No, you aren’t dreaming. It IS day tw0 of Nurses Week at the NDD!
Nursing Would Be a Dream Job If... a Nursing School Graduation Card by The Napkin Dad
What is going on in the battle between nurses and doctors? Is it about ego? expertise? competence? fairness? resentment?
I think nurses do a pretty darn job of hiding any animosity they feel towards Drs. I haven’t seen that resentment in action in the hospital or Dr’s office even though I have heard nurses talk outside of work about certain doctors in less than flattering terms. I think that says something good about nurses.
________________________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who has never liked the look of scrubs and thinks they should be replaced with something much more stylish.
National Nurses Week is coming up in May. Because of that I am nursing a desire to do a series on nurses.
I REMEMBER THE NURSES
I was in the hospital for 7 weeks way back when due to a boat explosion and subsequent burns. I remember the old Irish nurse that made Alfie (the Puerto Rican gang member who was in the ICU burn unit with me because he had botched an arson fire) and myself recite the Lord’s Prayer every night. I remember the nurses that listened to how I wanted my dressings put on, and those who didn’t give a hoot.
Honestly I don’t ever remember seeing a doctor (even though I know I did). I couldn’t tell you anything about them and their way, good or bad. Not to diss the doctors, they did the skin grafts and they checked up on me. They would have been there if I had taken a bad turn for the worse. But the truth is the nurses were the ones who were there for everything and it’s to them I give the credit for saving me again and again day in, day out.
Drawing by Marty Coleman, whose favorite nurse was named ‘Cookie’.
I hope I become a famous celebrity for posting Napkin #3 of Heroes Week!
Autographs, Please
I remember reading an article in Flying magazine once about my father. The article was about his exploits as a test pilot in the 1950s, for which he became quite famous. He was famous for a brief while among the general population and has had continued fame within the aviation community ever since. Still, to this day, I get regular inquiries and requests to interview him, visit him, have autographed photos of him sent. I sent one to Scotland a few years back.
Skeets Coleman (right) and engineer with the XFY-1 POGO
Legend in Residence
The article started out talking about how the author met my father. He met him when my father was hired to be Publisher of Business and Commercial Aviation Magazine. But that is not what the author said. He said he met him when my father was hired to be ‘Legend in Residence’ (or something close, the exact words escape me right now). I understand that when you are very high up in business they are often hiring your reputation, not just you. They wanted the cache of saying they had a legendary aviator at the helm. It gave their enterprise gravitas and authority. I get that.
Skeets Coleman and Jerry Brown
Skeets Coleman and Michael Bloomberg
Celebrity vs Substance
At the same time it did seem, in my eyes, to diminish his accomplishments during the rest of his career in aviation. He didn’t just fly one amazing test flight and then do nothing. He had also been a fighter/bomber pilot in WWII, an airport owner, a salesman of high end corporate jets, a corporal in the Marine Reserves, an inventor and innovator in aviation equipment and airplanes. And he was now at the helm of a very important and influential magazine in his industry. None of those things brought him the fame of his test pilot exploits, and rightly so. The test flights he took were legendary and they deserved to be. As a matter of fact, as the years past his flights are seen in higher regard not lower. The farther we get from the time of the flights the more amazing it seems his accomplishments were. But his other endeavors were valuable, good and worthy of recognition. They proved him to be a man of substance throughout his life, not just an aviation celebrity for one event.
Skeets Coleman on Johnston Island during WWII
Skeets Coleman (3rd on right, front row) and Squadron in WWII
I started this out not knowing it would turn into an essay about my father. But his life is the root of my personal understanding of both hero and celebrity. I like that he was both and I like that he always knew the difference.
XFY-1 POGO
Here is a 1955 promotional film that shows what exactly what it was that my father flew in the test fights I have been mentioning. I think you will be impressed.
I am writing it down: Today is day #2 of Heroes Week at the NDD!
Irish Proverb
What makes a hero?
Is it the one who faces physical violence or danger? Indeed, those are the first we think of when the word ‘hero’ comes up. But perhaps heroes aren’t just those who are the victims of violence. Perhaps they are also those who are the victims of intellectual and creative oppression and persecution. Perhaps they are both.
