CARTOONS

B. D. always said, "if you can't draw good, use a lot of color."

B. D. called these "cartoons", but the word has a connotation of amusement and triviality given to it by short animations that the word did not carry for B. D. Much like the "comic book" can range from the kiddie comics I had as a child to something like Maus' exploration of the Nazi world, these cartoons ranged from the amusing escapades of soldiers and others who caused a lot of explosions to a serious look at "life in the country", war, and disability. In short, a "cartoon" for B. D. was the opposite of prose or poetry: something with pictures. The word carried no other connotation.

Primarily, B. D. either used a full sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" paper, and drew a "full" cartoon (usually with six panels); or he used a smaller scrap of notepaper and did a smaller cartoon (usually with two panels). He was remarkably masterful with the techniques of sequential art, since I do not believe he ever had any formal exposure to cartooning or comic book creation. B. D.'s art training was in drafting, so his buildings, vehicles, and objects are usually much better defined than his people.

Almost all of the cartoons were done with water-based magic markers and felt-tip ink pen on almost any sort of scrap paper B. D. had at hand. On the reverse of these cartoons can be found all sorts of stationary with old addresses. Infrequently, B. D. used pencil, and occasionally the cartoons are monochromatic. His use of color is understated and shows a fascinating eye for graphic design. He was able to use the minimum of color to communicate the maximum imagery.

In all cases, the order in which these are presented is arbitrary. Over the years, these papers were jumbled, shuffled, packed, moved, unpacked, put in every different kind of binder, etc.

BD's Cartoons About The War

Perhaps the most fascinating cartoons are B. D.'s first-hand experiences in World War II.

	In The Marines Nov. 1979 Before serving in combat in the Army, BD enlisted briefly in the Marines but was discharged because he had dependents.
	Alternate In The Marines Nov. 1979 This cartoon is almost a copy of the previous one, but contains different material. I do not know why there are two versions of this cartoon. The one above was kept in my papers with the other war cartoons, and this one in a separate folder my mother kept.
	Christmas Eve, 1944 Dec. 1979 BD spent Christmas eve, 1944, in a manger. He was in a small village outside of St. Hubert, Belgium.
	More Of The History Of World War 2 Dec. 1979 BD relates more about his experiences, including important historical details.
	Oh, No, Not More War Stories! June 1980 The point of view is that of the infantryman, who must endure the hardships in war.
	Life Of A Company Radio Operator July 1980 The highs and lows of being the radio operator for Company A.
	Ever Cross The Ocean? July 1980 BD's account of his trips over to Europe and back.
	Measure-Counter Measure July 1980 Not strictly war experiences, but always kept with these cartoons.
	Whom Did You Meet Today? Dec 1979 Not strictly war experiences, but a theme B. D. was interested in. He also mentions this in WNC Flight Plan. (Regarding the footnote, there is no extant version of him doing this before, but what he probably was remembering was the "More Walter Mitty" cartoon he did in June, 1979, which is similar.)

Life In The Country - Reflections of Real Life in Hendersonville

From when he started in 1978, by sending me a "For Scott" cartoon enclosed with a letter to my mother, up until 1983, B. D. produced a series of what I call "life in the country" cartoons: either about his own life growing up in Charlotte, his current life in Hendersonville, or my own adventures while growing up. These are collected here in the order in which he drew them. The cartoons range so widely in topics that there is no way to classify them except chronologically by when they were drawn.

These cartoons, and a few other drawings and poems, are a fascinating look at nothing more than real life. Day in, day out. Year in, year out. If there is humor in these cartoons, it comes from an ability to see the amusing side of otherwise dull and monotonous (and sometimes painful) life. BD's medium, a six-panel cartoon, made him condense the stories he wanted to tell down to their essence. He created a unique brand of sequential art.

In 1978, and 1979, B. D. lived in Hendersonville, NC while we lived in first Asheville, NC and then Kingsport, TN. He would write a letter to my mother on occasion, and draw a "For Scott" cartoon which was included. The cartoons from this time which are not marked for Scott were intended for my mother, and tend to treat "grown up" topics such as nostalgia. We moved to Hendersonville to live with B. D. in 1980, and he drew more cartoons for me. Normally, he would draw them at night after I had gone to bed, and I would see them the next morning.

