by Marty Coleman | Apr 8, 2011 | W. C. Fields |
I like horse racing, even though I have barely ever gone to the track. When I was a kid my Uncle Bunny (born on Easter, thus the name) was a harness racer at the Del Mar Racetrack just north of San Diego. Even though I don’t remember it now, we would go out there and watch him practice once in a while.
The most fun I ever had at the track was in 2008 when we visited Del Mar, California for my dad’s 90th birthday party. We rented a house on the beach in Del Mar that just happened to be walking distance to the track. The opening day fell while we were there. It has a great reputation as being a fantastic people watching spot on opening day. A lot of crazy outfits, especially women’s hats! We indulged and went to it.
We didn’t have much horse sense while wagering, but it didn’t matter, it was great fun.
Here are a few pics of that day.
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This woman’s hat definitely felt like it had been collected
and made in a fairy meadow by little gnomes and elves.
Her voice and manner matched that feeling as well. |
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| Caitlin tries her hand at hat posing. |
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The horses do a big parade into the track with hundreds of people at the
fence watching and judging their look to see if they might win the race.
I won the first race I betted on, then none others. |
And finally, I have to tell the story of the day. As some of you might know, I like taking photos of backs, especially if they have interesting tattoos on them. As we walked to the track that day this woman was walking in front of us. I saw her little back tattoo and when we caught up with her I tapped her on the shoulder and asked her if I could take a photo of her tattoo. She said of course and turned to face me. While I was expecting to take a photo of the tattoo on her back, the one on her front made me, my wife and my daughters drop our jaw. Take a look below.
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| Her back tattoo, the one I saw and wanted to photograph. |
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And here is the one we saw when she turned around!
This is definitely one of the all time most original
and unique tattoos I have ever seen. |
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by W. C. Fields, 1880-1946, American comedian and movie star
One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily –
Shared Joy is Double Joy, Shared Sorrow is Half a Sorrow
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 7, 2011 | Alice Walker |
ALCOHOLISM AND POWER
When I was young both my parents drank to excess frequently. Fueled more often than not by alcohol, there would be massive arguments with ranting, screaming, stomping, door slamming, etc.
I used what power I had to escape into my room, my headphones, my car and other people’s houses. But eventually my power was in standing up to my parents, as did my sister. It didn’t cause them to make some grand transformation (that took a major catastrophe). But it wasn’t about us changing them. It was about us changing our response to them. We took hold of the power to state what we felt. It took a lot of courage for us both to do it, but we did.
I also had the power to move away, which I did. The post yesterday showed the miles I moved to go to various schools. They were all far away from my parents. I didn’t hate my parents, I just didn’t want to be around that dynamic if I could help it. That was my way of exercising my power.
That is the thing about power. You don’t just take it and then always have it. You have to take it and implement it again and again and again. You have to be constantly reminded that it is yours for the taking. But first you have to know you have it.
The catastrophe I mentioned? My mother having a brain hemorrhage and spending 6 months in the hospital and another 3 months in an alcohol rehabilitation facility after that. That, along with me being blown up in a boat explosion and almost dying during that same time, jolted my family out of many of those habits.
From that moment on they took the power they didn’t know they had and changed their lives. My mother and father both quit drinking. My father reduced his anger level dramatically. And best of all they were able to be much better parents, especially for my younger sister, who was only 9 years old when all that went down.
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 6, 2011 | Tim McMahon |
Have you ever had a child leave home? This is what my parents witnessed when I left home.
- 714 miles away to college: FAIL
- 909 miles away to another college: FAIL
- 3,084 miles to yet another college: SUCCESS
- 2,405 miles to graduate school: FAIL
- 2,435 miles to another graduate school: SUCCESS
And that was just the first decade after high school. What I gathered in education, wisdom, friendships, experiences and love were more than worth the failures that came upon me, whether of my own doing or due to circumstances beyond my control. And my parent’s knew that would be the case.
Now, this is what I have witnessed as a parent myself.
- My first daughter went 1,282 miles
- My second daughter went 1,077 miles
- My third daughter went 1,726 miles
- My fourth daughter went 356 miles
And that was just their first move away from home. Most of them have moved many more times over many more miles since then. They have had their share of failures and successes as well.
I am obviously not one to tell my offspring to not take risks. But don’t think a mistaken thought here, I worry over what is happening to them, whether they are having successes or failures and how I might be able to help them, no matter the distance. But I also know, just as my parents did, that if they are to continue to become the strong, wise and joyful women I see them becoming, then they have to go down the path of risk.
Risk: It’s the only way to become who you want to become.
Quote by Tim McMahon
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 5, 2011 | Upton Sinclair |
THE SACRIFICE OF UNDERSTANDING
Whether it’s religion, governing, corporate life, science, academia, war or any other area where people have their livelihood at stake, truth and understanding can often be shunted aside.
The need to protect what one has is great and it can be a noble thing. But, when you are willing to sacrifice understanding true evidence that comes before you, in the name of protecting your little bit of turf, then something dangerous can happen.
People can rationalize any falsehood and avoid any truth when they have great fear.
What volcano?
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 4, 2011 | Peter Finley Dunne |
If you are involved in religious circles you have undoubtedly come across the parent who not only doesn’t want their child to swear (an admirable quality) but goes even further and doesn’t allow their child to use even mild alternatives for certain swear words. They can’t say dang instead of damn, they can’t say heck instead of hell, they can’t say shoot instead of shit.
The parent is obviously trying to instill some virtue in their child and they think that by banning even the alternative words they are doing that. It seems misguided to me. What I think can be in danger of happening isn’t a formation of a virtuous child, but the formation of a repressed child. Through the squelching of their expressiveness the child learns that it’s not ok to be expressive, simple as that.