One of the most well-known examples is Galileo, who proposed that the earth revolved around the sun. He was under house arrest for the rest of his life and his academic career was ruined due to the church’s opposition to his discovery. In spite of this he continued to produce scholarly material that moved science forward. He is today commonly understood to be one of the founders of modern science. It took the Catholic Church 350 years to say they made ‘errors’ in their judgment of Galileo.
Question of the Day:
Who are some other examples of intellectuals, scholars and artists who have been persecuted and oppressed only to have their work become creatively important to the world?
My post last week about Coco Larrain had a great response (you can read it by taking a look at the ‘recent posts’ list over there on the right). Even though the word wasn’t used, a theme emerged about her being a hero, which I believe she is. But how and why is she, or anyone, a hero? That got me to thinking and I decided to investigate the idea a bit.
Here is day #1 of Heroes Week at the NDD.
________________________________
_______________________________
I love this quote. It rang so clear when I first read it. I suppose some heroes aren’t cornered. They seek out danger, they train for danger, and they respond as trained when the danger appears before them. Firefighters, police, rescue teams, front line soldiers all train for it and yes, they are heroes. But even then, with all their training, they must at some point face that tight spot and respond.
Most acts of heroism, those done by those not specifically trained, occur when there is no choice. One must either act heroically or something very bad is going to happen or is already happening.
I read recently about the very sad loss of a family in a tornado that hit Woodward, Oklahoma. The father was found with his 2 small daughters tucked beneath him. They all died but that didn’t mean his act was not heroic. It just means it wasn’t successful.
Another example that comes to mind are the passengers on Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001. Cornered on a jet by terrorists aiming for the US Capitol, they became heroes by fighting back and succeeding in thwarting their plans, at the cost of their own lives.
Give your fellow readers some of examples that you know of – those who were backed into a corner and responded heroically.
______________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who has had to learn many times he is not one.
Quote by Jim Belushi, 1954- not dead yet, American actor
Are you wondering why I am combining two series, ‘Artists I Love’ and the current ‘Breast Week’? Coco is the reason. She was the inspiration for Breast Week because she just recently had a mastectomy as a result of her second bout with breast cancer. Her first was 15 years ago. She also happens to be a life-long artist.
Coco – 1972 High School Yearbook
A Long Time Ago
Coco went to school with me starting when I was about 13 until high school graduation 6 + years later. She was one of a handful of people in school who were designated, like I was, as ‘the artist’. Turns out, now that so many of us are reconnected via social media, we realize our school (Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut) produced a prodigious amount of amazing artists, but back then some already had shown such talent that there was no doubt they were and always would be an artist. Coco was at the top of that list.
Alas, as often happens after high school, I lost track of most everyone, including Coco. I moved back to California where I was born and it made keeping connected pretty hard. It was long before social media and unless you called or wrote a letter it wasn’t going to happen.
Cape Cod
Fast forward many decades and my family is going on vacation to Cape Cod and Boston. I post a note on Facebook letting my friends on the east coast know that I am coming their way and ask them who I may know on the Cape. Coco’s name comes up. I connect with her after 30+ years and find, no surprise, that she is still a practicing artist.
Linda, Caitlin and I made it to Cape Cod and I was able to visit Coco in the summer of ’09. It was the first time I had seen her since we graduated from high school. She was busy with some commissioned paintings and contemplating a kitchen demolition and remodel. It was great to see her and her fantastic place.
Coco’s backyard
Coco – 2009
Coco’s Art
I also found that she had breast cancer more than a decade earlier and that she painted a series of self-portraits during that time.
Inner Child Prays – Self-portrait
Coco’s self-portraits – displayed in her home
The paintings are powerful in color and emotion, but diverse in feeling and depth. It’s like seeing someone they way they see themselves, a rare gift we don’t often get to experience. She does what the best artist’s do: she exposes herself with emotional courage.
Coco at Her Opening – Photo by Steven Specht
She also has done amazing work in landscapes, portraits, and collages. Here is a selection.
