Standing Tall Together

Donald Kilbuck next to the St. Louis Arch. Fran flew him down in secret to surprise Jon Sr. for his birthday!

 

Post-It Cat

"Post-It Cat," a cat made from post-it notes by Ericka Reeb and Carmen Ricker at Dana Point Library, where it hung for the first half of 2014. 

Here it is hanging in Laguna Beach Library, where it remained until the end of that year.

New Year, New Shirt

Happy New Year pic from 2015:

 

Curbside

Reopening Library of the Canyons for curbside service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long Live This Ditch, 1983

Long Live This Ditch, S.G. & J.C. '83."

Found this message inscribed in a cement ditch. The message has survived 23 years so far, though it narrowly escaped destruction from a severe crack.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, Feb. 4, 2006]

Bat Furfur

The time I had Furfur shaved to look like Batman.

Bat Furfur.

Apple Dumpling!

In Colonial times, "Apple Dumpling," is what people would say when they would punch somebody in the nuts as a joke, according to a children's history show I watched.

"Apple Dumpling."

"Apple Dumpling."

Street Fair

Anchorage street fair, as viewed from the ferris wheel:

View from the ferris wheel, Anchorage, Alaska; May, 1996.

Found Drawing: Awkward for the Public!

"Awkward for the public!"

Oh, Deer

When it's time to decorate for Christmas, I always think, "Deer!"

Since 2015, these deer, and more, have been a staple of my holiday festivities. They fit perfectly on top of a flat screen TV.

Christmas deer on the TV, 2015.

 

Batman Bob

Batman logo autographed by Batman creator, Bob Kane.

4th of July on the Roof

Fourth of July, 1989: on the roof in Columbia City, Indiana.
Nobody fell off!

At the time, I thought we were starting an annual tradition, but it lost steam after that very night.

4th of July on the roof.

Tribute to Nelda

Tribute to Nelda, from Albert.

Tribute to Nelda.

Cat Scan

Machete’s unintended self portrait after she fell asleep on the scanner. In the resulting image, you can discern a couple of paws at the bottom. Suitable for framing.

Machete on the scanner.

[ Originally posted on The Real World…Blogger Style! – August 25, 2007 ]

Overheard: 180 Days Sober

Two guys sitting in adjacent bathroom stalls talking shit about sobriety while, apparently, shitting:

Guy #1: "I drank myself into a coma. Woke up the next day, got a dog, and decided to be sober. Stayed that way for 180 days."

Guy #2: "That's it!"

Twits, 2007-2012

I never used Twitter much.  Here's my entire tweet history:

*Update 11/6/2022 - Finally deactivated the account this morning.

Pastey Whyte

Wall art, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

Pastey Whyte.

Cat Thanksgiving, 2006

In 2006, I was renting a cheap room in Santa Ana, where the property was overrun by a colony of feral cats, neglected by the community and left to fend for themselves on scraps and garbage. It was heartbreaking—many of them were sick, constantly re-infecting each other with colds and worse. They were painfully thin, doomed to short lives on the streets. We managed to rescue one of them, Tiggi, but didn’t have the means to help the others.

That Thanksgiving, after cooking a feast for just the two of us, we had more leftovers than we could possibly eat. So, after setting aside a few meals, we decided to share the rest with the cats. What started on the back porch quickly turned into a street party of sorts, as the cats, one by one, began dragging off their own personal servings of turkey and stuffing.

Cat Thanksgiving, 2006, was a true feast for the starving strays outside. I remember a light drizzle falling, with some of the cats already huddled on our porch for shelter. But as soon as the Thanksgiving dinner hit the air, they emerged—cats darted out from behind trees and dumpsters like they’d been waiting for the signal. When I moved the food closer to the dumpsters, twice as many hidden felines appeared, slinking out from the shadows to join the feast. It was as if they’d been lying in wait for their own secret holiday banquet.

Everyone ate their fill that night—except for one white cat I’d named Skeletor. He missed out on the feast, though I hoped he was getting fed somewhere else. I’ve never seen a turkey carcass picked so clean, so fast. Happy Thanksgiving!

Plastic Centaur Toy

This plastic centaur toy was a bargain at Dollar Tree.

He married a Pretty Pony in 2005.

Plastic Centaur. 

On the Frank Farm: Secret Features

One of the old, unused sheds on the Frank Farm is the home of a peculiar masterpiece, a tree that has slowly been growing through a chair over the years, as if time itself has been politely waiting for nature to finish its work.

Secret Feature @ the Frank Farm.