by Marty Coleman | Jul 4, 2013 | Independence Day |
Here is my self-test of patriotism. These statements are how I know I am living up to the ideals of our founders.
- When I understand that America is not only for people like me.
- When I understand that I am free to judge on the content of character, but not the color of skin or the gender of the body or the inclinations of love and attraction or the ability to do what others can do, or one’s upbringing or station in life.
- When I understand that each individual has the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether I like their versions of those things or not.
- When I understand we have a right to be free and pursue our dreams but NOT at the expense and destruction of our towns, coastlines, rivers, oceans, land, air or people.
- When I understand we have an absolute right to protect ourselves from those who wish or do us harm, or whose actions unknowingly cause us harm, from outside or inside our country, from individuals or corporations.
- When I understand with gratefulness and humility that many people, now and in the past, have found it necessary to do something they hate doing, namely killing other people, and in turn sometimes getting killed and wounded themselves, to protect these rights and to protect me.
- When I understand that hating another country or another people will not now, or ever, create a safe environment for me and mine.
- When I understand that civil discourse and transitions among people and governing authorities who disagree is essential and positive, leading to good governance and progress.
- When I understand and stand up for true religious freedom, knowing that my religion (or lack of) is not the religion of the country, no matter how large and powerful it is, and no matter how many believe as I do.
- When I understand that America is me and what I do with my life.
That is my test for myself.
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 3, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories, Independence Day |
A Short Short Story
Chapter 1
Her parents were communists who died before she came from Russia. She came to America when she was 23 because she found a husband on an internet dating site. He was bad and hit her once. She had learned boxing in Russia and beat the snot out of him. Then she left him.
Chapter 2
She worked hard, went to school, saved her money. She worked as an eyebrow model while she was in school, then as a railroad worker while she traveled the country, and then a psychiatrist in Boise. That year she became a US citizen, bought a cute little hat and went to celebrate the 4th.
Chapter 3
Someone took a photo of her that day and she had it put in a beautiful yellow frame she brought from Russia that had belonged to her grandmother.
The End
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 2, 2013 | Uncategorized |
Why Not Argue?
I am not a fatalist. I do not believe that most things are set in stone, inevitable. I believe we have the power to change things, change ourselves, change our future. But…
I remember when Kathy, my first wife, and I were going through the last spasms of our marriage. We had marriage counseling, relationship retreats and spiritual regeneration weekends. We had conversation after conversations after conversation about our marriage, ourselves, each other, our personalities, our dreams for the future, etc. She was the one considering a divorce but she said many times that just because she was considering it did not mean it was inevitable.
The Optimist
At one point I went to a counselor and she went to the first meeting with me. After the therapist met and talked with both of us I had a solo meeting with him. I talked a lot about how to save the marriage. He listened for a while but stopped me pretty soon and said he did not really want to talk about that. He wanted to talk about what I was going to do if the divorce did happen. What was I going to do to make sure I remained healthy in mind, spirit and body? What did my future as a single parent, as a single adult, look like? We talked about all that but it pissed me off because I felt like he was not allowing that the possibility existed that the divorce may not happen.
Not long after, we got divorced. Then I understood. He saw what I couldn’t or wouldn’t. He saw that Kathy had made up her mind, that the divorce was going to happen and I was not going to be able to stop it. He was guiding me to what he knew was going to be my inevitable life, not indulging me in a fantasy about my hoped for life.
The Realist
I am by no means a fatalist in my own life or in the lives of others. But what I am now more than I used to be is a realist. I know there does come a time when you have to bow to the inevitable. It is hard to do but the alternative is to escape reality, and escaping reality never ends well. Whether it’s drinking yourself silly, going on a control-freak rampage, or slipping into irrational psychosis or neurosis, escaping reality does not change the reality (except to make it worse) nor does it solve any problems you are going to have in your new reality.
Face It
So, as hard as it is, the only true path to take is directly into the path of the inevitable. It does not mean you do not look at the alternative paths into the future, but you accept when paths are closed and you choose from the paths that remain open to you.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 1, 2013 | Mermaids |
The Virgin Mermaid
I did a Mermaid series back in 2012. When I went to St. John in the US Virgin Islands in June I was inspired to draw a mermaid again after going snorkeling in the clear blue waters and meeting one.
The Mermaid knew who I was, which I found funny. She said that I am very famous in the mermaid world because of the very accurate drawings I have been doing of mermaids over the past years. She said my Arctic Mermaid drawing was particularly accurate.
Yes, she is a virgin, which she said is a source of endless jokes since she is named Virginia and is from the Virgin Islands. She is tired of the jokes and wants to find a nice Merman to settle down with. She also said red is not her natural hair color, that she swims within the red coral to get it to that hue.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Model is Virginia, a real mermaid
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Here are the other mermaids
- The Virgin Mermaid
- The Night of Mermaids
- The Modest Mermaid
- The Arctic Mermaid
- The Lake Mermaid
- The River Mermaid
- The Fearful Mermaid
- The Influencer Mermaid
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 30, 2013 | Series |
Since we’ve reached the year’s halfway point I thought I would spend the next few Sundays sharing links to Napkin series I have done so far in 2013.
It really stimulates me to create new drawings when I get real and honest stories about your own experiences regarding the topic at hand. It also helps others to read your stories too! (Check out the ‘Women Judging Women’ series if you don’t believe me). So take the opportunity to let your Napkin Kin know what you think!
First Up – TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!
I started the series because of a conversation about medicine and fun and I came up with this cool quote.
Click in the drawing to go to the series
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Next Up: Body Image
I started this series right at the beginning of 2013 … and promptly forgot about it after one drawing. But when I revisited the drawing it reminded me of the topic and I continued with 3 more images.
Click on the image to go to the series.
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Now on to: What Science Is
My daughter Rebekah, a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate, came to visit. The visit prompted me to do this series talking about what science is and what it is not.
Click on the image to go to the series.
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Welcome to: Public Relations!
I went to a social media shopping conference in May and did a Public Relations/Marketing series in anticipation of going.
Click in the drawing to go to the series.
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And finally for today: Branding
After I got back from the conference I did another three-part series, this one on Branding.
Click on the drawing to go to the series.
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Next week:
Women vs Men
Birthdays
Compliments and their Complications
Meh Meh Mediocrity
The Ideal
You can, of course, go to see them now if you would like. They are in the series drop down menu in the sidebar.
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