Hello? Anybody out there?

If not… oh well. Hadn’t posted on the blog here I a long while, much less posted a new comic is ages. So what is going on? Good question. Deserves a good question. On the home front… pretty much none of your business. :D  With the comic however… well… that is pretty much your business.

I have thought of quitting on Suspicious Minds more than once over the past year. For various reasons. None worth going into any length about. I did talk to some other artists that I very much respect their opinions on the matter. The long and the short of it is SM will continue through the current story arch to a decent conclusion. I am going to do my best… which granted may not be good enough for some, to get a bulk of pages done soon to get things back on track. (Warning they may only be in black and white though.)

At the end of the story, I’m going to see where I am at personally with SM. Then I will decide if the project is worth the energy to continue… or if my energies would be better suited by starting something new and fresh. (I have always been honest saying all along that “Suspicious Minds” was an artistic experiment and a way for me to play around digitally and share some drawings.)

That experiment has been fruitful in many ways. I feel that over the course of “SM” I have grown as an artist (though some could argue I really haven’t), learned more than I care to know about php, html, scripts, and all that other coding nonsense.

But by far the greatest thing to grow out of creating the comic has been the many friends I have made through it. Those who read it, the other artists I met along the way, and of course being accepted in the Eyeskream Wecomic group. It was there where I have had some of teh most fun, and I would argue have done some of my best work… or would you call it play?

The opinion that affected my decision to finish up SM more than any came from Bryan one night recently. He was asking why I wasn’t drawing the comic anymore. I explained I hadn’t updated in a long time. He said he knew… and that he “missed drawing with me on the kitchen table.” Yup one sentence was a sucker punch to the stomach. It hadn’t occurred to me. All that complaining I did about having to draw on a kitchen table, how uncomfortable and frustrating it was to pull everything out each time and put it back up again… I had forgotten Bryan (Ben or both) was sitting there with me. I was missing the forest for the trees.

I got caught up in the pressure of trying to get an update up, fix the code on the site, advertise here, post something there, guest art, etc…. that I forgot about how all this got started. With me drawing with the kids in the floor and posting them online for the fun of it.

I think over all… that is the direction that I need to follow. Sometimes the best advice is being given to us… we just have to be humble enough to listen and be honest with ourselves.

-Mike

Took my oldest son for his Hunter Safety course. It has changed a lot. Longer and covering a lot more things. He did great and scored 87 on his test. I was so proud of the way he paid attention.

Unfortunately I had a stomach virus and was getting up every hour and half.  So I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the class. Mainly trying to not throw up. Needless to say… it made for a long day.

Anyway a funny thing happened. We had just watched a film on survival. Being prepared, the importance of shelter, fire, water, etc. With me backpacking this caught my attention. After the video, the instructor talked about how he loved to hunt alone but now he doesn’t. He’s gotten older, has a congestive heart condition and… has Juvenile Diabetes.

BING-BING-BING!!!!

What!?! My son and I both looked at each other. My brother-in-law and his son-in-law that was with us didn’t catch it. You see… the instructor was a TYPE I Diabetic. That is what Juvenile Diabetes is. It really surprised me. I talked to him later and he was diagnosed after he was out of the army in ‘75. An older man, retired now, he was in great physical shape and a wonderful instructor.

I had wanted my son to talk to him some but the test was about to start and I was sick. Plus my son didn’t seem like he wanted to. He was eager to hit the range after all.

I have ran into other older TYPE I’s before and I am quick to see if my son wants to talk to them or ask questions. He hardly ever does. Which is fine. He is still newly diagnosed. I just want him to know it’s okay and there are people there he can talk to.

That is when it hit me. Running into other TYPE I people… retired, young adults, teenagers… well… I guess I need it more than my son does. I need that reassurance sometimes that his life is still going to be full. I have even been reading Diabetic blogs. Ones written by people with TYPE I. One I read has a great tagline under her blog’s title… “Diabetes doesn’t define me, but helps explain me.” That little tag line says a whole lot. It also sums up the way my son feels about having Juvenile Diabetes. As he said not long after being diagnosed. He didn’t want to be a “Diabetic kid”… he just wanted to be a kid with Diabetes. That to said a lot to me. Especially coming from a 11 year old little boy.