	Map #1 Of where we lived in Hendersonville, NC. This map is surprisingly accurate and well-done, and I have used it as a reference map to orient various photos.
	Map #2 Beyond where we lived. This map continues where the top of the other one left off. Placing row P of this map against row 1 of Map #1 is about right. (I'm not sure why the rows and columns switched letters and numbers between the two maps!)
	An Adventure A poem. BD took my mother and me to the beach, Myrtle Beach SC, in the summer of 1979. For me, it was my first ever trip to the beach and was quite an experience. For one thing, it was the first time I had ever traveled any distance at all. Plus it was an adventure, since I'd never experienced anything like it.
	My Bike A poem. This is one of the last things BD did, in February 1984. I've always read it as a very sad poem, seeing the days of bike riding far off in the distance of memory. I am positive it is inspired by my own bike riding which reminded him of his own childhood days riding a bike. I imagine you should read "hadn't" for "weren't" in the second line of the second stanza.
	For Scott April 1978 The first cartoon BD ever did for me. At the time, we lived in Asheville, NC still, and he was in Hendersonville. He'd write to us and include cartoons and other things with the letters. (The date, April 1978, reminds me that I do have memories of this cartoon and the next when I still lived in Asheville before moving to Kingsport in 1979.) It is amazing that in this and the series of cartoons did about what I could be when I grew up, none of his guesses was even very close. The career I eventually chose didn't even exist when BD created these cartoons!
	For Scott April 1978 Part 2, the continuation. The second cartoon is a battered, torn piece of paper which is larger than a regular sheet of paper or notebook, so the edges have become worn out through the years. This cartoon had a hard life. At the time it arrived, I had a large cardboard box, and was playing in it. One time I played school and wrote on the back like a blackboard!
	Mild Excitement In H'Ville July 1978 Before we moved to Hendersonville (abbreviated H'ville), BD sent us some details on his exciting time out in the country. I don't remember after moving to Hendersonville ever seeing the crop duster fly over, but there were real crop duster airplanes back then. I knew "Winkler Field" as Allen Airport, the name it changed to by the time I had moved to Hendersonville. It was very near East Henderson High School, and right off of Jackson Park, where the annual fourth of July fireworks show was held. The Allen Airport parking lot was one of the best places to watch the show. One of the saddest turns of events in the move to Hendersonville is that BD himself, a lifelong pilot and airplane enthusiast, never got a chance to take me on an airplane ride. By the time I was old enough to get anything out of it, he was unable to walk.
	The Way We Remember It ... The Way It Was July, 1978
	Is Bigger Better? July, 1978
	Christmas' Past Dec, 1978
	Christmas In The Hills December, 1978 This cartoon was drawn with charcoal, and not well preserved.
	More Walter Mitty June 1979 Walter Mitty is James Thurber's daydreamer in the story "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" (found most easily today in The Thurber Carnival). The central theme of this story is the emasculation of men by "nice" or "polite" society, which does not allow them to be men. (The story ends with Mitty pretending he is before a firing squad which will put him out of his misery.) B. D. seemed to enjoy Thurber's humor, as I remember, and this story in particular would resonate with him after his adventurous childhood and dangerous war experiences were replaced by the years of "desk jobs" and belonging to clubs like the Royal Arcanum. Mitty, though, dreamed of what society would not let him do: B. D.'s interpretation of Mitty seems to have some ambiguity between this daydreaming and flashing back to deeds long ago in the war which have been left behind for a prosaic existence in "nice" society. Joyce DeWitt is an actress whose most famous role was on the television comedy "Three's Company". Whether this phone call is a good or bad daydream is open to interpretation (there's no accounting for taste).
	How Would You Like To... August 1979 Another in the series of cartoons about what I could do with my life. It's interesting to contrast these lofty aspirations with the fact that I didn't know anything I wanted to do. But, I was in the second grade!
	Things Not To Do August, 1979
	A Brief Study Of Labels And Instructions September, 1979
	One Day In Hendersonville September 1979 Before we moved to Hendersonville, we got an idea of what life was like there. It was then, and is to this day, a tourist town (although having lived there I can't imagine why people would want to waste a precious vacation on it). The prices in the fourth panel, "Tourists Bring Other Changes", were abnormally high for that time, although $0.99-9/10 for a gallon of gas has since become a low price.
