Old Friends @ MindSay

Once upon a time, I met a cool guy named Jason Breunig when I was in a Typography class with him and his roommate, Todd Miller.  Out of the two roommates, Jason was always the quiet one, but he always found something kind and constructive to say during art critiques.  Todd was usually the outspoken one, quick to gripe or bitch about things that everyone else had a problem with but wouldn't articulate so well.  Jason would agree, but then highlight other finer points about someone else's work during critiques.  Every art student hates critiques because usually everyone seems too polite to say anything that might be remotely negative, but I could always count on Jason and Todd to speak up (other wise I'd be the only one talking and that made me look like a bossy beeotch).  I also remember, before we all started hanging out, that Jason was often called "Gunner" and this made me wonder about him.  Why would such a nice guy be called Gunner?  This was back in 1993, way before school and university shootings made national headlines.  I remember thinking that some quiet, average joe nicknamed Gunner must be the kind of "quiet man" who must be pistol packing and, at any moment, he'd EXPLODE in a cloud of bullets and tear gas.  So my impression of Jason Breunig, at the start, was that he had to be an action hero and comic book fan.  That would be the only reason to explain why he had so many gun magazines to boot!  See, just about all aspiring comic book artists go through a "gun phase" where we practice drawing guns and drawing people holding and shooting guns because that's what a lot of our favorite anti-heroes do -- they do a lot of stuff with guns.

My suspicions about Jason were almost correct.  His roommates called him GUNNER because of his gun magazine collection, not because he was secretly planning to shoot people at the University of Wisconsin -- Stevens Point.  Thank the Gods, right?  Jason would later "shoot things off" with a comic strip parody of Pulp Fiction called Pope Fiction.   But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here.

Besides spending long late nights in the Fine Arts department at UWSP working on our class assignments, I first began to hang out with Jason and Todd at the Fine Arts computer lab.  One of the wackiest things we did with a few of our other friends was mess with the Macs by recording new and naughty error prompts and so forth.  For example, if you made an error there was usually a particular beep or shutting down noise the computer made, but when we got a hold of a microphone, we recorded our voices saying things like, "What're ya, drunk?!" or a sarcastic laugh or an erotic "Oh, yeah!".  This didn't go over well with the faculty and staff, of course.  Whenever a class would take place in the lab, those silly homemade prompts would come up, but we weren't punished for it.  Doing things like that helped take the pressure off us in classes.  We lived in boring Stevens Point, Wisconsin, therefore we lived to amuse ourselves otherwise no one else would.

But it was Prof. Rob Stolzer's class "Comic Art Survey" that really brought us all together and soon the The Comic Art Society would be born.  At the beginning, I was the only woman in the group, but I was no tomboy nor was I some lonely heart who loved to read only old fashioned romance comics.  Through Stolzer's class, I got to introduce my art peers to my writer friend, Brett Hiorns (also known as BJ Hiorns, but I know him best as Brett).  During Comic Art Survey everyone got along.  Not only did Stolzer expose us to original vintage comic art that he had as part of his own private collection, he also taught us about the personal stories of the artists behind the art.  We were all so inspired by this that I had a serious talk with Todd and Jason:  "We should start a comic art enthusiasts group.  Something like what Brett and I do with University Writers, except instead of focusing on being a group just for writers, we should just have a support group for cartoonists."  I was only saying what was already on their minds. 

"But what would we call ourselves?"  I remember Jason saying after our proposal to start a college cartoonists group got the interest of our professor.  We went through several different names, all of them starting with UWSP or College or something to do with the university.  Rob Stolzer advised us to just call ourselves what we already are, that there was no need to acknowledge the university we attended.  "Okay," Todd said when he decided (after everyone else refused) to be president of the club, "We are THE Comic Art Society."  (Brett Hiorns tells the story from his own point of view, this is just my take, as I am sure the other CAS founding members would each have their own individual perspective). 

In the spring of 1994, Brett Hiorns would be the first member of the group to feature his comic strip Wax Rhapsodic in the college newspaper, The Pointer.  He may not have been an art student, but he was definitely a cartoonist with a style inspired by Japanese Anime, but definitely one that is entirely his own.  I remember Brett and Jason got along very well, their styles being the most compatible, which made me feel a little jealous at times, but ultimately I was very pleased with what they created.  It was awesome to see everyone's talent blossom.  Jason and the other guys in CAS were my muses, truly.  It also helped that Jason was an old cult movie buff like I am.  Besides comics, it was all about movies.

