The Hole Mystery

by | Jun 9, 2011 | Anonymous, Universal Mysteries - 2011 | 0 comments

Part III – Profound and Absurd

It may not matter to you, but it matters to the donut.  Well, if the donut was alive I mean. And if it had a brain and thought about things I mean. And if it could contemplate the cosmos and infinity and eternity and mortality and stuff I mean.  

I mean, if a donut was like you, what would its answer be?

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Anonymous

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – Self-Pity

 

The Mystery of Life

by | Jun 8, 2011 | J.J. Van der Leeuw, Universal Mysteries - 2011 | 0 comments

Part II – Profound and Serious:

Linda’s Aunt Marilyn died this week.  She was in the hospital for over two weeks and they never found out what was wrong with her.  She wasn’t in good health; she had diabetes, was on dialysis, had high blood pressure, was overweight.  But she was only 64 and was going about her business pretty well.  But what caused her to become sick and have to go to the hospital, have a viral infection, have heart problems, have low blood pressure, have all sorts of symptoms, was a mystery.  All of these things contributed to her death, but none of them explained the mystery of what caused it.

But there are larger mysteries than how she died.  One mystery is what happens to her after she dies.  Most of her family and friends believe she is now in heaven.  They have their assurance based on faith, but they don’t have evidence of it.  Some others might think she doesn’t go anywhere.  They don’t know for sure either.  It is truly a mystery.

In both cases, medical and spiritual, we yearn for answers.  To think someone can die without the medical world knowing why is a humbling realization. Humbling for the medical profession and humbling to those of us who expect that profession to understand everything.  We must bow to the fact that we will not always know all these answers.  We must experience and live within the mystery.

To know with certainty that our departed loved ones live on in some way is one of the deepest of desires.  But we don’t know with certainty.  All the evidence in the world can point in one direction, then something happens to make us believe in the other direction.  But wherever we land intellectually, whatever we think happens after we die, we can’t know for certain until it is our turn.  We must experience and live within the mystery.

A note about Marilyn:  I didn’t know her until late in her life.  She was kind, thoughtful and attentive to Linda’s new husband (me) and my family. She was especially attentive to my father (who lived with me from 2005-2007) when we would visit her house.  She continued to ask about his welfare long after he moved back to California.  She also was thoughtful and gracious to my daughters when they came to her house as well.  I am grateful for her hospitality and her sweet and caring spirit.

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote is my adaption of a quote by J.J. Van der Leeuw.  I added the ‘just’ and the ‘also’ to make it less adamant since I believe it isn’t wholly one way or another.

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – It is the mountaintop that the lightning strikes

Mystery Creates Wonder

by | Jun 7, 2011 | Neil Armstrong, Series, Universal Mysteries - 2011 | 0 comments

Part One: Trivial and Funny

Yesterday I found a hammer on my bed.  That was a mystery.  It made me wonder.  I wanted to understand why the hammer was on my bed.  I took a picture of the hammer on my bed. I posted the picture of the hammer on my bed on Facebook and Twitter to show others the mystery I had found. I wanted to see what they wondered about the mystery of the hammer on my bed.

Some thought it was a sign,    
Some thought it was a song.
Some thought it was a threat,
Some thought it was wrong.
Hammer on Bed
What does this mystery make you wonder?
Drawing, epic poem, photo and question by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Neil Armstrong, 1930 – not dead yet, American Astronaut, first man to walk on the moon.  My father, who was also in aviation, knew Armstrong. He introduced me to him at an air show in 1969 (the same year he flew to the moon ) and I got his autograph.  That was cool.

Sunday in Sunrise, Chapter 7

by | Jun 5, 2011 | Marty Coleman, Sunday in Sunrise - A short story | 0 comments

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapters Ten & Eleven

Epilogue

Chapter 7

I had the most fidgety daughter in the history of church attendance that Sunday. She wasn’t fooled by my attempts to distract her.  She wore her watch for the first time in about a year. She had set her alarm so she could get up and make her final play date preparation.  It was odd because she had many friends and they had come over on a regular basis. She had never invested this much time and effort into their play dates.

Whatever the reasons for her excitement, it certainly made the morning insufferable for me. I was very glad when the doorbell rang at 2 pm on the nose.  Maria was there waiting and the door was opened before the chimes had finished their echo through the house.  Melissa was in a purple jumper, with her hair in pigtails, not dissimilar to Maria’s outfit and hair.  Had there been some conversation about what to wear during their brief time together the week before or had some girl sixth sense taken control of them both? I had no idea. But they could have passed for twins and they were obviously overjoyed at seeing how well they matched. They were both gone in a flash up the stairs before Velma was fully past the threshold of the door.Velma smiled a bit and said, ‘You have no idea what a handful she has been waiting for today.”

“Oh, yes I do, trust me.” I responded.

