museum and found this in front of me.
Standing Concave, Bronze – Philbrook Museum of Art
I knew immediately it was the sculpture. I knew it wasn’t THE sculpture because the one my grandparents had was silver plated bronze and this was just bronze. But it was the same sculpture made from the same mold. Most bronze sculptures are made in multiples.
I actually got giddy about this unexpected find. I remember telling some of the people with me about it being the same one I had been around as a kid. I wasn’t at all sure they believed me, but I was excited nonetheless. It brought me back to my youth, to my grandparent’s house and to my unadulterated love of art.
Here is another view of the piece I took in color so I could send it to my family to double check my memory. My older sister at first wasn’t sure it was the right one but eventually came to the conclusion it was.
Standing Concave – Philbrook Museum of Art
Standing Concave / Glorification of Beauty, 1914
Touching and Being Touched By
This is the piece. It looks silver but it is actually a bronze sculpture that has been silver plated. All the grandkids loved to touch it’s cool surfaces and trace the lines (maybe the boys a bit more than the girls). I may have been a giggly little boy thinking it was fun to touch a naked sculpture at some point but what I ended with was a love of the form, style and surface. I am sure Mama Powell wasn’t happy about all the fingerprints but I don’t remember it being a big deal. This piece, and the others in their home, really were the visual starting point for me wanting to be an artist from an early age.
I found out in my research that it actually has two names. It’s listed most often as ‘Glorification of Beauty’ but I remember the word concave always being associated with it and it is also named ‘Standing Concave’ The Philbrook piece is named that way for example. Funny how that goes, I know in my own work I might look at an image years later, not remember the title and retitle it something completely different so it would make sense that it could have two names.
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Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964)
Archipenko was originally from Kiev in Russia (now part of Ukraine). He moved to Paris in 1908, becoming a creative contemporary of Picasso, Malevich, Duchamp, Derain and others. He moved quickly into a cubist style, but with a sleek sensibility to his work that presaged the Art Moderne design style of later decades.
He was one of the legendary artists exhibiting in the 1913 Armory show in New York City, one of the most controversial art exhibitions in history. His work was mocked (as were many other modern artist’s work) by the New York and American press. In spite of the negative reaction, it wasn’t long before he and many other European artists immigrated to America and established themselves and their styles as the preeminent forces directing the future of art around the world.
Torso, 1914
Gondolier, 1914
Blue Dancer, 1913
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As I mentioned, Archipenko was involved with some of the premier artists of his day. These sculptures, with a more theatrical and painterly emphasis than the bronzes sculptures , show in the use of color, form and material and with references to the circus, harlequins, and the female figure, the influence of Picasso and Duchamp in particular.
Carrousel Pierrot, 1913
In the Boudoir (Before the Mirror), 1915
Medrano II, 1913
Composition, 1920 – work on paper
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As he matured as an artist, he retained his interest in those same two directions.
Floating Torso, 1940
Queen of Sheba, 1961
Architectural Figure, 1950
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In his later years he won outdoor commissions that allowed him to create in a much larger scale than he had before.
Gateway Sculptures, University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1950
King Solomon, 1968 (cast based on small model completed before his death), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia campus
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There were many other sculptors working during the first half of the 20th century that both influenced and were influenced by Archipenko. Here are two of them.
Jacques Lipchitz, Girl with Braided Hair, 1914
Henry Moore with his sculpture
Remember, seeing art is one of the best ways of insuring you will see the world in it’s fullest light. It’s always worth exploring art.
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If you would like to know more about Archipenko a great place to start is at the Archipenko Foundation, headed by his widow, Frances Archipenko Gray.
You can see others in my ‘Artists I Love’ series here:
Fall/Winter 2016
Winter/Spring 2015
Summer 2014
Winter 2012/2013
Winter 2011/2012
You can also find them via the ‘Artists’ drop down menu on the right.
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 10, 2014 | Illustrated Short Stories, Marty Coleman |
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Prologue
She moved to Denver and told herself she was going to change things, get out and start living again, even if it was just to go get coffee in the morning.
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Chapter One
The Knitter liked to go to Starbucks to knit. From her chair at the window she would watch for her secret crush to come in, as he did every morning. She first saw him the very first day she moved to Denver. He was wearing a suit that reminded her of her late husband. He ordered a tall cup of straight coffee, no room for cream, and left promptly.
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Chapter Two
She saw him every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 7 months straight. She worked the afternoon/evening shift on those days and so had time to relax in the mornings. He eventually noticed her always being there and would smile, wave or say good morning to her as he left. He disappeared when summer arrived. The knitter was incredibly sad about this, more so than she expected.
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Chapter Three
When fall arrived so did he. He came in just like clockwork on the first Wednesday after Labor Day. The knitter was very happy. She had dreamt about him more and more while he was absent and she thought that was all that she would have of him. But she had been so sad for so long that she was happy to be dreaming about something, someone other than her husband, whom she had been married to for 20 years before the heart attack killed him. It had been 2 years when she moved to Denver and he still was vivid in her dreams up until that summer.
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Chapter Four
The secret crush smiled broadly when he saw the knitter in her usual seat. For the first time he actually walked over to her and introduced himself. His name was Dave and he worked just down the street as a engineer for an Oil and Gas Company. He had been gone for the summer, assigned to Pakistan for 3 months to help retrofit some old oil fields with new safety equipment. That was his specialty. He ask the knitter her name. He thought Kiki was a very happy name and that it fit her.
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Chapter Five
The next Friday he was already at Starbucks when she arrived, and he was sitting in her seat. He got up and nervously told her he had gotten there early to have time to talk to her. He asked if she liked picnics. She said yes and smiled. He asked if she liked romantic movies. She said yes and smiled even more. He asked if she would like to go see a movie on the lawn at the local park. He would bring the picnic dinner. She said yes and smiled even more. He was smiling broadly as well.