For the next several years,  if it wasn't about drawing comic strips, our days and nights were spent talking about movies we liked.  Jason was especially fond of films by Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith.  It was a top event to go out to see Mallrats!

Jason, I believe, graduated the same year as Todd did, in 1996-7.  After I was the editor of the comics section in The Pointer, yes, there was a falling out, but Jason remained neutral about that.   Such arguments over who did what when and why didn't you do things this way, Val?! were petty.  Recently Jason reminded me of that.  "Life's too short," he wrote me.  It made me cry because it's not exactly true...

Our time with our friends can make life seem short, especially when we don't know if we will ever see them or hear from them again after a long period of time.  The time we have with our friends is brief.  The time we have to ourselves, by ourselves, alone, is long. 

I know I'm not the only one who focuses sometimes only on the negative experiences.  I remember too well the petty arguments.  The rude, unfair things other people say to me echo back into my mind more than the cool, great things my old friends had the heart to tell me long ago.  The times we spent together at the university were good times.  We all generally liked each other.  We all inspired each other.  Every single person whom I ever called FRIEND remains in my heart today. 

So even though I was haunted by the bad shit and have complained about it here, truth be told, my comic art society past was the most positive creative experience I've ever had with a group.  Jason, the good soul that he is, helped remind me of that.  Jason Breunig is one of those brilliant sparks in the world that I hope never goes out.  In fact, as long as I remember him and the good times we've had, his light will never burn out, as I'm sure my old CAS pals will agree!

In the next several days and weeks, I will be devoting a blog post to all my favorite Comic Art Society moments and memories.  Each member of the group I will write about will be written as if they are characters in a comic book.  I will try to do each old friend justice.  I pray it will serve to send out a lot of healing energy out there.  We all need a good creative kick of inspiration.

I also pray, and ask you to pray with me (regardless of your religious affiliation), for Jason.  He undergoes surgery tomorrow.  I have my fingers and toes crossed, firing off healing spells and healing thoughts left and right, so that he has a good, full recovery.  And I am going to make sure everyone I know knows how blessed I've been to have worked with him.  You'll see what I mean soon.  I'll post a few old comic strips of Jason's.  As I told him via email, he's one of the best cartoonists (if not THE BEST) I've EVER had the pleasure to collaborate with.  It's taking me a long while to dig out all the old strips and old copies of The Pointer to do a through retrospective of the work we did together and that we did with others.  No matter what, I want everyone I know to know how cool Jason is.  I told him, "I know you will survive, you are strong, and even if you "go into the light" you'll leave a lot of brilliant sparks behind you!  You have a lot of folks rooting for you!"

We all should be so lucky to be loved.  Now all of you out there, go hug someone next to you!  Be the appreciation you never got from someone else.  Feel the love.

...Uh, I just realized the coffee I spilled this morning has made my cleavage sticky.  Yeah, I spilled a bit of cold coffee (not hot, otherwise I'd be complaining more) this afternoon and I thought for sure it missed that area!  YES.  Hello!  My mind is dizzy full of exhausted creativity.  The above images are the latest window displays I did for Dala.  Worked so hard on 'em today that I forgot to eat!  So now all I can imagine is food.  For some reason I want the biggest, juiciest, fattest hamburger EVER. 

Today, I'm still feeling a bit self conscious (yes, once again, silly Val) from yesterday when my old pal Dale Newby and his girlfriend stopped in.  It was a slow day and I hadn't anyone to talk to until they arrived.  Last time I saw Dale he was just leaving a movie theatre and my cab had just arrived and so there was no time to play catch up.  That was several years ago.  Skip ahead four years later and my mouth can't stay closed.  I think I was trying to hug him with my words, but it felt more like I was strangling him!  My excitement must have been touching, but Dale and his girlfriend are much more quiet, subdued, thoughtful types who were much too polite to tell me to back off!  Otherwise perhaps there might have been an exchange of phone numbers and email addresses.  In fact, when I asked Dale if he were online at all, he gave me his best Acting 101 pose of "I'm not at liberty to discuss this matter however much I'd love to" -- basically the classic textbook pose of arms crossed tightly over his chest, head tilted to one side, legs straightened into a formal stand as opposed to the one he had moments earlier; "the average guy engaging in small talk" informal lean in towards me when I said things he was interested in. 

Am I just too aware of other people's silent signals or am I paranoid?  I had the distinct feeling I was suddenly invading their privacy and, as they left, I almost broke down in tears.  The sudden joy of seeing them and then the inevitable sink of their tightened posture departure made me feel a little bit like one of those dogs that, after being chained up in the backyard for too long is let out but gets so excited to be part of people's lives, it jumps and barks too much which only results in the dog getting put back into its kennel...  'cept I'm not a dog, just a lonely woman who felt like she talked too much, jumped up on my old friends a bit too hard, and despite good intentions, I think I sabotaged any chances to hang out with anyone in this town.