Velma lost her smile rather quickly and said, “I need to get back, Angus is feeling under the weather. When should I come pick her up?”

“I think they could easily spend the whole afternoon together so why don’t we say around 6. They should be worn out by then.”

Velma smiled again and said, “I reckon that’s a good time. See you then.” She yelled a goodbye up the stairs and we heard a laugh and a bye from Melissa in response.

I didn’t see the two girls again for about 2 hours. I heard them plenty, but I didn’t hear anything break and I didn’t smell anything burning so I left them alone while I caught up on some office paperwork I had been avoiding for too long.

The weekend had been relatively quiet until they started playing because Daria was gone for the weekend, camping with her best friend’s family in Arkansas. Caria had moved out of the house a year before to go to college and was now doing a summer project in Chicago through her school so she hadn’t been around for a while.

I was enjoying the sound of girls playing in the distance, it reminded me of the years all three daughters were young and excited to play together. Daria was now a new teenager, 3 years older than Maria. She wasn’t always amenable to Maria’s pleas to play dress up or build a fort. She was more into experimenting with crazy makeup and asking leading questions about how many piercings I would allow her to get and where. Caria, 5 years older than Daria, would always indulge her younger sisters but once she got her license she just wasn’t around very much.  She had done an excellent job filling in a bit when their mother left, but since I worked from home she never had to take on that role full time.  All the girls were changed by the departure but we had managed well to keep a strong feeling of family intact.

At 4 o’clock the girls bounded down the stairs and announced they were hungry and were going to make a snack for themselves. What that was going to entail I had no idea but Maria knew the rules of the kitchen so I was confident there would be no sharp knives or gas turned on without me being there to supervise.As I heard drawers open and shut, dishes clatter, and more giggles I also heard another sound.  It wasn’t a sound you hear often in Sunrise. When you do it makes you wonder what is happening and to whom.  The sound traveled from east to west, probably coming within a ½ mile of our house before moving away again. The siren sounded like a fire truck.

Sunday in Sunrise, Chapter 6

by | May 29, 2011 | Marty Coleman, Sunday in Sunrise - A short story | 0 comments

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapters Ten & Eleven

Epilogue

Chapter 6
Angus and his wife were indeed foster parents. They had been foster parents for more than 35 kids over the years. It looked like they had as many as 7 at one time a decade or so back. “Wow, that’s a lot of kids” I thought to myself. “I have trouble handling three!”  I kept wondering how they would keep all their names straight.
My method for remembering the names of my 3 girls was easy enough. My wife had insisted they all be named similarly. We named our first Caria. She was named after her mother’s great aunt. She was the one who traveled the world and changed her name to Caria from Mildred after a year-long trip to Italy during the 1920s. She left with the name Mildred Smithers and came home as Caria Anastasia. She legally changed her name and would never answer to her old name again.

My wife, Pam, had always loved her great aunt. She had given her trinkets from her journeys, let her play with the incredible clothing and fabric she brought home, and would tell the most mesmerizing stories of exotic locales.

Our second child was named Daria. She was named after a multinational corporation. We went on a road trip vacation to Canada one summer and we found these little bite-sized pieces of chocolate glory called Twigg’s Shortbread Snacks. My wife became addicted to them during the trip. We found out later that she had just become pregnant and it was the first of her many obsessive cravings for the next 9 months.  She would mail order the chocolates once we got home and while the chocolate was from Twigg’s,  the boxes came from a company named Daria, LTD. in England.  So, in true eccentric fashion we named her Daria to rhyme with Caria.  Her nickname was Twiggy.
Our third child was named Maria. She was named to rhyme with the first two. If I ever had to corral all three at one time I would simply yell out ‘CaDaMa, It’s time to go!” or “CaDaMa, Clean your rooms NOW!” It made it easy.About a week later, I was back at the Post Office. I was returning yet another letter that was put in my box to Bettina. This one was a boring business letter and when I handed it to her I said, “You know, if you are going to put wrong envelopes in my box you could at least make them like the colorful one from a few weeks ago.”

Bettina exclaimed, “OH, guess what! That little girl, Melissa, came in just yesterday and gave me the most beautiful envelope to send. She had painted it herself. It was of a sunrise and she was SO proud of it. It was amazing.” I smiled and told Bettina about the watercolor lesson and Melissa’s foster father.

Bettina said, “Yea, I know Angus. He’s been around here forever. He comes across as a crotchety old geezer but he really is a kind man. His wife is even nicer. They have been taking in kids forever.”

