Mort Walker (September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018).
In memory of Mort Walker… My pic with cartoonists Mort Walker, Greg Evans, and Ray Billingsley. Circa 1992 at the King Features Christmas Party.
I’m biting my lip in this shot because I was just the young pup on staff at King standing next to three guys in the big leagues. My hobbit like size and ill-fitting suit just adds to the magic.
And here’s a 24-year-old Jim Keefe with Beetle Bailey up at King Features circa 1989 (when the offices were at 216 East 45th Street in New York).
As the colorist on staff at the time, I colored Beetle with Pantone sheets that had an adhesive back that you’d lay down, cut out, then burnish down.
I’ve been coloring Beetle for close to 30 years now (first on staff and now as a freelancer). My heartfelt prayers go out to Mort’s family and friends during this difficult time.
My daughter Anna to a friend’s mother: “My Dad can’t come out east when we go because he has to get work done first.”
Friend’s mother: “But why, doesn’t he work out of the home?”
Quick aside; I moved in with my brother for about a year when we first moved to Minneapolis. He said, “I always thought working from home would be great…until I saw you do it. Realized that working from home means you NEVER LEAVE WORK.“
Add to that (and in no particular order);
No paid sick days.
No tech department to fix your computer.
No health benefits.
No HR department to make sure you get paid.
No 401k.
Never mind someone “at the office” to fill in for you when you’re not there.
(Much less clean up and empty your waste basket during the night shift.)
And just to clarify, I get no health coverage through my work but I do get coverage through my wife’s job.
This is not the case for MANY freelancers who are one sickness or accident away from bankruptcy. GoFundMe accounts seem to crop up daily for fellow freelancers (sick or aging) caught in this trap.
Yup, just another day in the merry land of freelance-land!
A quick tutorial from Handyman Jim™ on how to put together your very own Little Free Library!
I’m purposely skipping over cutting the post and angle braces, as at no point during that whole process did I have a clue to what I was doing.
Two quick bits of advice though… 1: Having a table saw I could borrow from a family member sure was damn helpful regarding building the base.
2: I bought the wrong lag screws. Make sure to buy the right ones (not that I have a clue which ones that would be). And use power tools to secure them if you have weak little arms that aren’t accustomed to lifting more than a pencil and/or wacom stylus.
Correct lag screws? Who knows!
STEP #1 Placing the Post in the Ground
Make sure when finding a spot for your Little Free Library that you place it on an incline or small hill, that way you’ll have to dig even farther to make sure the hole’s deep enough.
Also make sure to place it near a large tree so there’s plenty of roots to cut and dig through.
STEP #2 Making More Work for Yourself
Make the decision to personalize your Little Free Library by adding a drawing to be mounted on top that you can’t find time to get to for months.
STEP #3 Check the Weather for a Polar Vortex
Wait until the RealFeel is 25 below and THEN install the Spider-Man drawing on top. That way the wood will be as hard as concrete.
And yes, the two pics indicate a three month lag between library installation and Spider-Man drawing (once again – finding time).
And there you have it – IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE! For more helpful hints, find someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
I know I will…
Update: Summer 2018
Spider-Man has taken some wear and tear over the last year and a half. Next time I’ll have to pick up a better piece of wood to paint on, but for now it’s time for some touch-ups.
I also needed to restock. Half Price Books just had a tent sale, so I was able to get a pretty good haul for real cheap.
