06.28.92 week in revue

After a participant is killed, Florida issues a ban on further bungee jumping. Tornadoes rip through the south but the gentleman in the straw hat seems more interested in the bungee jumper‘s future. During his first public appearance, the president of Algeria was assassinated by his body guard. Reason #43 for running background checks on your employees.

Foggy Christmas Morning, 1949

This is the first of four pencil drawings I will post. The drawings help illustrate a story for a gift book entitled, “Christmas Morning with Strangers.” It is an inspirational, true story about a light plane crash on a foggy Christmas morning in 1949 involving a young, expectant, married couple, their pilot uncle, and the hospitality of a nearby family. Thankfully, everyone survived the crash. Ironically, the author of this story is today an experienced pilot and his mother was 9 months pregnant with him as the story opens.

First up, today, is the arrival of the plane at the couple’s Oklahoma farm on that foggy morning. The plane has been parked and awaits its journey. The anticipation of being with family for Christmas overrules any logical fear of flying in dense fog. Typical of the era, a grass taxiway and dirt road were their catapult to the air.

The drawings retain more detail than the foggy conditions would have provided. In reality, a blank canvas might have been more accurate. But the author and I did not want to lose the story’s content.

06.21.92 week in revue

A dichotomy of speed this week. Nine NASCAR teams were invited to Indy to participate in a Goodyear tire test, which was, in reality, an unofficial test to see if stock cars could be competitive in such a circuit. The Brickyard 400, now called Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, began two years later. A labor dispute idled Amtrak but no one noticed any difference in service. This, a lack of speed, while the crisis in Rwanda accelerated. Sputtering out of the pit is the notion that freedom of speech means you can say anything you wish no matter how offensive. Freedom to express our opinions concerning our nation - that “we the people” thing - is what our founding fathers had in mind, dude.

06.14.92 week in revue

The week will all anticipated. Boris coming to America. A tour of Kansas revealed a lot about what the Russians do not have. Profits. You go, Boris! Sears had some repair problems of their own, made worse by pessimistic reporting. Two unusual suspects show support for each other. The page design moves the eye around pretty well between positive and negative spaces. Appropriate repetition is used to good advantage.

06.07.92 week in revue

The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. The Serbs blockaded the city and residents came very close to complete starvation. Their only chance for survival depended on the success of UN airlifts from the Sarajevo airport that was opened in late June. An estimated 10,000 persons were killed or went missing in the city. The dictator/terrorist from Iraq continued to make headlines. A lighter bit of news was the ban of water canons in Boston. “You could put your eye out with that thing.”