“Maria really wants Melissa to come over to play, but I got the distinct feeling Angus wasn’t to hot on the idea.” I said.
“I bet if you talk to his wife she will allow it. Like I said, she is nicer than Angus. He tends to stay to himself and isn’t big on socializing. I am surprised you haven’t seen her before. She comes in every other day around 2:30. Come by then and see if you can catch her.” Bettina suggested.
The next day I was there at 2:30 and Bettina introduced me to Velma Billet. Actually, once I saw her face I realized I had opened the door for her a few times at the Post Office. She had stuck in my mind as having the look of the quintessential farm wife. She was thin on top in a tan work shirt, with a bit of roundness in her jeans below. Her face was tan and deeply lined, made more so by the big smile she always had on her face. She had a rich pony-tailed cascade of brilliant silver hair that fell all the way to her butt.

As we talked she told me all about Melissa’s further attempts at painting. She had gone through 25 envelopes before she finally had one painted the way she wanted. She said Melissa had talked non-stop that first day about learning so much and about the new friend she had made.
Velma loved the idea of Melissa having a playmate and agreed to have her come over later in the week. When I got home I told Maria that Melissa would be coming over on Sunday after church. Maria was beside herself with joy and set about planning their afternoon adventure.

OVERCOME – It’s A Tornado! #6

by | May 25, 2011 | Anonymous, It's A Tornado! - 2011, 2013 | 0 comments
You know the saying, ‘All good things must come to an end’.  And it is true.  But the napkin quote today is also true, ‘All bad things must come to an end, too.’


We have had a wicked week of weather.  The town of Joplin, Missouri is only 125 miles from my town.  As most of America knows, it got hit a few days ago by the most damaging tornado ever measured in the last 60 years.  There are 123 less people in that town today, all killed by the tornado.  Yesterday the weather situation in Oklahoma was terrible as well.  8 people died in the Oklahoma City area, about 100 miles from Tulsa.


That sort of destruction and life loss is a terrible thing, a bad thing, to live through, witness, experience or just watch.  But just as good things don’t last forever, these bad things are now passed as well.  The damage lingers, but new life and new determination to overcome emerges.


In our case we were very lucky.  Storms passed but didn’t have the ability to suck in enough energy to become tornadic.  We had our emergency plan, which included bolting across the street to our neighbor’s underground storm shelter if a tornado was coming. Luckily that was not the case, though we did spend about 15 minutes in our bathroom with our pets just to be sure.

In the bathroom, riding out the storm.
Emergency supplies!
Our freaked out pets waiting out the storm with us.
Quote by Anonymous

Writing Lesson #1 – Proofreading

by | May 24, 2011 | Anonymous, Writing Lessons - 2011/12 | 0 comments
I have been writing a short story lately. You have probably been reading it as I am posting it as a weekly series on Sundays. I have taken on a new appreciation for proof readers as a result!  It’s hard work, made HARDER by spell check, not easier.

If you ever notice a mistake in my writing, be sure to write to someone else who has read it and talk together about what a bad writer I am, ok? Don’t write me about it.  JUST JOKING, I want you to write me if you have good suggestions!

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Anonymous

One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – I Wonder Whether Art

Sunday in Sunrise, Chapter 5

by | May 22, 2011 | Sunday in Sunrise - A short story | 0 comments

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapters Ten & Eleven

Epilogue

Chapter 5

We worked for the whole 45 minutes on some watercolor basics. I focused the lesson on the colors and subject matter she was interested in, sunrises. She caught on quick, understanding about using less water, not more, sometimes allowing colors to dry before putting a new color on, sometimes letting them bleed together. We only used envelopes.

When we were done I called out to Maria, asking if she would take Melissa into the laundry room to teach her how to properly wash her brushes. Maria jumped from behind the wall separating the studio from the dining room and off they went.

Angus had been looking at his watch for a while and was relieved when the lesson was over. He pulled a check out from his overall pocket and handed it to me.

He said ‘”Melissa hasn’t been happy since her brother left so getting that letter was a big deal. She went crazy wanting to send something back. I hope she has gotten over it now.”

In the background I could hear laughing and giggling from the two girls.

“Do you think she will want another lesson?” I asked. “Even if she does, this is all she’s getting. I can’t afford any more”. He turned and called out loudly, “Melissa, come on, we’ve got to be going.”

Maria and Melissa ran around the corner laughing. Both of their shirts were soaked with water.

“Dad, can Melissa come over to play sometime?” Maria asked.

Angus quickly spoke up, “We have to go, Maria, get your things.”

“Well dad?”

“I don’t know Maria. It’s ok with me, but we will have to ask Mr. Billet here to see what he thinks.”

“Mr. Billet, can Melissa come over to play sometime?” Maria asked.

Angus stopped and stared at the far wall. He stood still. “I don’t know. I will have to talk to my wife about it.”

Melissa’s face lost its happiness as they said their goodbyes and went out the door.

After they left Maria was very excited. “Dad, you have to let her come over and play, she’s really fun.” She said.

I responded, “I think that is a great idea Maria, but it isn’t just up to me. We will have to see what her mother says.”

“Oh, that isn’t her mother or her father. She said they weren’t her grandparents either.”