	It Takes A College Man September 1979 A somewhat facetious look at what would turn out to be an accurate prediction that I would need to be a college man to make it in the world. College was an entirely different thing in BD's day than it became in mine. I remember especially liking the formula which simplified to 1+1=2, and being crushed when I drew it out on a napkin from memory and asking BD if I had gotten it right, only to discover he had made it up and it didn't mean anything!
	When Abe (Lincoln) & I Were Boys Sept, 1979 Sara "the pen blobbed" Shaw's poetry recital is told in the essay on graduation. Unfortunately, no photographs of this winsome girl are extant, and the poem she so memorably recited is lost.
	One Day In Aircraft Design September 1979 Pretty typical humor from BD! There are actually two almost identical copies of this cartoon extant. Version 1 ("for Scott") Version 2 The first panel of Version 1 is more detailed than Version 2, but the fourth panel of Version 2 is more detailed than Version 1. Version 1, with the "for Scott" at the top, was sent to me in Kingsport (as the 1979 date indicates). I do not know why B. D. drew a second version of the cartoon.
	You Ever Try To Fold A Tent? Oct., 1979 This cartoon says: Quotation: "I will fold my tent and silently slide away". I believe this taken from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Day Is Done". The exact quotation is from the last stanza of the poem. I give it here with the first two lines of the poem to establish the context: The day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of the Night... And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. I do not know where B. D. derived his version of the quotation. B. D. did this cartoon in October of 1979 to send to me in Kingsport. He did another version, reproduced below, for his son Gene's children in October of 1978. Both "quotations" are identical in wording, even changing "steal" to "slide", so he was clearly remembering something, perhaps just the echo in memory of a poem he encountered as a child.
	Things I Have Found Oct, 1979
	More Car Talk Oct, 1979
	More and More Car Talk Oct, 1979
	What Say We Talk Trucks Oct, 1979
	"I Wouldn't Send A Dog" Etc. November 25, 1979 I can't remember BD ever coming to Kingsport to visit us, but he must have! (This visit is corroborated by a fragment of a letter by B. D.; see also the electronics page.) The first panel is curious because the route from Kingsport to Hendersonville is east, and the car is heading towards the mountains, and the sun is setting in front of the car. This must be artistic license, however uncharacteristic of an expert aviator.
	Bays Mountain Nov., 1979 This cartoon is based on a remark we overheard on a trip to Bays Mountain National Park, which is near Kingsport, TN. The park had a planetarium and terrariums with local species of snakes, bugs, etc. Someone said that they needed to turn the air conditioner down in the snake room. I can't remember if B. D. was with us, on the trip he made to Kingsport, or if we told him about it later, but B. D. drew this cartoon of the mental picture the remark conjured in everyone. There were two copies of this at one time. I have no idea what happened to the other one.
	The First Thanksgiving Nov., 1979
	What Kind Of Things Happen To You? Nov, 1979 The story of Sara Shaw's poetry reading is told in the essay on graduation. The fictional account of being kicked out for calling for a "Whopper" is funny when you realize that the Whopper is a sandwich sold by a rival fast-food chain.
	The Night The Rock Quarry Burned Down Nov, 1979 The "rock" quarry burning down is a joke (rocks don't burn), and does not refer to an historical place in Charlotte, and the fire is not an historical event, but I did not realize this until many years later. I figured the quarry had wooden buildings for offices, supplies, etc which burned. (The building in the first panel was a red herring. It looks flammable.)
	4th. Of July Used To Be Fun! Nov, 1979 Any time B. D. turned to nostalgia, he seemed to remember the pyrotechnics of July 4.
	It's Out! I'm A Pinballoholic Nov, 1979 The game in the last two panels is Hit and Missile.
	Some Gripes About Television Dec., 1979 What was that old line about protesting too much? This was an inexhaustible topic for commentary, but B. D. also watched TV all the time. (Note that the line at the bottom refers to the game Hit and Missile.)
	The New And Improved McKay Nut Cracker (Undated, likely 1980) Rube Goldberg lives! That cartoonist, who described himself as portraying "exerting maximum effort to achieve minimum results", was known for these sorts of wacky "inventions", and flourished in the early and middle of the 20th century at a time when B. D. would have seen his work.
	Putting Together The Christmas Toy Jan. 1980 I'm not sure what prompted this, since I don't recall having any particularly hard toys to assemble. Maybe it was just the concept.
	Can Spring Be Far? Feb. 1980 A look at how boring winter can be, and how much worse spring could be to those with allergies.
	What Are Things Called? March 1980 I remember that I loved the four types of spring illustrated in this cartoon.
