Every Day in May #16



...although it's getting to be that this should be called "Occasionally in May..."

I knew going in that this would be hard for me, cuz my days are packed. And sometimes I'm just damned tired. But I made an extra effort today, even though it meant I could only visit Poppy briefly in the dialysis center at lunch time. I walked up 2nd Ave, crossing back into the very southernmost section of East Harlem/El Barrio, and sat in the McDonald's there. I rarely eat McDonald's anymore. It is really gross, but I figured there'd be some drawing ops. I sat by the window while I ate my really nasty Fillet-O-Fish (I think I'm the only person in NYC who eats those things, cuz they are always gross as if they've been sitting around the longest) so that I could draw this guy on the right. He was sitting on the garbage can outside of McDonalds, occasionally asking passersby for money.

Back at work, I finished the main part of the other project I was working on; the newsletter was "put to bed" late the evening before. I was hoping they'd give me things to start working on the next edition so that I could get a start on it, but nope. Then my mother called from picking up The Sun. They still couldn't find his gi, missing in action since Monday. And the Sun was so stressed about it, he had chewed his shirt to the point of no return. But on my way home, I took my hospital shuttle to the subway stop... and The Sun's gi was in the van. Had been there since Monday. So it was my fault.... *ooops*.

When I got to his violin practice (the shirt had to go in the garbage once we got home... it was that bad) I showed him the gi and told him I owed him a huge apology. He was relieved but he gave me grief about it the rest of the evening. He did pretty well in his lesson today. His teacher was very happy about his bow hold. His teacher is funny. When she gets frustrated with him, she calls him every name but his own. I tried to sketch them practicing.


So I did pretty good on the drawing front. But scores of other things fell through the cracks today...

Comments

Nina said…
Ohmygoodness! You are revealing more of yourself - or at least, your varied artistic abilities - with each of these little... revelations.

I don't know what it is, but when I saw these two characterizations, I really perked up. I want to see more; I want to see where the guy is going to go and what he's going to do when he gets down from the can. Please tell me you'll consider doing some stories with him in there. Or some stories around a little boy and his music lessons!

Very cool.
Regina said…
Love the art -

Mom always used to order a Filet o Fish without the special sauce -that way they HAD to make it fresh - but if you like the sauce i guess that won't work. (she didn't like the sauce so didn't care)

Glad the gi turned up.
Julie said…
OK, how in sync can we be? I almost never go near McDs anymore, like you because it's so gross. (How is it that I once thought it was just SO wonderfully yummy?) But yesterday I was starved and rushing, and the only way I could squeeze food in was to stop under the arches. Guess what I got? Yup - you're not the only one who ate a filet of fish yesterday.
The Bear Maiden said…
Thanks. I was pretty happy with these, especially the violin lesson. When I started sketching, I didn't think I'd a.) capture anything or b.) finish but it really began to "flow". Which was *really* cool. I notice that my eye/hand is getting better at getting spacial relationships down, so that things are more in proportion to each other, which was always my weakest point.

And LOL about the Fillet-O-Fish. I think they remind me of Junior High School. The fish sandwich and the grilled cheese were the only things I could ever eat, cuz back in the day in an inner-city-JHS, it was all about bologna, which I couldn't eat.

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