Landscapes
Above All Else – 2007
Kehoe’s Dune – 2007
Kehoe’s Dune – close up – note the hint of a home behind the dunes
The Painted Whale
Coco Larrain – Painted Whale – 2005
Painted Whale – in progress
Drawings and Paintings
Coco Larrain – Ishmael’s Wisdom
Woman with Red Gloves
Collages
Cat and Bird Games – collage
Moth and Apple – collage
Cancer
When I visited Coco found out she had breast cancer again. She faced it with the same incredible endurance and creativity she faced it last time. She embarked on a portrait series of her self once again. This time she is enlisting the help of a very talented photographer, Julia Cumes, to document her journey.
Coco Before Surgery – Photograph by Julia Cumes
Coco fought bravely but eventually succumb to the disease in July of 2021.
___________________________________
To see more ‘Artists I Love’ use the drop down menu at the top of the page
With all due modesty, it is day #3 of Breast Week!
This quote led to way more questions than answers for me.
I don’t think the author was talking about actual the female bosom. I believe it was originally meant symbolically, not literally. But I can see the meaning being expressed just as well, even better in some ways, when it is read as if referring to real breasts.
So, with that in mind, here is what I think it’s getting at: A woman being immodest about her breasts is lacking noble virtues, otherwise modesty would reside within her and she wouldn’t be flaunting them. Is that what you think it is basically saying?
Here’s the problem. How do we know when someone is being modest or immodest? Can 2 friends on vacation wearing very similar bikinis be different in that regard? Can one be modest and the other immodest with the exact same amount of flesh showing? How would we know the difference between them?
The quote suggests you would know the answer by the appearance of the ‘nobler virtues’ in the modest person. My question is, What are the nobler virtues?
And finally, the ultimate question in this regard:
Why do we think skin equals sin? Why is the exposing of skin seen as dirty? Obviously in breastfeeding a mother shows her breast. If she is in public she might cover her breast with a blanket. But it’s also possible that she might choose not to cover, maybe because the child gets fussy under the blanket, maybe because she likes to watch her child nurse, maybe she likes the feel of the open air. Whatever her reason and whatever her choice there will be someone who feels it’s wrong, dirty or rude for her to nurse in public, no matter what.
It’s Your Fault
This gets to the heart of a persistent idea. It’s the idea that the woman is to blame for the actions of the man. It usually boils down to one thing, she showed too much skin. Whose fault is it if a man reacts rudely, even violently to a woman showing ‘too much skin’? In this persistent idea it is the woman’s fault. Why? Because you can’t expect a man to be able to control himself in the face of that much skin showing.
Self-Control
I, as a man, am offended by this the same way a woman would (and should) be offended by a comment saying a woman can’t control her emotions so she can’t be trusted in important roles in public life. The same is true with the ‘skin’ argument for men. It is not the case that men can’t handle it. It is the case that when men SAY they can’t handle it they are using it as an excuse for their own bad behavior. They are rationalizing their inability to have some self-control by blaming it on others. It’s not the ‘other’ who is to blame. It is the man.
A number of friends of mine are currently battling Breast Cancer. Many more have battled it in the past. I will address the cancer side of breasts in my artwork soon but in the meanwhile it got me thinking not just about cancer but about breasts in general. I thought I would do a series investigating how we use the idea and the reality of breasts in our lives; corporate, individual, commercial, political, literary and emotional.
BREASTS IN POLITICS
I thought this quote was pretty funny. Good wordplay combined with a strong political statement. And it’s an understandably alluring idea; that the key to success in a political endeavor is to bring in people who have not been properly represented and who offer a different way of viewing issues than the powers who have been in control.
But the truth is having breasts isn’t a good reason to vote for someone because having breasts doesn’t stop people from being boobs. In my home state of Oklahoma we have a number of women in power, and, in my opinion, many of them are damaging women’s progress in the world, not furthering it. Fair representation matters, yes. But having breasts isn’t the deciding factor in good governance. What matters is ideas and execution of those ideas, whether one has breasts or not.
But I do agree the boobs have got to go!
________________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Claire Sargent, former candidate for US Senate from Arizona, 1992.