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Chapter Six
They went to the movie and fell in love. She cried when she got home, realizing how lucky she was. He did the same. Four months later they were married.
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Epilogue
She still goes to Starbucks 3 mornings a week to knit. But now they come in and get their coffee together. His office is close enough that he can walk the rest of the way to work and she stays knitting, with a smile on her face.
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The End
Story and drawing by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 9, 2014 | Arab Proverbs, Promises Promises - 2014-16 |
There is a 100% chance of this drawing being #2 in my Promises series.
Running in the Rain
When I start coaching a new season many of my runners worry about what we do if it rains. I tell them one of my favorite things to do is run in the rain and that we run in it unless lightning is present. They are not at all sure they like the idea.
But when we start out on a long run in stifling, drenching heat and humidity but with ominous clouds promising rain it doesn’t take long for them to be begging for the rain to actually fall. Those days when it does, it’s glorious. We are energized and rejuvenated and happy. We are little kids puddle jumping. But those days when it teases but doesn’t rain, then we are miserable because not only are we still hot and drenched in sweat, but our expectations of a cooling rain are left unfulfilled.
Cloud Promises
Promises are like that cloud threatening to rain. Our expectations go up and our disappoint is all the greater if the promise isn’t kept. It’s often better for the promise to not even appear in advance. You simply act on what you know you have purposed in your heart privately and the cooling and nurturing rain falls. No promise, just action.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote is an Arabian Proverb
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A promise is a cloud, fulfillment is the rain
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 8, 2014 | Promises Promises - 2014-16 |
Hello Napkin Kin!
I am back from an awesome vacation to Colorado to have a family reunion on my wife’s side. I drove back solo (11 hours and 42 minutes) and had some time to think (ya think?!?) One of the things I thought about was promises so I decided to do a little series on them.
Little Things
A few years ago I made a new years resolution that consisted of only four words, ‘Do Every Little Thing’. It was my way of refocusing my attention on big promises I make by making sure I didn’t let the little things fall through the cracks. I knew that if I wanted to fulfill these promises (to myself or others) I needed to take better care of the small things that the big things were made up of.
Promising Small
I actually started doing much better about the small things. I have a long way to go but I think I am much better about doing what I promise I will do. ‘Much better’ doesn’t mean I am great at it, it means I started a long way off and am now better, more consistent than I used to be. I still have a long way to go.
What do you do to help yourself keep your promises?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote is Anonymous
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Promise little, do much
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 4, 2014 | Independence Day |
This is what I celebrate when I celebrate the 4th of July here in America.
Worth Celebrating!
If you live in the US and aren’t sure this is worth celebrating, if you are cynical, sarcastic or simply filled with anger about this or that aspect of American life (and trust me, I understand there is plenty to be angry about) then take a moment and consider how much more angry or cynical or sarcastic or DEAD you would be if you lived in a different country and weren’t the right religion or the right gender or had the right sexual orientation or were in the wrong political party or read the wrong book or were the wrong nationality or had the wrong color skin or were in the wrong tribe or didn’t have the right amount of money or were born into the wrong family or…. You get my drift.
Worth Celebrating?
BUT, what if one of those things were true AND you lived in the USA? It happens here too. Just ask a gay person or a disabled person or a woman or a person on welfare or an overweight person or a communist or an atheist or a Muslim or even a Christian in certain circles, or an African American or….you get my drift again. What then?
Yes, Worth Celebrating
What then is we are an imperfect country. That isn’t said as an excuse. It’s said to state the baseline truth. The further truth is, though we are an imperfect country, we are one dedicated to becoming better. We do make progress, we do arch in the right direction, arch towards justice and equality. It may not look it if you are in the wrong group because progress can be slow, and it can even back up at times. But it is happening.
That is why I am always proud to be part of the American fabric. This commitment to becoming better, more liberal and accurate in our understanding of rights and justice, is not an accident. It was deliberately set forth at our beginning and it’s continued to develop successfully for well over 200 years now. That’s worth celebrating.
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Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote By George Washington, 1732-1799, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, General of the Revolutionary Army, President of the Constitutional Convention, First President of the United States
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 1, 2014 | Independence Day, Quote Authors |
I am on vacation this week so I am going to post some past 4th of July napkins. The drawing that will publish on the 4th this year is new.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 26, 2014 | Marcus Aurelius |
Don’t be insulted but it’s the last day of The Illustrated Insult.
The ‘Slut’
There once was a woman, Natalie, who found out, second hand through her friend Sandy, that another friend, Lisa, had called her a slut. This was said because Natalie had gone out on a date with Ben, who bragged to a mutual friend, Sam, about his conquest. Sam in turn told Lisa. Lisa was upset about this and and ranted to Sandy. Sandy then mentioned it to Natalie at a party the next night.
Response #1
Natalie was hurt by this. The reason she was hurt was she knew that Ben had lied. He had not ‘conquered’ her (meaning had sex with her). She also knew he had told Sam he had done so as to make Natalie look bad. She didn’t know why, but he obviously hated her for some reason. Sam had to hate her too and also wanted to wreck her reputation. As a matter of fact all four of her ‘friends’ weren’t her friends at all, they hated her.
Natalie left the party, cried long into the night and isolated herself for the rest of the weekend. She stayed distant from them all and others in her circle of friends. When she did return to the fold she wasn’t the same. She remained angry and eventually she drifted away from the group and spent the rest of her year pretty much on her own. She found it hard to make friends for a long time, always suspicious that her trust was misplaced.