As a dad who isn’t diabetic… I feel I’m on the outside. Its a world I can’t completely be a part of, yet am around everyday. I limited my own sugar, I pricked my finger, and even had the nurse supply me with a syringe of saline so I could give myself a shot. That still doesn’t make me a part of his world. It’s only a glimpse through the door.

When you have a personal relationship with someone that has diabetes you become a part of the “diabetic” world, but we’re not completely in it. It’s a special sub-culture all it’s own. We have our own sub-culture as well. There are things as parents, caregivers, etc. that we work through that the people we love may not be able to understand. The same way we can’t completely understand what it is like to live with Diabetes everyday.

My son just got over a stomach virus. A year ago this wouldn’t have been a big deal. This time… with diabetes… it was major. It was scary, tense, uncertain, confusing… you name it. I’m at work, and my wife is reporting in to me with updates… “He threw Up”, “Can’t hold food down”, BS high, but nurse says that is good”, “ketones @ Trace”, “keytones @ Moderate”, “Trying to get them down”, “May have to goto ER”, “Nurse on phone”, etc.

My wife handed it like a trooper. I joke that her title is Tactical Domestic Manager. To that I have added “medic”. She got the keytones down, and we didn’t take him to the ER. The nurse was thrilled and congratulated us. We made it. It was like when he was an infant and was very sick that very first time. We did it. We made it past another marker in this journey with him.

He is better now. Yet as a Dad my job is to prepare him for the world, while my wife’s is to protect him from it. It’s genetic… it’s what we are hardwired to do. So now I think, what happens when he is in college? What happens if he was at his house alone? What if this? What if that? Crap! I gotta stop thinking about this!! Then I read another blog. A young adult living on her own with a virus. She handled it fine. Another blog… someone at work sick. They are fine.

Little digital glimpses into the “TYPE I” world. Little glimpses that help us “TYPE 3’s” a whole lot sometimes. When I read these blogs I have to smile to myself. They think their readers are all TYPE I’s like themselves. I’m sure most are. Wonder if they know though how many parents are quietly hanging on to every word. Or just how important these little glimpses into lives help us.

So for all you TYPE 3’s out there… here’s what I am reading.

• Six Until Me
• Dorkabetic
• Living with Diabetes
• My Son Has Diabetes

Circuit City goes out of business and I buy a bunch of DVDs on sale! Imagine that. It was really weird, like a bunch of vultures we were. Anyhoo… a quick run down of what I got along with a review.

Iron Giant - Awesome movie. Has the retro 50’s feel, and is hand drawn. I had read somewhere that it was almost shelved. Glad it wasn’t.

The Long Kiss Goodnight - Older 80’s action flick with Gina Davis and Samual Jackson before he was this really big deal. Some really cool lines in it and some good action stuff. My wife really loves this one. She likes seeing strong woman characters.

Resident Evil 3 Pack - How can you not buy the three pack? I ask you? How? The first movie is the best. The second is pretty good though too. More shooting in it. The third slips a bit but is still worth watching. We had started to buy the 2 pack set but when we heard they were making a third we decided to hold out. (BTW I didn’t get anything on Blu-Ray.)

Monster Squad - Okay… I bought this one at Wal-mart. Impulse buy. I admit it. I also admit I really should not have. I barely remembered the movie. Only that I saw it a lot when I was a kid and it had all the classic monsters in it. I knew it would be chessy cause it was made in the 80’s… but it really didn’t stand the test of time. My kids only made it about over half way through it. Pretty disappointed about that. I will have to say that overall, in theory the story is solid… and worthy of a remake. With better actors, special effects, etc.

Dawn of the Dead - The 2004 version. I like a good zombie movie, and this one is pretty high on my list. This one came with an added bonus called “Andy’s last Stand” or something like that. It is suppose to be video footage that Andy shot of himself from the beginning of the outbreak to the time that they went over there. Not bad. Pretty neat to watch. It follows the story line and all.

Better Off Dead - The movie everyone should own. It stands the test of time. Plus my kids love it. Since I am a first Gen Camaro guy, I really love the fact he has a Black Camaro in it. John Cusack looks like he is 12 years old in this thing though! LOL! Now here is a little bonus about the Camaro from the film. My good buddy Joe found me this link a while back. A guy did some reserach and not only found the history of the car, but found the actual car! Then he bought it… and restored it back to all of its glorious muscle and wonder! Yeah baby YEAH!! Click HERE for the link!

