Not gonna lie. It’s been hard adjusting happily to this reality here in West Michigan. I miss people. I miss friends, and strangers, and populated cities, and the stuff that happens in populated cities. Where I’m at it ain’t that way. The nearest city is Muskegon. It’s only been in the last couple years they had their first pride parade. Circling the event were pickups with American & Confederate flags flapping from their flatbeds while honking their horns. People here still speak fearfully of Antifa coming to vandalize our neighborhoods. The coffee shop I was going to regularly, Drip Drop Drink, which hung & sold my art, went out of business a few months ago. Lots of places around here have trouble staying open. My main getaway is the coffee shop. It’s where I most comfortably work, read, and relax. I have a new one now I go to every morning for a few hours to be around people and have human contact. My girlfriend Laurie has been helping me keep sane best she can through all this too.

Since my dad died last year, I’ve been more stuck than ever. My mom isn’t comfortable being left alone for more than a day. So leaving, even for short day or two getaways are all but impossible. Visiting a place (like Chicago or NYC) for a week or more just can’t happen, at least for now. So I’ve been doing the best I can with what I have to work with. My main focus in terms of business and creative has been supplying Jesus magnets to stores, and finding more that’ll sell them. I do have art projects I’ve been working on, and’ve been focusing a lot on perfecting my pen and ink skills.

I’ve been reading more than drawing lately. Rereading Richard Stark’s PARKER crime novels. I love this series. I’ve read almost 20 of the books in the last couple months. Gets my mind off of feeling lonely, overthinking, politics, religion and pointless self-pity voices that require severe ignoring. I really have nothing to complain about considering what’s going on in the world. I remind myself of that all the time.

I will say that having returned to bible-belt surroundings has reignited my anti-religious sentiments. Luckily I still have boxes of flyers to leave around town. And I have one store in Muskegon that ADORES and sells my Jesus Dressup magnets. Puzzles Oddities & Ends. So that’s cool.

Once again, trying to keep posting so y’all know I haven’t dipped out completely.
Can you believe I’ll be 55 in June?