Response #2
Natalie was hurt by this. The reason she was hurt was she knew that Ben had lied. He had not ‘conquered’ her (meaning had sex with her). But she also knew he had told Sam he had done so as to make himself look good. She didn’t know why, but he obviously felt inferior to Sam and wanted to prove himself somehow. It wasn’t good that he had lied, but she felt bad that he would go to such lengths. He had some issues he needed to deal with that had nothing to do with her. She know that Sam always felt on the edge of the group of friends. Him finding out about this supposed conquest would give him an in with a girl he had a crush on, Lisa, so it made sense he would tell her. This also wasn’t good, but it certainly didn’t say anything about how he felt about her. She knew Lisa had just had a pregnancy scare earlier in the year and had preached to her about making sure she didn’t make the same mistake she had made. Now Lisa had heard Natalie HAD made the same mistake and so had likely just gone off on a rant, calling her a slut the same way she had been called a slut by some just a few months earlier. Natalie also knew Lisa had a short temper and that her parents were extremely judgmental of almost everyone. Natalie also knew Sandy was everyone’s confidant and she would listen to anything. The fact that Sandy had told her what Lisa said was more about Sandy thinking she was being a friend that it was her trying to hurt anyone.
Natalie stayed at the party. When Ben showed up she brought him aside and told him what she had heard. She looked him straight in the eye and told him that not only was their friendship over but she would expect to hear from Sam, Lisa and Sandy that he had gone to them all and said he had lied. She doubted he would really do that but she wanted him to know she was in control, not him. She eventually talked to Sam and Lisa, explaining what actually happened. She left it at that. It made her a bit wary of her friends for a while but she not only kept their friendship over time but rose high in their eyes as a woman of character and someone they admired and trusted.
Rejecting Injury
How did Natalie reject this injury? She did it by assuming the best motives and understanding the weaknesses of her friends. She approached them, in spite of the hurt, with love and kindness instead of hatred and anger.
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Drawing and Story by Marty Coleman
Quote by Marcus Aurelius, 121AD – 180AD, Roman Emperor, Stoic Philosopher
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Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 25, 2014 | Fitness & Health |
Hola Napkin Kin,
Hey, look who got profiled in Oklahoma Sports and Fitness magazine. Many thanks to Betsy Penturf for writing an article that makes me look better than I am!
Check it out, let me know what you think. http://www.oksportsandfitness-digital.com/publication/?i=213773&p=18
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 23, 2014 | Sigmund Freud, The Illustrated Insult 2014 |
I would be insulted if you didn’t look at offering #4 of ‘The Illustrated Insult’ series!
Sticks and Stones
I’ve let words stop my progress in life a LOT more than I’ve let physical setbacks. You wouldn’t think so given my physical history. I cut myself falling over things hundreds times as a kid, stubbed my toe every day, got sunburnt, fell off bikes and skateboards regularly. I bodysurfed my way into faceplants in the sand, snow skied into trees going down expert slopes I never should have been on, kicked sprinklers hidden in ivy while running full bore looking for a lost tennis ball. I’ve run marathons that had me wiped out and promising to never run one again. And of course there was the boat explosion I’ve mentioned before where I was blown up and burned on 70% of my body.
None of these physical accidents, stupidities, injuries, wounds, etc. ever help me back from anything (once I recovered of course). I didn’t move ahead with doubt or fear. Maybe I moved forward with a bit of wisdom (I hope) but I still felt confident I could tackle whatever I wanted, including those same things that had caused the injury.
Words Will Ever Hurt Me
But here is the curious thing, I have let my career be stopped again and again by words. Harsh words of critique, the absent words of praise, the second-hand words of gossip, the unspoken but assumed words of disdain or condescension, the ‘helpful’ words of correction. Why is it that I, someone supposedly confident (and I am to a large degree) is stopped in his tracks by mere words? Why are these such powerful insults to my psyche? What is the difference between ‘sticks and stones’ and ‘words’?
I would like to hear your ideas and stories about this.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939, Austrian Neurologist and Psychoanalyst
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The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 19, 2014 | Anonymous, The Illustrated Insult 2014 |
Mickey and Me
Ever since I was a kid I was told I looked like Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees. My buddies and I convinced a clerk at a McDonalds once that I was his younger brother and she gave me a free coke because of it. I even had someone put his photo on my FB page claiming he was my doppelganger.
Hot or Not
Now, if you ask me, I don’t think Mickey is all that handsome. And those who say I look like him aren’t necessarily giving me a compliment, they could easily think he isn’t all that handsome either. They may think he is, as I do, sort of squinchy-faced, a bit too rough and blockhead looking, for their taste. Then again, they may find him very handsome. Plenty of people have, after all. I can assume then, that among those same people, some find me handsome, some don’t.
So, that made me wonder how others thought about this. What about you? Do you find those who look like you attractive, ugly or something else altogether?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who also has been told he’s looked like the following over his life; Taylor Lautner (played Jacob in Twilight), Butch Patrick (played Eddie on The Munsters), Brandon Cruz (played Eddie on ‘Courtship of Eddie’s Father ), Jason Alexander (played George Costanza on Seinfeld), Steve Martin, Tommy Smothers and “you know, that guy in the movies…what’s his name?”
Quote is Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 17, 2014 | George Eliot, The Illustrated Insult 2014 |
I am crowing about today being day #2!
Cock a Doodle Doo
Last year my wife and I went to St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It was a fantastic vacation with only one thing that wasn’t great; cocks. We were staying in a beautiful cottage that was up a steep road, overlooking Coral Bay. Down below were small homes of full timers who lived and worked on the island. And they all had roosters. A lot of roosters. And all these cocks crowed. Some didn’t just crow when the sun rose. A few started crowing at about 2am and they didn’t stop crowing sometimes until maybe 6pm. That is a lot of crowing. Luckily it was an almost an imperceptible background noise during the day. It was only at night that it was annoying, waking us up. We unfortunately had to close the sliding glass door to muff the sound instead of being able to enjoy the beautiful night air.
