#955 – Tuesday Tradition…
Today’s strip – as you can see – is a bit different. I had this idea in my head and wanted to do a little experimenting.
You see, way back in 1987, I picked up a Green Arrow graphic novel by Mike Grell called The Longbow Hunters. I always liked Mike Grell’s art but what really struck me with this particular graphic novel was that Mike did a wide variety of things with this graphic novel. Most pages were traditional comic bool, pen and ink pages but every now and then you’d turn the page and there would be a beautifully painted page by Mike or a colored pencil on parchment paper rendering of Green Arrow. That alway stuck with me as being such a cool thing Mike did in that graphic novel.
Now, today’s experiment doesn’t come close to those colored pencils on parchment paper but I wanted to try something new and different. Hope you liked my little art experiment for today.
Today is my best friend’s birthday…
I also want to give a big shout out to my best friend, Jeff Lacquement, as today is his birthday. Jeff and I first met each other when I was 14 years old and we’ve been tight ever since. However, if someone were to study us, on paper, our friendship makes almost no sense whatsoever. Our politics are different. Our sports allegiances (mostly football) are different. Our taste in clothes is different and our movie preferences are different. But the one thing we always seemed to share was a similar taste in music – even though Jeff is a much bigger fan of U2 than I am and he doesn’t come anywhere to being obsessed with Stevie Nicks like I am.
However, we could wear out any tapes featuring Journey, Billy Joel (ESPECIALLY Billy Joel), Heart, Neil Diamond (shut up – Neil is awesome!), KISS and, back in the day, the Top Gun sound track. We even DJ’d a Junior High School birthday party or two here and there.
Music may have tied us together but it’s our weird connection to one another that has made our friendship last. So, Happy Birthday, Jef
Music aside. I grew up with and still have a true “best friend”. Not many folks can say that. Being able to chat about anything and everything and have someone who gets you. Priceless. Having a running script and lifelong story with someone you grew up with. Priceless. Being a part of another family you feel is just as important as your blood family. Priceless.
I can go on for days with reasons we are best friends, but time and life sums it up for me. Every life experience has been shared by one another and you can never put words to that.
As weird as a connection as it is, it is one that has given me the ability to navigate this crazy world while feeling someone always gets me and has my back.
Thanks for all the good memories.
Your brother from another mother,
Jefe
Ohhh, and I am sure i am experiencing hearing loss from riding around the hood on our bikes with a boom box on the shoulder, blasting the latest 80’s hit that we deemed recordable off of the radio. Every time I say, “Huh, what?”, I am thankful for the times.
I will also never forget our very serious comptiition to see who could sing Toto, “Africa”, best with headphones on. We were early karioke ground breakers. Gee and Bud must have thought we were nuts listening to us sing like that. And as much as we didn’t think it then, they could all hear us.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/africa-lyrics-toto.html