I have a lot of love to give, but it just seems like some people are too busy with their lives to count me as yet another pal to waste time with.  I feel guilty for being friendly.  Like I was too friendly.

But I have such wonderful things to share, dammitt!!!!!  Like these window displays.  Yet another way for me to reach out -- a sort of spider's web of color and gifts to attract the eye of the consumer -- hope my efforts reap great rewards.  And I hope you like them, too.

Right now I'm smiling like the Buddah in the last photo.  Just laughing away at nothing!

A few weeks ago I tossed around the idea of a road trip to NC for next week. It will be Spring break here. Today I just realized I have not seen my Mom since my Dad died 2 years ago. She has never even met my youngest child. For the past year I have kept in mind that my Mom was going to sell her house and move in with us, so it didn't cross my mind too much to go down there and visit. I've called the kennel and reserved space for my dogs. I can call and cancel at any time. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from my husband what he thinks about this idea. He won't care if I go or not. I just want his opinion.

 

Boarding the dogs will cost $341 for 11 nights. They are also both due for kennel cough, distemper, and fecal checks. I wasn't going to pay for the fecal and distemper until I had them groomed in a couple months. The good thing is that they will each get a free bath before they come back home. These dogs are filthy, and sooooo need a bath! It's about a 15 hour drive, so that will most likely mean a stop in a hotel each way. The halfway point is around DC. My bestfriend lives in DC, but she is also in NC visiting her parents, and getting a new dog. I might save the money and stay at her place on the way back up because she is going home before me.

 

I'm still undecided about this trip. It would mean all that way with 4 kids, and none of them are old enough to stay alone in the car. At least I don't think so. My oldest will be 9 tomorrow, so I think by law, she is too young to be with the other 3 even long enough for me to go in somewhere and pee. I have gone to a Quick Stop to get milk and left them all in the car, parked right out front where I can see, with the doors locked, and car running. They all know to stay in their seats and always do. The little guys haven't figured out how to unbuckle their carseats yet. I've called and reserved the kennel space. Now I have a ton of laundry, and packing to do. Plus the van to clean that has been neglected all winter because it's been too damn cold to vacuum it. I think I'm insane for considering this, and if I do this road trip I'll be insane at least by the time I return to NY. The good thing is that I plan to stock my mother's house with at least $300 of groceries, and toiletries while I'm there. She has no spare money, and practically can't pay all her bills since my Dad died. My 46 year old brother does nothing to help her out. His idea of a job is selling his plasma twice a week!!! That's a whole other post which I decided to spare you, and write about my possible trip instead. I'll post if I decide to go. Then if you don't hear from me again you'll know it's because I've been locked in a padded cell!

I remember what the funny story was about! While I was on Spring Break, I went back to my house. I took a night to catch up with some friends from HS. We went to the only place to go, the bowling alley/bar. I came in and an old friend, Jeremy, ran up to me and goes, "Oh Melissa, I am so sorry, but you will never guess who is here, DAVE! Are you going to be ok?!" Sure enough, there was Dave and Michelle(the girl who pretended to be my friend, and secretly started dating Dave), his girlfriend. I didn't care, and didn't pay them much mind, I did have a look at them to see if anything had changed. The thought of going up and saying hi or anything hadn't crossed my mind at all, even after Jeremy thought I was going to. I had told him I was over Dave, and told him, "Wanna see how over him I really am?" I showed him my ring, but he apparently thought I was going to do something crazy to them. Anyway, we were there for a good long time, and after a while, I went out to ask another friend something, he went outside to talk on the phone. As I was going out for him, Dave and Michelle were trying to leave. They went in through the bar, and waited till I went back inside to actually leave! HAHAHA, talk about not being over it. (btw, there is a bowling entrance, and a bar entrance, and there is a door connecting the two from inside also.) Anyway, I thought it was so funny that they felt the need to avoid me. I haven't talked to either of them, nor have I ever said anything threatening towards them, ever. I did say that I didn't like them, but that was it. It still puts a grin on my face. :)

So today was the day. I went to the cemetery and said my piece, made my apologies and basically said 'hi'. Whether or not she forgives me in the other world, I guess I'll never know. I'd like to introduce you all to one of the nicest people I've known - my wonderful friend Krysta:

 

 

If I'd known then, what I know now, things would be very different today.