Cocky Men
It occurred to me that this all day cock crowing was an appropriate analogy for some men. Some men crow when they get up, some men crow at other parts of the day. But there are some men who just crow all the time. They might crow incessantly because they are horny, or angry, or insecure, or power hungry or something else. But the one thing they all have in common, no matter their root motivation, is they want all the attention all the time. And they think they deserve it. ‘The world revolves around me and deservedly so’ is their spoiled thought.
Enabling
Where does this come from? If I had to guess, it would often be from an enabling mom and dad. The mom feeds the boy everything they need, always making them the center of attention, never demanding they share the limelight with others, or share the work load of life. It’s a peculiar form of enabling and spoiling mothers can sometimes do (it’s not restricted to boys, girls can be raised the same way). And how do dads contribute to this? By being a grown up little boy, also not sharing the limelight or the workload.
Another reason is very likely simple hormones. A horny guy is going to crow. He may not crow about sex, as a matter of fact he probably won’t be crowing about sex, but he is likely going to crow about something; maybe work, maybe family, maybe sports. In other words, men can be real dicks until there is some resolution (or distraction) for his issue. This isn’t about all men of course, but it’s about enough men to make it worth taking note.
Sexual Assault and Rape
If it was just a lot of talk, it would be bad enough, but in light of all the college campus and church issues of sexual assault and rape (to name just two areas of concern) you can see it leads to not just blustering talk, but to terrible and damaging actions as well. It’s not a good thing and men need to take notice of it as a real and dangerous character trait of entitlement that needs to be put in it’s place by men who see it in action among their friends.
Who the Sun Actually Rises For
I have four daughters so I can’t say exactly what I would do with a son. But I have a pretty good idea that I would make sure he understood that the sun actually rose to greet his mother, not him, and he sure as heck better help his mom (and the rest of the family) if he wants to share some of that light.
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Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by George Eliot, 1819-1880, English author. George Eliot was the pen name for Mary Ann Evans.
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
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He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 16, 2014 | The Illustrated Insult 2014, Winston Churchill |
The truth is, it would be an insult for you not to read day #1 of ‘The Illustrated Insult’.
The Truth
Do you know people who do everything in their power to avoid the truth? It might be the truth about themselves, about their failed relationships, their job woes, their looks, their spouses, or something else. I have known some people like that in my life. Actually, I have BEEN one of those people. A perfect example is someone who drinks heavily and makes excuse after excuse about why their drinking isn’t that big a deal. I did that. I finally realized that the problem was never going to go away via the avenue of blaming others or finding rationalizations. It would only go away if I recognized what was tripping me up was me and that I had to something about it.
It’s You
That is the hard part, realizing the solution to the truth you are stumbling over is you. The stone in the road may not be self-inflicted. It may be your spouse or your job or your drinking or worse yet a civil war or a natural disaster. it can be any number of things. But solving it always starts with you. You have control over you. Not complete control of course, but certainly more control than over someone else or many outer circumstances.
Even When it’s Not You, It’s You
But what if it is outer circumstances? What if your job sucks? What if you are being abused by your husband or wife? What if you spouse put you in terrible debt? You can blame all those people and circumstances if you want, and it is good to properly evaluate who is doing what wrong. But once you realize that, you still need to make your choice as to how to respond. It’s still you that needs to take action, recognizing the truth and doing something about it.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, British Politician. The quote was originally about a specific male, using He and Himself, in the quote. I changed it, as I sometimes do, to bring attention to the all to common linguistic assumption that everything is about men, not women.
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She occasionally stumbled over the truth but hastily picked herself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 12, 2014 | Family History, The Extrovert & Introvert - 2014 |
It’s time to party hearty on day #4 of ‘The Extrovert and Introvert’ week!
The Plan
Years ago, in the 1980s, I planned an anniversary weekend with my first wife, Kathy. It was a big deal; an overnight trip to San Francisco’s Union Square with a stay at the St. Francis Hotel, a dinner at Postrio, the hottest restaurant on the west coast at the time, finishing with a fun night attending the play ‘Noises Off’. It was glittery, fun and filled with sounds, tastes, smells and sights that stimulated and entertained. It went off without a hitch and we had a great time.
The Reality
Well, ok. I had a great time. I thought Kathy was having a great time too. But later, on our way home, I asked her how she liked it, fully expecting her to be swooning over all of it and especially my exquisite romantic effort. Her response? It was ok but she didn’t like it all that much. Say WHAT? Are you kidding me? How could she not like it? My feelings were hurt, I felt like she had no respect for how hard I worked to put it all together to give her a great anniversary weekend. I was bummed.
She said the weekend I planned was too much. Maybe one of those things we did in the city would have been ok, but put them all together and it was too much. It was too stimulating, too sensory, too noisy and crowded and bright. I asked her what would she have wanted the weekend to be like. She said she would have preferred a quieter, more natural setting, maybe in the woods, in a cabin, going hiking, etc.
My Mistake, a Cautionary Tale
What I figured out later was that I had indeed planned the perfect anniversary weekend….for me, the extrovert. I didn’t really plan it for her, the introvert. I didn’t know her well enough to realize that doing all at one time filled her with anxiety, not joy. It didn’t excite her, it exhausted her.
I wish I could say I ceased to make those sorts of mistakes but I didn’t. It took me a long time to pay attention to who she was instead of who I wanted her to be. I think I am better about that now in my second marriage, to Linda. I am sure she sees times when I still don’t see her clearly, but I definitely pay more attention than I used to.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Criss Jami, 1987 – not dead yet, American poet
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 11, 2014 | Marilyn Monroe, The Extrovert & Introvert - 2014 |
It’s day #3 of ‘The Extrovert and Introvert’ series!
Alone Together
I started out in college studying printmaking. Because you have to use big, heavy and expensive presses to print your work, and you have to use chemicals and inks that require special handling, you usually are in a group environment in a big studio. You do your own work but you are talking to others, maybe helping them print something or asking advice on how to get something right, as well as just idle chitchat that happens during long hours in the studio. It’s the perfect ‘alone together’ environment for an artist who is an extrovert.
