Polar opposites

This is another update of an older cartoon. This one ran in the New Era many years ago, however, I still think it's funny!

What do we do in the summertime?

I think each of my kids has said a variation of this same thing.

Hidden un-treasures

...and there are certainly some portions that ought to be sealed!

Monday sketchbook: Ooh la la

Last week was French camp at the high school. One of the popular sections is cooking -- mostly desserts -- which includes crepes, galette des rois and cream puffs. Another exciting feature is making trebuchets out of mouse traps. So I sort of put the two together, making a French dessert out of, yes, mouse. Even giving it life in the sketchbook was probably too much, so I've added an extra bonus today, the design of the T-shirt. Salud!

Gone fishing

This ran in last week's Meridian Magazine. There was a little snafu this week, and they ran one of Arie's cartoons instead of mine -- but it was probably funnier anyway!

Tales for the scrapbook

One of the best things about girls' camp is hearing the stories that the Young Women tell afterward. They aren't quite as gross and disgusting as some of the stories from Scout camp, but they're right up there -- although they always wind up on a spiritual note!

In case you're interested, there are a few more cartoons from this series on www.zarahemlatimes.com.

It's called Girls' Camp for a reason

The truth is, if the Boy Scouts had to do all the things that the Young Women do at girls' camp, they probably couldn't take it. But don't tell them that!

More than meets the eye

I got in trouble for this one!

Two worlds

I've helped with many Scout camps, and I've watched from the sidelines while my wife helped with girls' camp. I can say that this is pretty much true -- even coordinating the food!

Lucky break

This week is girls' camp for our stake. We had a call last night from our camp director asking if we had a tent they could borrow. I didn't have a problem with that, but I don't think I'll tell any of the Scouts that the girls used the tent. That idea could totally freak some of them out!


So, in honor of the Young Women in our stake, I'm running a series from Zarahemla Times about girls' camp. Enjoy!

Monday sketchbook: Spell check!

June is the month of weddings, so I was doodling with some ideas about that. This is one that popped out, but I think it's probably safer to just leave this one in the sketchbook.

Family ties, or thanks, Dad!

When my son was little (like maybe two years old), he wanted to wear a "real" tie, not one of those clip-on things. And not just any tie; it had to be the Looney Toons tie. I tied it as small as I could. The knot was as wide as his neck, the tip almost as wide as his tummy. But, hey, he was a big boy now, wearing a big tie like his dad and his brothers!

My dad always kept his ties tied. Tie 'em once and you're done was his motto. At the end of the day he'd loosen his tie, slip it over his head and hang it on his tie rack. Now I see a couple of my boys doing the same thing. But even now, my youngest will come in to borrow one of my ties, even though he's got a decent collection of his own. He just wants to be a big boy.

Thanks to all of my sons who allow me to be their dad! Happy Father's Day!

Celebration time!

Many of the missionaries featured in my cartoons are representative of real missionaries I have known: companions, my sons' companions, missionaries serving in our area, etc. Most of them are (or were) pretty awesome; others may have inspired awe in one way or another.

Go, missionaries!

Food for thought

One of the best things about working on this project was the variety of places to eat. Most of these places are gone or replaced now, but it was one of the more enjoyable projects to work on.

Some of the places handled the construction better than others. One day Subway brought out free sandwiches for all the workers. And surprise! A lot of the workers kept going back to Subway, even when the sandwiches weren't free!

A day at the beach

Aargh.

Line upon line

Making the adjustment back to normal life after coming back from a mission can be a challenge. First you have to get used to not having a companion with you 24/7. Then you have to get used to going around in civilian clothes -- without a name badge!

For some, getting back into the social scene is one of the hardest shifts.

Red, white, blue and orange

Happy Flag Day!

Monday sketchbook: Finding the right demographic

From time to time, people confuse Mormon missionaries with Jehovah's Witnesses. Or, as was the case in my mission, they thought we were CIA.

Give 'em what they want!

I had a companion who kept getting weird stuff in the packages he got from his family at home. This would be the opposite of my dream package!

BYW, if you're keeping score, this is another of the revisited cartoons. It originally ran in the New Era a long, long time ago.

Says who?

There are some people who just have that knack for disappearing...

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Yeah, right!

Graduation was last night, and just a few more days left of school for everyone else. There are many students the faculty and staff are happy to see move on, and there are many students the faculty and staff are happy to see move on!

Graduation day!

OK, today I get to be a little self-indulgent (isn't that the whole point of a blog?) as it's graduation day! In our neighboring ward they have six seniors who are graduating. One of the moms threw a party for them, and asked me to do cartoon drawings of each of the kids. Congratulations!

Revisionist family history*

This is another of the "reworked" series. The original is here. Which do you like better?

*The story is told in my family that we had a relative, who shall remain nameless (Grandma), who occasionally fudged on a few dates when doing family history work because it made things, shall we say, "neater." Usually it was either marriage or birth dates. Do the math.

The Circle of (college) Life

It's that time of year when college kids come home to roost and high school kids enjoy a few weeks of freedom before they, too, get pulled into the vortex.

Speaking of college, I just discovered a relatively new cartoonist. He's Tyson Cole, a student at Utah State University. Check out his blog, The Deep End. He's got some pretty funny stuff -- for an Aggie!

Monday sketchbook: Ever learning

The putting/driving combo offers up lots of possibilities, but most are variations on a theme. This liked that this one was just a little bit different, but not really different enough to pursue.

Chalk talk with the deacons

There are times when, as a Mormon cartoonist, I wonder if some of my gags cross over into the gray area of sacrilege. As a general rule, I avoid jokes that might appear to poke fun at sacred ordinances. As this one isn't directly about the sacrament, I figure I'm safe ground.

I'm sure I'll hear if my dear readers think otherwise.

There's a spreadsheet in my soul today

For some people, too much information isn't enough.

Immersed in the work

One day as my companion and I were walking down the street in Busan, South Korea, we suddenly saw a solid wall of rain headed right toward us. We watched it approach, as it devoured the dry pavement as if it were some special effect. For us there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. In an instant we were soaked to the marrow.

Missionaries don't listen to weather reports. Who knew that it was monsoon season?

Of course, everyone else knew the forecast -- they'd all gone home. Except for us and the rain, the streets were deserted. Not a bus or taxi was in sight. We had no choice but to slosh our way back to our apartment through the storm. But at least we were wiser -- we now knew what an approaching monsoon looked like. Maybe next time around we could avoid it!

There's an opening

Sometimes you have to read things twice.

Lost in Translation (director's cut)

For you keen-eyed observers, this may look familiar. I ran this way back a long time ago when I first started this blog.*

It's not that I'm being lazy. Quite the contrary. It's just the gag that is the same; the drawing is different. I have a project under way that requires re-working some of my older drawings, so I'll be posting a smattering of them on here from time to time.

You probably won't even notice unless I call them out. Back when this one originally ran, for example, I think I had three readers of my blog -- if you count our Lab -- so you probably didn't see it the first time around.

In other news, this month I have another special project going on over at Zarahemla Times. For the month of June I'll be running two cartoons a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. And while you're at it, pop over to the Zarahemla Times Facebook page and give it a "like." I'll be glad you did!

*It also ran in the New Era sometime after my mission, if that helps at all.