“That’s weird. Are they foster parents?” I asked.

“What’s a foster parent?” she asked in return.

“It’s someone who takes in orphans, kids who have no parents.”

Maria said, “Well, maybe that’s what they are, I don’t know. She said she just moved in with them recently. Dad, you have to let her come over and play.” She said again.

“Ok, I will work on that. In the meanwhile, it’s time for you to feed the dogs.”

I went in my office and sat at the computer. I searched for ‘Angus Billet’.

Napkin Dad's Encyclopedia of Characters – HOLE

by | May 19, 2011 | Encyclopedia of Characters | 0 comments

I would like to introduce you to ‘Hole’.  She has been around a long time in the napkins.  You never know where she will turn up.  She can be in the sky, in a wall, on a walk way.  She can have something coming out of her (often a hand) or something about to go in her, like a person.

She likes to stay in the background, doesn’t like much attention. It’s funny though, for as shy as she is, she loves visitors, most of whom drop in unexpectedly.

She was raised on the wrong side of the tracks.  As a result she isn’t much for social graces.  She can be rude to her guests and they often leave feeling a bit beat up.  They usually don’t come to visit a second time if they can help it.  That makes her sad.

Her cousins, Window and Door, were raised in the snooty part of town.  They don’t visit often, though sometimes Hole will come visit them. She usually stays in the street in front of their house and surprises their friends. 

Drawing and biography by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
One year ago today at the Napkin Dad Daily – Do not let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.

Sunday in Sunrise, Chapter 4

by | May 14, 2011 | Marty Coleman, Sunday in Sunrise - A short story | 0 comments

Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapters Ten & Eleven

Epilogue

Chapter 4

Maria never saw the old man; she was staring at the redheaded girl with a thousand freckles.  “Hi, come on in.  My name is Art and this is Maria.” I said as I held open the door.  The old man reached out his hand, “Hello.  I am Angus and this is Melissa.” His hand was coarse and strong.  “Melissa, say hello and shake their hands”.  Melissa, still with eyes wide and unblinking, reached to me, then Maria.  Maria smiled and said a simple “Hi”.  I said, “Actually, Melissa and I have already met.  She stole my watercolors at the quilt shop”.  She squinted her eyes and pursed her lips “I did not, I was there first!”  I laughed and said, “Yes, you are right.  You got there first, fair and square, and the watercolors were yours to buy.” She smiled and said, “I am glad I got there first but I am no good at watercolors”.

I escorted them into our kitchen, and asked them if they wanted some tea, both said yes.  As I poured the tea I said, “So, Melissa, I guess you want to learn how to use those watercolors?”  She responded, “Yes, I tried to use them but I made a big mess and ruined everything”.  “What did you ruin exactly?”  I asked.  “I ruined this.”  She pulled out an envelope from the little bag she had with her. There were some bits of color on the edges but for the most part it was it was grey, muddy and quite waterlogged. It was still damp.

“Well, the first thing we might do is let you use some better paper, that’s one of the reasons this didn’t work out so well.” I said.  “NO!” she exclaimed.  “I need to be able to paint on an envelope because I need to send it to someone.”  “Well, we will keep that in mind, but I still think you might learn more if we at least start on some better paper, is that ok?”  “NO! I want to learn on envelopes.” She squinted her eyes again.  “I know pretty paintings can be done on envelopes because of this one.”  She brought out another envelope. It was the one I had seen in my box the week before.

“Actually, not only have I met you before Melissa, but I have met this envelope before”.  “What does that mean?” Angus asked.  I didn’t think he had been paying attention. He had been looking out the kitchen window at our birdfeeder, watching the cardinals and the blackbirds fight for food.  “Well, I have Box 745 at the Post Office and they put this in my box instead of 845.  Of course I noticed how beautiful it was.  I remember thinking that Melissa, whoever she was, was a lucky girl to get such a beautiful letter.  Bettina at the post office really liked it too.  She said it was ‘love in the mail’.”

Angus didn’t show much of a response, but Melissa smiled wide. “It’s from my brother, he lives in Alabama”.  “Wow, that’s a long way away.  What’s he doing there?”  I asked.  Melissa was just about to say something when Angus stirred in his chair and said, “We should get on with the lesson.  I have to be back home in 45 minutes.”  Melissa shrank just a bit.  I took the hint to not ask any more and we went into the studio for her first lesson.  Angus went outside to smoke a cigarette. I could see him through the large north window of the studio. He stood motionless, head down, contemplating the smoke.

Melissa said, “I want to be able to paint a sunrise to send back to my brother. Can you teach me how to do that?”  Maria who had been by my side the whole time, still watching the redheaded girl, piped up, “He can teach anybody anything!”  Melissa looked at Maria and smiled.  “Good!” she said.  I turned to Maria, “Maria, can you go get some envelopes from my office?”