Alone Alone
But early on I was so much of an extrovert, I wanted so much socializing, that I didn’t really spend an adequate amount of alone time doing my artwork. I believe my career as an artist actually suffered because of that. What I eventually learned is embodied in the quote, ‘A career is born in public, talent in private’. In my understanding now I believe you will not be successful creatively unless you spend immense amount of time alone simply practicing, training, learning, exploring and creating your work.
Model Alone
This is true of artists, actors, singers, writers, speakers, and more; anyone who has to be in the public at some point. Even professions you wouldn’t at first think about. In my capacity as an organizer for PHOTOG, the photography group I help lead here in Oklahoma, I often will need to find models for shoots. If the model is inexperienced one of the essential bits of advice I give is for them to practice posing in a mirror by themselves. The reason is so they can really know their own face and body, what it does, how they can make it do this or that.
Being alone, focused on practicing something over and over, is where talent will be born. We who are extroverts can learn something from introverts who already know this.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Marilyn Monroe, 1926 – 1962, American actress
Norma Jean Baker
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 10, 2014 | Family History, Marty Coleman, The Extrovert & Introvert - 2014 |
I hope you haven’t had your fill yet, because today is only day #2 of ‘The Extrovert and Introvert’ series.
Raised by Extroverts
I was raised by two extroverts. My mother was a loud laughing broad who likened herself to Lucille Ball, even if she did look more like Jackie O. My father was the smooth charmer who could work a room like no other. My sisters and I are pretty much the same. We aren’t overly self-conscious and we make friends easily. We certainly wouldn’t be called shy by any stretch of the imagination.
I Married an Introvert
So, when I married my first wife, Kathy, I really had no idea what shyness and introversion were all about. I didn’t understand being self-conscious. I simply had very little exposure to what it was and how it affected people. Kathy was pretty shy. As a matter of fact, she probably was the shyest person I had ever met when we first crossed paths in 1977 at UCSB. It wasn’t until 2 years later, in San Francisco, that we met again and started dating. We were married within the year and my journey of discovery started.
I didn’t pay nearly enough attention to what it was all about and as a result Kathy suffered quite a bit. I was not aware of what she was going through, and when I was, I more often than not blew her feelings off as not being valid. After all, in my mind, what was there to be shy or self-conscious about, right? It just seemed ridiculous to me. That obliviousness to her and how her mind worked, that judgment I had about it without really understanding it, were contributing factors in our divorce 20 years down the road.
I Married an Introvert, Again!
Fast forward a number of years and I marry Linda. Linda isn’t shy. She isn’t at my level of extroversion, but she is comfortable and easy going in social situations. But I learned something very important this time around. Just because someone is able to socialize, doesn’t mean it is easy. I found out that Linda has to work hard to socialize. She works a room and it is what it says it is, work. She is tired and exhausted after socializing. It wears her down. She needs down time after it. I respect that and we live a life that allows for that rejuvenation to take place as often as possible.
They Married an Extrovert
If it was and is hard for me dealing with being married to introverts, it was and is equally hard for them to be married to an extrovert. I make friends with baristas, waiters, people I happen to run next to in a strange town (yes, I mean actually running down a street and meeting another runner), and random people on the internet who live around the globe in Slovenia or Australia or Korea or who knows where. It isn’t a chore for me to make friends. I like it. It makes me happy. I am not tired after a long day of socializing, I am usually ready for more.
I sometimes will tell Linda a story about someone I met and something they are going through, and she will stop me and ask, “How exactly do you know them again?” My response will most likely be along the lines of, “I am not sure, I think I met them on Flickr, maybe back in 2006, or maybe I was in the lawn mower repair place. Oh wait, I think they were on that bus in Florida that time in 2009, remember?” She’ll look at me with that look that that says, ‘I am exhausted just listening to how you met this person, much less hearing the rest of this story.’
Who We Are
I think what both Kathy and Linda eventually learned was that this ease and love I have for socializing and making friends is not part of a secret agenda on my part, any more than their reticence to socialize was part of some agenda on their part. It’s simply what feeds me and what feeds them. None of us are the same, and neither are our offspring. We are on a social continuum, not in one camp or the other, like sparring political parties. That’s always good for me to remember.
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Quote, drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 9, 2014 | Frans Hiddema, The Extrovert & Introvert - 2014 |
I am not too shy to say today is day #1 of ‘The Extrovert and Introvert’
DIY Prison
I have had many friends over the years who have felt locked up. They feel paralyzed in life. They can’t move emotionally, socially, career-wise, or physically. They are imprisoned. Sometimes that imprisonment is imposed from the outside. It might be a societal thing, or a marriage, bodily illness/injury or family expectations. But often I find that the prison is made by the prisoner. The family judgment is minimal. Society is actually paying very little attention. The spouse is actually supportive and encouraging. They are healthy. The prison is not built by others. It’s built by themselves.
Best of Intentions
And the prison is custom built for only one prisoner, by someone who knows the prisoner best. And even at one point, had the prisoner’s best interests at heart. After all, when we are growing up, don’t we need defenses? Don’t we learn how to protect ourselves from danger? The bullying classmate, the judging mother, the condemning father, the harsh friend, the manipulative pastor, the scolding teacher. Haven’t we all had someone like that in our lives? We figured out ways to protect ourselves. We built a fortress to keep those people out. And it worked. We were protected, if we were lucky.
Bed and Breakfast
But we didn’t realize that a fortress is also a prison. As we grew older the need for the fortress lessened, but the fortress was still there. Fortresses don’t come down by themselves, do they? They have to be knocked down and destroyed, right? Or perhaps they don’t have to be. Perhaps they can be simply opened up to public viewing, like an ancient castle in Europe that is now a Bed and Breakfast.
