The tie's the thing

Neckwear has a certain cachet amongst missionaries. Some ties have great meaning and hold a lot of sentimental (or sartorial) value. I have ties from my mission that I would never want to part with. Yet there are other ties that are practically disposable. I've got a few of those, too. That's why it's so sad to lose the ones you love.
 

Let no one shirk

A few years ago I drove the missionaries back to their apartment after a dinner appointment. It was a short drive, maybe ten minutes at the most. But that was enough for one of them to have dozed off, and his companion was drooping. 

Being exhausted — in a good way — is just part of missionary life!
 

Sketchbook: Improvement Era

A few decades ago, Hank Ketchum had a gag in the original Dennis the Menace. Dennis and his family were sitting in church. Alice, his mom, was looking at him in a mix of shock and embarrassment, while the people in the pews round about were chuckling. Dennis said, "Because I know 'Yankee Doodle' better, that's why!"

That cartoon has always stuck with me as an example of a cartoon coming in at the perfect moment in the middle of the story. We know what happened moments before, and that makes it all the more amusing.

This sketch is, yeah, a blatant ripoff of that cartoon. But with the pervasiveness of Taylor Swift and her influence with teen/tween culture, I thought it might be fun to explore. At least in the sketchbook.
 

A slip of the slips

Since it is the Ides, and since I continue to have production issues, I thought I'd reshare this one from a few years ago. 

Although it's less of an issue these days due to online donations, it's still important to be careful out there!
 

All the better to see you with

I tried a little experiment with this one. Remember the old, old pre-Photoshop days? Cartoonists used to use a film called zipatone or screentone to give their comics texture and shading. Charles Schulz, for example, used it for Franklin's skin tone. It occurred to me that I could get a similar effect using some of the features in Illustrator and Photoshop, so I thought I'd give it a try.

As for the cartoon, there are benefits to paying attention to your ministering families. You could save a life.
 

A cry in the wilderness

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Fun fact: I debated whether I should give nostrils to the crying kids. Then I realized that if they were crying, their noses would all be snotty. That always makes things better!
 

For the duration

Kind of a bold move, but I like the idea! It might be more effective toward the start of happy hour, though…