30 Days of Night - This is the, and I stress THE Vampire movie to watch! WOW! It really blew me away. Just such an original idea and story. Plus there are certain scenes that were filmed at really great angles.

Got a few things happening in the background of my life right now so when the three day weekend came rolling around I was already thinking I needed to try and get to the range. Nothing like blowing through some ammo to help shake lose some of the old cobwebs from inside your cranium.

So you can imagine how tickled I was when the phone range. It was my buddy who has had a Kimber CDP on older for a while now. It was in. What was better was he already had picked it up and ran 50 rounds through the little beauty. We made plans to hit the Guns and Leather range that Monday after he got off duty.

First impressions…
I like 1911 pistols. Like them a lot. Used to own one but sold it a long time ago. Yeah… your right. I regret it. I plan to own another someday though. First off, until you are able to view this weapon, the way the good Lord intended you to… in your hand. It’s hard to explain how beautiful this pistol is. The matt stainless slide on the flat blued frame and those wonderful rosewood grips… my goodness it sure is pretty. You really feel like your holding a well engineered work of art. At least to me. The fit and finish was exceptional. Everything you’d expect from a Kimber pistol.

The trigger was crisp… and to me it balanced like a dream. We did have a few “failures to feed”. I felt it was magazine related more than pistol. By the time we had finished shooting it had about 300 rounds through her. To me… she still needs another 300 before trying to adjust anything. Kimbers are tight. They really need to be broken in.

It had been a while since I had shot a 1911. It took me a magazine or two before I felt comfortable with it and started hitting like I should. If your missing with this pistol it’s most likely operator error. Plain and simple. It was pretty much dead on. At twenty feet I was able to put 14 rounds into a playing card. That was of curse after I had quite a few rounds though it.

I also ran 150 rounds through my USP compact. I shot some new Speer 100 grain frangible rounds. Made specifically for range use, and not intended for defense by any means. Needless to say they functioned flawlessly. Accuracy was fine. I also ran through a few magazines of Winchester 125 grain Jacketed Hollow Points. Again, performed flawlessly.

In comparing the two, 1911 and USP Compact, I have to admit I really like my HK compact. It just suits me. I’m fast approaching 2000 rounds through it and find myself liking it more and more. That being said… if I had the money I would sure still love a Kimber CDP Pro Carry. Everyone needs a good 1911 around the house. You just gotta.

Now a little shout out about the range. We shot on the computerized lanes. Computer? Yup… you got it ace. Computerized. This is a little indulgence that I rally like. Not only is it computerized, but you can run preprogramed simulations. Now that is where the fun is. Having your target turn sideways, move to different distances, spin toward you, spin away from you (no shoot situation), and charge at you… man… you just can’t beat that.

I like to run a simulation first thing. Three ten round mags. Just to see where I am hitting cold. Then a few mags at twenty feet and other distances. Then it is back to the simulations! Real fun I tell you!

So why do I find it so relaxing? Well… I’m not sure. For me, it’s a great stress release. It’s being able to push everything out of your head for a while and concentrate on something else. To focus only on the task at hand.  Breathing, watching the target, reloading, etc. It may sound really weird to some, mainly for those who may not have ever tried any of the shooting sports. As for me… give me a little range time and I am a happy camper.

Seeing my son having to deal with Type I Diabetes has been heartbreaking to say the least. I won’t even try to describe the flood of emotions that overtake you from time to time. Let’s just say, for me, I ran the gambit from anger to utter defeat.

As an act of compassion or solidarity… or maybe guilt. I have backed off my own sugar intake greatly. Planning on getting into better shape. That being said I wanted to be able to relate to his problem a little more. So I decided I need to give my self shots.

My wife and I have talked about this for a while. We asked our doctor the safest way to do it and he suggested getting saline from the Diabetics Clinic we go to. When we told our him about what we wanted to do he was surprised… but pleasantly surprised. The next class the gave us syringes and saline and away we went. My wife gave herself a shot at the clinic… I gave me mine with my son in the kitchen together.

My son (11) gives himself most of his own shots. The others are given by my wife or myself. Usually we give him his night time Lantus injection. Mainly because it burns. We have a system for minimizing the burning sensation though. If you have a burning sensation with Lantus try this (your milage may vary)…

1. Lantus at room temp
2. Let alcohol dry after cleaning the top of the Lantus bottle
3. Let alcohol dry on the injection spot
4. Give the injection quickly, slower seems to burn more
5. Once it is out rub the injection spot quickly for a few seconds

Typically when I give a shot I try to turn off all emotion. I guess it is a guy thing. I focus at the task at hand, the mechanics of what I am doing. I don’t think “I am giving my son a shot.” only that I am doing this, then this, then this.