Invitation to Your Brain
I once took part in an open studio tour. I had rented a large garage space as my studio in my next door neighbor’s lot behind my house in San Jose, California. I put up many pieces of art; drawings, photos, paintings, etc. for everyone to see. At one point I noticed a good friend of mine sitting quietly on the coach in the middle of the room, just staring at the work. I came over, sat down and asked him what he was thinking. He chuckled and said, “I was just saying to myself that sitting here looking at your art makes me feel like I am wandering around inside your brain.” That was a pretty cool compliment. Well, at least it was after he explained that what he found in my brain didn’t freak him out too much.
More Than One Tool
Maybe that is the key. Don’t expect to completely destroy fortresses you have built up for decades. Maybe have more than one tool. Have a wrecking ball to knock some parts down and a welcome mat to allow access to other parts.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Frans Hiddema, 1923-1997, Dutch Poet and Psychoanalyst.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 6, 2014 | Illustrated Short Stories |
Prologue
They had their conversation in the shade.
Chapter One
She was talking about her pain. She told of her silly assumption that her best friend would overlook a very minor annoyance given the circumstances and how it hurt to realize no benefit of the doubt was given.
Chapter Two
Her best friend sat back, her heeled sandal dangling from her big toe, saying nothing for a long time. When she spoke, she defended herself and said she had been under pressure too. That it wasn’t her responsibility to know everything.
Chapter Three
She picked up her purse and held it in front of her chest as she explained that it wasn’t just her, but all the girls in the bridal party, who had messed up. “Why did I deserve to be treated so badly?”, she asked.
Chapter Four
Her best friend kept pulling her dress up under the table to scratch in the same locale high on her thigh. It was turning red. She would then pull the dress down again and smooth it out.
Chapter Five
She kept pressing her open hand hard against her chest, gesturing with the other, sometimes turning it into a fist and pressing it also against her chest. She was crying but determined to be discreet.
Chapter Six
Her best friend crumpled and uncrumpled a napkin, sucked on her iced drink and avoided eye contact for most of the conversation. She sighed repeatedly. She sat up straight at one point and her back had a deep lined impression from the back of the chair. She slouched back down within 20 seconds.
Chapter Seven
She kept her purse in front of her, leaning forward, wanting to leave. She wanted her best friend to understand before she left. But she was getting frustrated and realized it wasn’t going to happen. She finally said, “Well, that’s all I wanted to say. Thanks for coming. I will see you around.” and stood up to leave.
Chapter Eight
Her best friend didn’t get up but did say, “Ok, I will see you. Sorry.” and sucked on her drink as she walked away.
Epilogue
The best friend left a few minutes later and two women immediately grabbed the table. One had a string of pearls around her tan neck, the other had on large diamond earrings and a bag from Saks.
The End
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Drawing and Story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 3, 2014 | I Draw in Church, Sketchbook History Tour |
As some of you know, I draw in church. I have oodles of sketchbooks full of drawings. Sometimes I start with real person, other times I make something up out of my head.
We usually sit about 3-6 rows back on the right side of the sanctuary and I have a pretty good view of the pianist playing in the orchestra or accompanying the choir.
She’s become my go-to model and I suppose I have drawn her at least 100 times over the years.
Years ago I showed her the drawings in a prior sketchbook. I thought she enjoyed them and was flattered.
My wife thought she was probably creeped out. It was probably something in between.
I just finished a sketchbook that took close to 2 years to fill. Since she is a recurring theme I thought I would show you those drawings.
I drew her from the balcony a few times. Linda was in the choir so I moved around the sanctuary, sitting wherever I wanted just for fun.
People who sit still for long periods of time in the same position are good models.
She is a wonderful starting point for my imagination, a muse. I thank her for that.
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Drawings by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 1, 2014 | Margaret Atwood, Violence Against Women - 2014 |
It’s #3 of my Violence Against Women series, sparked by the murders in Isla Vista and UCSB, my Alma Mater. Addition events in India with the rape and lynching of two teenage girls only increases my desire to keep this issue on the front burner.
Size Matters
No, I don’t mean THAT size. I mean the size of the anger, the size of the ego, the size of the insecurity (which of course could possibly be linked to THAT size, who knows). In most cases men feel a little embarrassed and maybe a little humiliated by a woman laughing at them. It might sting a little, and it might make them a little angry. But most men are not all men. And all it takes is one man whose anger is BIG and whose predilection to violence is BIG to create a violent situation.
Not All Men
Too often men will listen to a woman talk about an incidence of sexual violence and their response is will be, “Well, not all men are like that.” But what they don’t realize is that for a woman, they may know most men aren’t like that, but they have very little way of knowing which man is which. I heard a great analogy the other day to help a man understand what a woman is dealing with.
Yes, All Women
Imagine you are given a bowl of M & Ms and are told that you shouldn’t worry too much because they are mostly safe, but there are about 10% that are poisonous. Would you be inclined to grab a handful? I doubt it. Well, that is how many women, especially those who have had run-ins with poisonous men already in their lives, feel about men in general. It’s hard to know who is who in advance. And yes, all women have to deal with it.
The quote above is true: Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.
Hidden Men
The other thing us men who aren’t poisonous don’t realize is that we don’t see the poisonous men doing their damage, their seductions, their manipulations, their intimidations because they don’t do it around us. They do it when we aren’t around. What does that mean? It means we don’t default to saying, “Nah, that didn’t really happen.” or “eh, I am sure he didn’t mean anything by it.” It means we have to default to believing a woman when she tells us that it has happened. It means if a woman says WE are doing it, even if we don’t think we are, we stop and believe them. We don’t believe them because we are guilty of something (even though we might be). We believe them because the effect of what we said or did gave them that feeling. That is enough.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Margaret Atwood, 1939 – not dead yet, Canadian author
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by Marty Coleman | May 28, 2014 | Anonymous, Violence Against Women - 2014 |
This is part 2 of my series on Violence Against Women. It was sparked by the violent events at my Alma Mater, UC Santa Barbara, last week.