I have heard it said that the idea behind this repression of expression is to teach the child to use the best and most proper expressive terms. In my opinion, those alternative words ARE the most proper expressive terms and that is why they are used. It doesn’t show a lack of ability for expression, it IS the expression.
What do you think?
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 1, 2011 | Edgar Allan Poe |
Happy April Fool’s Day!
FOOLS and SELF-CONFIDENCE
We all are fools to some degree. I mean, come on, I am trying to make a living drawing on NAPKINS. That could be deemed pretty foolish. But self-confidence is what I call it. I believe I can do it even if others looking from a distance (or even close up) think it’s foolish. It isn’t much different than crossing over a deep crevasse on a rickety board. It’s actually more like crossing over 397,453, 291 crevasses, some with no boards, but I didn’t want to draw that many.
What ‘foolish’ thing are you attempting today? If you haven’t started, APRIL FOOL’S DAY is a great day to get going!
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 30, 2011 | Mark Twain |
Why do you think people become preachers and teachers anyway! I know how easy it is to tell others how to be good, after all a lot of my drawings and commentaries are all about that, and I think it’s a pretty cool thing to do with my life.
But, a critical part of what I do is examine myself to see if I can honestly say I am following my own advice. Sometimes I am, sometimes not so much. I don’t avoid topics just because I struggle with them, I wouldn’t say much of anything if that were the case.
But, just like a good preacher, I do try to get across that I am preaching first to myself. If I need to learn something it’s often through talking to myself via my writing and drawing that I get the chance to clarify and refine what it is I am hoping to achieve or become.
It’s after that I am hopeful what I have come up with will help others as well.
Drawing and commentary 2025 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), 1835-1910, American author and humorist
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 30, 2011 | Emma Bull |
It’s no coincidence that I drew about coincidence today.
Part 1: I remember Jackie from my days working at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, California. We, along with our many co-workers, work intensely hard under incredible stress then hang out and relax after the shift. We do this for almost a decade together. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses pretty well. I know her as being, first and foremost, very strong. She can pull more than her weight in work, surpassing almost anyone else in energy, going for hours and hours without a break. She can also be emotional, with strong feelings and strong opinions. And she has the ability to have a great deal of fun. She is the epitome of the saying ‘work hard, play hard’. I think she is a fantastic woman and love working with her. I have the opportunity to draw her a few times over the years.
We reconnect on Facebook in 2010. I find out that she is married with children and is into martial arts and kick boxing. That strength I saw way back when obviously has found an incredibly positive outlet. I read about her enthusiasm and love of her sport. I see photos of her training, fighting and enjoying her life. I am very happy for her.
Part 2: I am speaking at a conference in 2011. I am 1,600 miles and 24 years away from the drawing I did of her. I meet a fellow speaker, Ronald Skelton, for the first time. We have the group photo taken of all the speakers and it’s posted on Facebook. I am tagged in it so it shows up on my FB wall. Jackie visits my wall and sees the photo. She comments : ‘Wow, I know two people in Oklahoma (both on my Facebook), and they’re both in this photo. Ron Skelton used to train at my martial arts school, Tribull, and still helps us periodically with our web site! Small world.
Part 3: I contact Ronald and we talk about the coincidence. He shows me a photo of the two of them together in a group shot from 2004.Part 4: Ronald and I are going to get together, see how we can help each other in the future.
Part 5: I love coincidences. They make me smile.
Drawing and story 2025 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Emma Bull, 1954-not dead yet, science fiction author
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 30, 2011 | Metaphor - 2011, Robert Frost |
It’s the last day of Metaphor Week!
I have been living in Oklahoma almost 17 years now and I have seen a LOT of video footage of tornadoes. I have even seen in person any number of storms that were threatening to become one. Luckily I haven’t seen an actual tornado. The most amazing thing about them is how tall and thin they are. They have virtually no substance to them at all and they usually don’t last very long.
Happiness is much the same way. Much like a tornado, happiness can effect much beyond it’s immediate borders even if it is only in existence for a few moments. What a person is rubs off on others. If you are happy AND express it, then others see it, feel it, and might be pulled in by it to move towards ‘happy’ as well.
Be a happiness tornado for a moment or two today. See who you can pull in.
Drawing © 2025 by Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 30, 2011 | Death - 2001-2011, Metaphor - 2011, Rose MaCaulay |
It’s day 3 of Metaphor week. I am enjoying my new book, ‘I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like – a comprehensive compilation of history’s greatest analogies, metaphors, and similes’, but I am realizing as I go that so many quotes I have read and used over the years have been in one of those three categories already!
Sometimes I feel like that myself. I am a very social person and I actually keep up with many people from my past, people who are life-long friends, but like many men, I don’t have a ton of close guy friends.
I first realized this when I got divorced in 2000. One of the elements that led up to the divorce caused there to be a split between friend and I. Until that happened I thought of him as a guy I saw once in a while. We socialized, had some creative and extended family elements in common, but that was about it. But after it happened I realized that he was one of my closest guy friends. It actually seemed sort of pathetic to me at the time. This guy I spend barely any time with turns to be one of my closest friends. It made the divorce all the harder.
That is one reason I like organized recreation, such as the running group I am in. I have been injured lately (achilles tendon) and so have not been running. I have really missed it. In part because of the exercise (I have gained weight for sure) but also because of the friendships. I miss hearing what is going on in people’s lives. I miss telling stories of my life. I miss encouraging my friends.
Yesterday I mentioned something I used to say to my daughters as they went to school in the morning. I would say ‘Make good friends, keep good friends’. How do you do those two things?
Drawing 2025 by Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Rose MaCaulay, 1881-1958, British writer
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