Big difference when it is your arm… and your holding the needle! HUGE difference! It’s really a mental thing. I couldn’t detach myself from it. I finally gave myself the shot. No big deal… no pain. Just a little pressure at first.

I already saw my son as very brave. Now though… I can’t help but feel even more proud of him. He has really risen to the challenge. I won’t pretend that by giving myself one little shot that I now know just what he is going through. I don’t. I do feel that I have been able to peak inside just a little to see a taste of what he faces. What I saw then… made me proud of him even more.

Life is slowly beginning to get back to some sort of normalcy. It’s not what it was, nor will it ever be. We’re beginning to see patterns and learning to manage the Diabetes more each week. Every time we think we understand what we are doing we go to out Diabetes management class and learn a lot more.

We are also meeting more and more great parents that have “Type I” kids. It really is a silent, small community. That has been a source of strength for us these past couple of months.

I hope to get back to the comic soon… but to be honest it may be closer to January before it starts back. For now I really want to just focus on my family and how blessed I am to have them.

We had our Church’s Congregational Skeet and Pistol shoot this past weekend. (Our total for the day were 43 people.) I act as one of the 4 Range Safety guys… so yeah, that means I usually don’t get to shoot any till late in the day.

After 3:00 a little over half had left and one of the other RSO’s stapled a paying card to the edge of the table we were using for the bowling pins. He wanted to see if anyone could shoot it in half. I was working the Bowling pin table so I went first. Mainly to get it over with because I knew there was no way I would be able to hit the thing.

Yup! You guessed it! First shot of the day, first round out of my pistol… shot the sucker clean into! I couldn’t believe it! I then told my wife we were going to Hobby Lobby to frame that sucker am I am officially retiring from shooting! LOL! (I was about 15 feet away, and yes I have witnesses!)

I’ll be the first to admit it… a pure luck shot! Doubt I could ever do it again. It was just really awesome. We had three other guys shoot cards in half after a few magazines of trying. But what really tickled me was my 11 year old wanted to try to do it. I set him up at about 5 yards away on another range and he did it on the third shot!! Wooo Hooo!!!

I have had a lot on my plate lately in my personal life. So I have been really looking forward to this shoot. We always have a good turn out and a great time. This was no different. We even had zombie, frankenstein, vampire, and witch targets since it was close to Halloween. More ladies from the congregation this time as well. I wasn’t able to buy all the ammo I wanted to with Christmas coming so soon… but any day to be out on the range on a pretty day makes it all worth while.

Some of my friends (that don’t shoot - strange I know) don’t really understand how shooting can be so relaxing. I guess for me it’s because you push everything out of your mind and I try to only focus at the task at hand… lead in the center, breathing, trigger pull, the follow up shot, etc.

Anyway, this past weekend was great mental break for me. Plus the wife and kids had a ball as well. The only down side is that I usually get to shoot a lot of other people’s firearms which in turn makes me daydream about buying more guns! LOL!

We also squeezed in a Halloween Party, “Trunk or Treat” at church, and Diabetes Classes. So yeah… I’m beat.

With the best intentions of getting “Suspicious Minds” back on track and updating regularly again I am thrown a curve ball. One with Diabetic spin to it. My son got diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the start of October. Yeah… I didn’t see it coming either. So after a trip to the ER, and a couple of days in the pediatric ICU, and a night in a regular room we have got him home and getting him back in school.

So the comic will be delayed while my wife and myself get used to a whole new lifestyle. My son is doing well. He’s tough and amazes me how brave and determined he is in dealing with this.

I believe that you can learn from anything, and that if you don’t… then well… you are only hurting yourself. So what have I learned? Well… not to take my family for granted for one. Another is it showed me who my true friends are. Also showed me how petty some other people are at the same time.

The most important thing I have tried to take from this is to pay more attention to the simple pleasures in life. The kids playing in the floor, a quick meal together out, or just plain being in the same room with everyone. I find myself looking around at home a little more and smiling. I’m also trying to stop sweating the little stuff… life is way too short to spend it worrying about the stupid stuff.