Pleasing
To my female friends and readers: do you try to please your husband or boyfriend on a regular basis? Are you able to? If you are and they appreciate it, great. I hope they are trying to please you in equal measure.
But what about when you can’t please them? What happens when nothing you do is good enough? What do you do when the man says you aren’t thin enough, pretty enough or a good enough homemaker, child raiser or money maker? Then what? What do you do when you aren’t good enough in bed, aren’t wild enough in public, aren’t sexy enough in your attitude? Then what? Are you hit? Abused? denigrated? assaulted? What do you do to stop it?
Avoiding
If you are like most women I have talked to who are in that situation, you will try everything to make them not be angry, not be violent, not be dissatisfied. And if they are never satisfied have you stopped trying to please? I imagine that is very scary because he has power. power to hurt, power to seek revenge, power to make your life even more miserable.
Divorce
People often cite divorce statistics saying 50% of marriage end in divorce. They use it as a way to condemn modern society. But I think there is another reason. A good reason. And it’s because women have started saying ‘No More’. I know it’s not the whole reason, but I do know it is a BIG reason. More and more women are no longer willing to be the punching bag, verbally or physically. They no longer have to just suffer through it, they can get out and they do. I think that is a good thing.
Here and Now
If you think I am just talking about this as an abstraction, I am not. I have a friend in the here and now who is seriously contemplating divorce for precisely this reason. Her husband will not support her efforts to be fit, to be strong, to have friends, to be even minimally independent. Does she want to have an affair and blow the family fortune? No, she just wants a life, that’s all. She is more than happy to tell him all about it, to introduce him to her various friends and activities. But he not only doesn’t support her, but actively tries to stop her. He denigrates her and threatens her with divorce again and again. He isn’t stabbing her with a real knife, but he is stabbing her with his words.
What Men Can Do
It’s not easy for me to always understand what women go through since I don’t live it directly. But the truth is many women deal with this all the time in one way or another.
What I try to do now that I didn’t do before is to listen and believe them. They aren’t lying to us and they aren’t making it up. They are facing it and would like to at least be respected enough to be heard and believed. It won’t harm us to listen and react with the love and respect we would want for ourselves.
You can see the entire series so far here.
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Drawing and Commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | May 27, 2014 | Mignon McLaughlin, Violence Against Women - 2014 |
This isn’t going away and I am wanting to talk about it.
Isla Vista
To even be talking about this is disappointing. The world is filled with men who don’t believe women should use their mind to make up their own mind about things. To pursue relationships or not, to pursue careers or living arrangements or travel or money or style or design or art or a million other things.
If you have any doubt you need go no farther than the town of Isla Vista, next door to the UC Santa Barbara campus in California. I lived in Isla Vista while attending UCSB back in the 70s and the shooting there is particularly disturbing because of the familiarity with all the places they are mentioning as the shooter rampaged around the town.
A young man killed 6 people on a rampage against women. He killed two members of the Tri-Delt sorority standing nearby after failing to get into the Alpha Phi sorority he wanted to attack or the toll of women would have been much worse. He killed 4 men but he was not enraged about men, they were unfortunate to be where they were, not targeted because of their gender.
Veronika and Katie
But the two women were, not because of them as individuals but because of their gender. The women, Veronika Weiss and Katie Cooper, were targeted because the murderer felt he was unfairly rejected by women. It’s unclear if he ever attempted to actually date any women, all that is known now is he claimed to be a virgin and blamed women for his inability to have sex with them.
Rape Culture
He was involved online with a group that is virulently anti-women. They portray them all as sluts and whores who manipulate and deceive for their own advancement and pleasure. They are not to be trusted but to be manipulated themselves into having sex with these men. Why? Because the men deserve to have sex with them. Why do they deserve it? Because they are men and women are supposed to do what men want of them.
Under the Radar
This is under the radar in the US most of the time. You don’t hear about these groups and their attitudes directly. But you do hear about date rape often enough and where does that come from but the same mind set of deserving the sex.
On the Radar
It is not under the radar however in other countries. The newspaper just this morning had an article about a woman having been stoned to death in front of a courthouse in Pakistan by her father, brothers and fiance. Why? Because she married a man she loved instead of the man her family told her she must marry. In other words, she had her own mind and followed it. And the men in her family and in the society don’t want that to happen. They don’t want women with a mind of their own, just as the murderer in Isla Vista didn’t want women who would or could reject his advances if they wanted to. They, as the victim in Pakistan, were obligated to obey the man and not have the power to make their own decisions about the matter.
Avoidance
What do I think is the solution? Heck if I know the big answer. But I know one small answer. Never, EVER spend substantial time and effort on a man who does not respect your intelligence. If he doesn’t respect your mind, he doesn’t respect you. Period. And it will come out. And when it does, it won’t be pretty. Much better to stay away from the beginning.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Mignon McLaughlin, 1913-1983, American journalist and author
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by Marty Coleman | May 26, 2014 | Family History |
I’ve been absent from the blog for close to a week due to the death and burial of my father, James. F. ‘Skeets’ Coleman. I spent a lot of time preparing the slide show of his life and writing the eulogy, which I gave at his funeral. We then went to California for 4 days to attend the services, be with family and say our goodbyes.
Survivor
My father was a Marine in WWII. He flew dive bombers in 43-44 in the Pacific Theatre. He was shot down once. Luckily was able to land in the ocean and was picked up by the Australians. As with many, he didn’t tell a lot of stories about the war, but enough to know that it was a harsh life and that he lost valued comrades. He was proud of his service by not obsessed with it, nor his medals. It didn’t define his life or his contributions to society. It was just part of his history and he treated it as such. He got to live the rest of his life, until he finally passed at age 95.
