shoot for the moon

this doodle actually has quite a tale to go along with it... it's an older scribble i did while i was enjoying a beer after a short driving adventure i had taken.

one of the first sunny warm days in march i got in my car and meandered through a small nearby town hoping a particular eatery had reopened for the season. they hadn't yet, so i continued on my adventure and made a few stops in some thrift stores and small antique shops along the way (browsing only of course).

i headed home but decided getting out of the car for a bit and maybe enjoying a beer and snack might feel good after driving around most of the day.

i stopped at this place in Duanesburg and ordered a blue moon (maybe what inspired the doodle a little?) and grabbed my notebook and started scribbling away, glancing up every once in a while at the quick pick monitor as the gentleman to my right was eagerly watching each number hit hoping for a win. i smiled at him. he introduced himself: he was a man in his 60s named Jim, with a daughter and son and 2 grand kids. he asked me if i had any lucky numbers for him and said he would split his winnings with me if he won, and i obliged with my usual: 1, 5, 8, 3 and 2 (2 is my fave and 1/5/83 is my bday).

he added them to his ticket and said thanks. as he went to play the numbers, another guy came up to the bar and parked to my left. i saw him staring intently down at my page as i scribbled. he smiled and said, 'i'm sorry to be forward or anything, but can i ask what you're doing there?'

''just, uh, scribbling i guess?" i replied and laughed a little.

'that's a pretty good scribble,' he said. 'are you an artist or something?'

"i'm actually a writer," i said. "well, i was a writer. i got laid off from my writing job in August," i added.

'that's awful,' he said. 'you should be an artist though, like a tattoo artist or something, cause that is really cool looking!' he added.

i laughed and said thanks, and he asked me a few more questions about why i was there by myself and so on, and introduced himself. his name was Rob. he was youngish, maybe in his mid twenties; a shorter, heavy set dude with blonde hair and a scruffly face. he told me about a late cousin he had who was an artist and was really creative and said that he was reminded of him when he saw my drawing.  He ordered a beer and started watching whatever sports were on the TV over the bar as he remained next to me silent.

after a few moments, he turned to me with something in his hand and said, 'please just take this, and don't worry about it. just pay it forward or something.'

i was bewildered and a little nervous to be honest as i opened up what he had placed in my hand. i quickly saw it was a hundred dollar bill. i was speechless for a moment as he tried to walk away, but i quickly grabbed his arm and said, "i cannot accept this, thank you so much, i really do appreciate it, but you need to keep it!" he told me he had come into some good luck earlier in the day and really wanted me to have it, but i couldn't accept it. i just couldn't.

as much as it could have been helpful or fun to have an extra hundred dollars, there was just no way i could accept such a large gesture from a total stranger. he was now the bewildered one.

"while i truly am grateful and admire your generosity here," i explained, "just because you came into some money earlier doesn't mean you should be doling it out to perfect strangers. why not share it with your family? do you have any nieces or nephews?'' i said, thinking of what i might do with a fortune of sorts.

'i already gave out a ton to my family. and then a few more people i work and am friends with. you're the first person i've encountered all day that will not accept my gift.'

''or, maybe i'm just the first stranger?'' i said with a smile.

'and see, you've got such a great smile, i want to just take it back because you're asking me to, but i still want you to have it because you seem like such a great person!'

i laughed and thanked him again, and told him he could make a donation with it maybe and think of me or something. he smiled and said okay.

after that i finished up my beer and headed home. i thought the whole ride about that guy. about how nice it was for him to offer such a thing. i felt a little silly, and even rude i guess for turning him down, but i knew there was no way i would ever be able to spend that money without feeling odd about it, or wondering if i could put it to better use somehow.

no matter what though, he restored some of my faith in humanity that day. :)

...funny how a simple doodle can have so much of 'life' behind it, no? ;)

ha... already so way behind!

soOoOo, i have been doodling every day... i just haven't been posting! ha. i haven't really been doing a lot of online 'playing' lately, (until today) so, yeah. not that that's an excuse or anything... ;)

anyway, here's one from yesterday. me and my buddy charlie went on a little nature hike near his house. this is my doodle of him and how he summed up our good time in this super nice weather! :)

a pick brought to tears

TKGLGP: Toby Keith Good Luck Guitar Pick

my friend michael's brother plays the lap steel in Toby Keith's under cover road band and on some of his recorded albums. as it turns out, TK and his 'Incognito Bandito' band were playing in a small dive joint down near NYC and Michael, who has to be one of the most interesting and genuinely nicest men i have ever met, was invited as VIP to visit with his bro Jim and sorta hang with the gang down at the show. WOW.

he was, of course, stoked to see his memphis residing bro for sure, but he also was glad he got to snap some pictures of the gig up close and personal cause he was basically with the band. so cool. plus the gig was totally underground, so only a handful of people were going to be there in contrast to his name-sake, tricked-out-by-Ford-trucks mega concerts.

upon leaving work that particular Friday i asked him where he was headed for the weekend and he mentioned the show, and i told him how much i adored Toby Keith and how awesome i thought it was that he got to go see his brother play live with him, and so on.

when i got to my desk on monday morning a plum colored guitar pick lay waiting for me in front of my computer keyboard. the end of it was worn, as were mostly the silver words that inscribed across it's plastic face. i knew right away it was from Michael, but could it have really been....?

i marched right into Michael's office and said with a huge smile, ''is this for me?! from you? from--??" and before i could even ask if it was TK's, Michael said, 'Yep. That was one of the picks Toby played with during the first set," and he laughed.

now, i know it's no big deal really, in music land anyways, that musicians toss out pick after pick to loving (or sometimes completely random) fans. and i know it's probably not worth any more than it was the day it was bought from whatever music supply store Toby Keith frequents, it's actually prob worth less maybe since it's worn?? haha. 

but i also know that i probably won't ever come across another one, that was specifically given to me, from such a neat secret gig by such a HUGE time star. and furthermore it wouldn't be from someone like michael, that i admire so much, or who i could tell genuinely was enjoying his own being at that show with me in mind. nothing could demonstrate that more than him managing to snag me a sweet momento from the night.

and it is for these reasons that i was bummed when i realized today that the TKGLGP was left behind at a friend's house last night. i foolishly offered it up to a friend temporarily who was playing an acoustic guitar. and as it happens, this friend whose house it's at is moving to Colorado TOMORROW... so i kinda would like to sorta make sure the TKGLGP doesn't end up going too! ... i think it will be okay. at least i really hope i get it back. i'll have to follow up and give an update if/when we are reunited.

in the meantime, this little guy is all i can picture when i think about me leaving without it last night. haha. hehe. ....ho hum. :(

time to just do some doodles i suppose

so i've been searching for a full time job for a good few months now, no luck yet, but i am not discouraged! i know my place is waiting for me out there, and when i land in it there will be some sort of cosmic BOOM! or northern-lights-style fire dance in the sky and the world will rotate that much smoother because i am finally where i need to be... haha. or at least it will be a MAJOR releif.

ANYWAY... i thought i could motivate myself to blog more if i used a completely pointless excuse: doodles. (every time i type that word all i can think about is Spongebob's angry doodle version of himself, and laugh)

i doodle a lot. i save some of them, but most of them are pretty entertaining. (notice i said 'entertaining' not, skillfully drawn or artistically sound...haha) so i drew one today which actually has a story to go with it, so what a great way to kick off this new direction for my blog. my very next post will be about today's doodle.  i will occasionally still post writing pieces on their own, but from now on most will accompany a doodle. let's see how long i can keep this up... :) hope you enjoy!