Over the past weekend me and my Brother-in-law (Steven) got my old ‘68 Camaro on the “Blacktop” and up on blocks. It’s been sitting for 12 years just waiting to be brought back to life. Why has it been sitting in the elements for all this time? Long story.

Still not sure if we are going to keep it or sell it. I’m running numbers or the next month trying to see if keeping it and restoring it is the way to go.

The vinyl top was very mean to it. Rust was pretty bad under it when I cut the top off. I’ll need to replace the roof, the passenger rear quarter and a piece under the rear window.

The engine was not locked up, we could turn it. I gathered up all the parts I took off and have them in a box.

So now I have the long hard decision… keep and fix… or sell.

I wish I could keep emotion out of this one… but I can’t. To much history. Bought in 1986 (I’m the third owner) it took a year to get it into shape enough to drive on the road. I had wanted to drive it my senior year but didn’t have it in shape enough till the June after I graduated. In fact I bet only ten people in high school even knew I had it. No point in talking about a car that you can’t drive to school huh? LOL!!

I can’t even begin to describe the flood of memories that came back to me just sitting behind the wheel. It was weird, like wearing your favorite jacket… or better yet… hearing a song from long ago. It’s like time travel. All of a sudden you remember sights and sounds of long ago. I could have sworn I felt the engine vibrate just a little as I sat in the drivers seat with one hand on the wheel and another on the shifter. Dang! It just felt right!

A guy I work with has an old restored mustang. I’ve only ridden in it once. Why once? Because it made me home sick when I road in it. It just something about feeling the subtle twist of the body when you rev it up, the soft roar of the idle. Shutting the door and hearing solid steel against steel. Bucket seats of vinyl! Hahaha!! When I road with him I could help but think of my old Camaro.

It’s so strange how an inanimate object can hold such a pull on you. It’s as if all your teenage and twenty something years, all the songs you listened to, all the movies you saw, friends you knew get wrapped up into this huge piece of steel, iron, and vinyl. Like your life becomes another bolt or piece of fabric woven into the soul of the car.

It was made in 1968… but somewhere along the way it was re-born to me in 1986… Instead of also having the Doors, Hendrix, and James Brown chanting through the speakers (which I did listen to… just ask Donnie!) it also chanted Metallica, MegaDeath, Ozzy, Judis Preist, Adam Ant, The Clash, Eurythmics, Blonde, Tom Petty, Glenn Frey, And Don Henley.

For Americans… Muscle cars are more than cars… they are symbols of independence and rebellion. Then as well as now. They are gas guzzling beasts of a simple nature. No fuel injected - sensor whining - Nitrous snorting - front wheel drive aluminum blockhead. They are art in motion… air, fuel, spark and wind blockage. Raw horse power at it’s finest. Are there faster? Sure. I see these tricked out little civics and Supras. And you know what… as fast as they go… it’s the classics that capture both imagination and souls of people.

I know have a better appreciation of the old Steven King movie… Christine now. The poor old kid never stood a chance.

Here is how she sets now… like Frankenstein’s monster… waiting… yerning for that one spark that will give it LIFE!!

I joined in “Hour Comic Day” this year. Other members in Eyeskream did as well, not to mention other artists from all over the globe! England, Ireland, Australia, Norway, Canada, Mexico, and Israel… just to name a few.

What is it? Well… basically you draw a quick comic about the past hour you have been awake. So at the end of the day you have a comic of your day! Pretty cool idea. Also a lot more challenging than I thought it was. I had pre-printed a few sheets out with panels already on them thinking it would help speed things up… not sure if it did but it sure was FUN!

Here is the first comic…

You can find the rest of my day drawn HERE. Want to comment on my boring day? Then you can do it here.If this caught your fancy, there are a slew of others from around the world that you can read… FOR FREE!!! Just click Here!

I won’t be posting these over at my Suspicious Minds Comic. No sense littering things up worse there.

UhnnnnNNNNNnnnnn!!!

 I doodled this up while watching Dragon Wars with the kids. First off the movie was dumb, predictable, slow in the begining… but had some really neat effects and CGI. Plus if you like dragons, it was neat to see them tear a city apart.

Not really sure why I drew the zombie. I have watched a couple of zombie flicks later in the week, but I really was just letting my mind wander on the paper. Playing with different shapes and stuff. Kind of nice for a change.