James F. ‘Skeets’ Coleman
On Memorial Day it’s important to remember that when we lose a man or woman in war, it’s not just a soldier we lose, it’s an entire civilian life as well. Perhaps we can best serve and honor our military, dead and living, by doing our best to help those who survive to live the civilian life their comrades don’t get to live.
My Dad through the years (PDF)
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Here is the Eulogy I wrote and gave at his funeral
My kiss goodbye, January 2014
Eulogy
Our father knew a lot of people in many fields. And they knew him. Celebrities, astronauts, businessmen and women, aviation professionals as well as his neighbors and his friends. They have all been sending beautiful notes expressing their admiration for Skeets. They have spoken of his courage, bravery, charm, looks, intelligence, love of a good time, kindness, and personal thoughtfulness he exhibited throughout his life.
All these things are true, and myself, Nancy and Jackie know these things better than most. And as with any offspring, we had a complicated relationship with our dad. Some things you may have seen at a distance, we experienced close up. He had a bit of an Irish temper, for example. He could lecture his children like no one you’ve ever seen. We even had them numbered. I remember Nancy and I looking at each other more than a few times and saying under our breath, ‘oh oh, here comes lecture #496!” Jackie was young enough at that time that she usually was lucky to be sitting on the sidelines thinking, ‘Man, I am glad that’s not me he’s talking to!’ She got her fair share later though.
But what I want to talk about is not who he was, but who he wasn’t. This might seem odd at first, because isn’t who he was who we also are? Aren’t I going to tell you he was charming so that’s why I am so charming? We all know that so no reason to say it.
No, what I mean is this: Our dad was not mean. Nancy, Jackie and I are not mean either. We don’t think in terms of hurting people, or of revenge, or of hatred. We think in terms of kindness and forgiveness and helpfulness. And we have him to thank. I for one am very grateful for that gift of what he wasn’t.
Our dad was not prejudice. His children and grandchildren are not either. That is not as simple as it sounds. He was raised an Irish Catholic in the midwest. He lived in a world of separation, Irish from Italian, Jew from Christian, Catholic from protestant, black from white, gay from straight, men from women. And yet he never exhibited any of it to us. He removed it from his life, he abandoned it, he put it where it belonged and never brought it into our home or our hearts.
He was not dogmatic. He was raised Catholic, had a bit of a falling out with the church. He could rail against the church but the second anyone else took a swipe at it, he was all about defending it. He eventually returned to the church and was at peace there. But he didn’t really care about church dogma, (well, except the abandonment of the Latin Mass which he always said was the worst thing to ever happen to the church). What he cared about was acknowledging that every person is on his or her own search and it is a true sign of being religious to respect that and treat them with dignity, wherever they are in their journey.
I remember when I had my Jesus movement conversion in 1976. I came home full of enthusiasm for my new found faith and he didn’t blink an eye. He listened, he accepted and he responded with a very simple, ‘ Just remember, other people have their truths too’. and left it at that.
Our dad was not fearful. I don’t mean he never had fear, he was a fighter pilot in WWII, he was shot down, he flew the craziest airplane ever. Of course he had fear. But he was not filled with it. He did not spend his days worried about death or pain or suffering. He looked forward to trying new things, going new places, meeting new people.
When he was 49, he moved his family across the country to Connecticut to take a job in New York, in an industry, Publishing, he had never worked in, in a city he had never worked in. When he was in his 70s he spent 5 weeks traveling all around the world with an Saudi Sheik trying to sell him a BIG JET airplane.
When he was in his 50s he learned to snow ski. He even tried to keep up with me and my best friend, crazy 15 year olds screaming down the mountain with no fear. he had a bit more fear, or maybe more brains, than we did but he made it down not far behind us.
I coach runners and when I am talking to the older runners I tell that story to give them an example of this truth. You aren’t just being an example in the here and now for your family. You are creating a memory for them to look back on when they are your age now. It was that life lesson shown by his example that made me know, without even knowing it, that if my dad could learn to ski at 50+ then I could run a marathon at 50+. Our dad gave us that gift of not being fearful.
And finally, he was not perfect. But he had the best gift an imperfect person can have, and that was the ability and willingness to become better. Just one example will suffice here. His father died when he was just 11. He had no great example of how to be a good father. He was imperfect at it. But all three of his kids will tell you in a heartbeat that he got better at it, he worked at it, he eventually excelled at it.
And he was an unbelievable grandfather. As Pops to my kids and as Popo to Jackie’s he was everything you would want a grandfather to be. Thoughtful, kind, peaceful, attentive and fun. I am a new grandfather as of last year, and have another coming this year. You can bet I will have him in mind when I do my grandfather thing into the future. And that’s what it’s really all about in the end, right? That is the legacy that really matters. The Pogo was cool and worth remembering, his WWII exploits were legendary and important to us all.
But who he showed us we could be by who he was not is what really lasts for generations to come.
Marty Coleman – 5/21/14
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by Marty Coleman | May 19, 2014 | Anita Roddick, Launching a Business - 2014 |
It’s #6 in my ‘Launching a Business’ series, and that ain’t no small thing.
Small Things
Having been in the humble business of drawing on napkins for many years I know this simple fact. Big things can come from small things. As a matter of fact, there is no big thing that didn’t come from something small. Whether you start with the universe itself or human DNA, everything starts small.
- That first business loan from your parents
- That first little storefront you rent and take a picture of.
- The first dollar you make and frame to put on the wall of that little storefront.
The list of small firsts goes on and on when you launch a business. How far you go with it is not a function of how small you start since we all start small, in everything.
It’s a function of how far you want to go and how hard and smart you are willing to work to make it happen.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Anita Roddick, 1942 – not dead yet, Founder of the Body Shop
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