	It's A Mixed-Up World! May 1980 An unusually negative cartoon from BD. Maybe he didn't mean it to be that way in the first two panels. Usually, BD's cartoons were either humorous (admittedly in sometimes a wry or even sarcastic way) or just snapshots of life without any commentary. This one is unusual in that it doesn't "go" anywhere. The last panel seems tacked on to fill up space more than serve as a conclusion. Most of BD's cartoons were crafted to come to a point at the end.
	Tragedy In The Hills May 1, 1980 Right after we moved to Hendersonville, my mother and I went roller-skating (which was a popular activity back then, although it quickly fell out of favor). Someone slid into my mother, and broke her ankle. For months and months she was laid up and on crutches.
	Scott's Mysterious Journey May 1980 BD's fanciful tale of my experiences in a time warp. This comes from the period right when I moved to Hendersonville.
	Fishing In The Nota River June 1980 A spin-off cartoon from the Mysterious Journey. I specifically remember reading "Nota" as "Note-A", with a long O, rather than "Not-A" as in not a river. BD meant the latter! I was a strange kid.
	A Few Of The Strange Things You Might Meet June, 1980
	Get Into The TV Repair Business June, 1980
	Scott Learns To Fly June, 1980 There is a pencil sketch of an airplane on the back of this cartoon.
	Memories! July, 1980
	The Summer Of 1980 August, 1980 Again, a true story of the summer when my mother went roller-skating for the last time and broke her ankle. She hobbled on crutches for a long time. BD's legs were just beginning to go, and although he was not disabled or confined to a wheelchair, he began walking with a cane and falling frequently. This gave me the opportunity to grow up and be responsible for things the other two couldn't do. While I was growing up, the last panel of this cartoon was my absolute favorite part of any cartoon or anything else B. D. did. He, of course, meant it facetiously, but I loved the idea of the Led Heads.
	1980 - What A Summer! (Poem) August 6, 1980 The misfortunes of the summer were, if nothing else, the source of inspiration for creativity. This poem is another look at the events.
	School Daze 1983 A look at school from the eyes of an older generation looking at a newer one going back to school. Note especially that the external manifestations of school are up-to-date, the things that BD saw himself in the 1980s (buildings, busses), but the inside of the school is out of date. We did not have desks like the one pictured, but BD never saw the inside of the school.
	October First? Don't Ask! Oct, 1980 BD's legs got worse and worse, with him falling at first and finally unable to walk. This is his firsthand account of his illness. In 1980, it was not that bad. It grew gradually worse over the next four years. The only possible cause anyone could point to was the time his leg was frozen in World War II.
	Well, Here We Go Again (Undated) Ambulance travel to the VA hospital is the subject of a one-panel cartoon.
	Life In The Country June, 1981 BD had a ramp to go down into the yard, but the ground was rough and the driveway wasn't paved, so he didn't have much of anywhere to go. I don't remember him ever leaving the house in the three or four years he was in a wheelchair, other than going to the hospital and doctors in an ambulance. Vehicles accessible to wheelchairs were beyond our means.
	Life In The Country June, 1981 This installment of Life In The Country (if there are others besides these two, they are no longer extant, although I can't imagine there are any which were lost because of the way these papers were kept together) brings the unwelcome visitor, the snake. We had many snake sightings in Hendersonville. Our most common snake was the blacksnake, we saw about 5 of them that I can remember. Others included the ubiquitous garter snake and an occasional poisonous one like a copperhead.
	Problems, Problems July, 1981 A frank account of BD adjusting to life in a wheelchair. The problem with his legs got so bad that by 1981 he was confined to a wheelchair all the time.
	July 4th June, 1981
	And Then There Was August Aug., 1981 A look at the events of 1981. Not much was going on. That BD could still find stories to tell in his cartoons at this bleak point in his life is amazing, and this is far from a happy story. (The car in question was our Ford Fairmont, and yes, it did have a radiator problem!)
	Scott Says: What Did I Do This Summer? Aug., 1981 My summer vacation in 1981 had a lot of activities. We went to the pool at the apartments where my grandmother lived, cooked out, visited the local attractions the Cradle of Forestry and the Nature Center, saw The Empire Strikes Back (when it was first run in theatres), and yes, I got my allergy shots.
	Ah, Spring Again! May 1982 This is based on a true story, when my mother and I went over to the Bear Creek apartments to go swimming. We generally went early in the morning to beat the hottest part of the day (and the crowds) and as a result the water in the pool could be a bit cold.
	The Big BB Caper 1982 My grandfather taught me to shoot a BB gun. We'd put a Styrofoam cup on a little table, in front of the apple tree, and I'd try to hit that target. The BB gun had a range of about 25 yards, you couldn't do much. BD's old BB gun gave up the ghost after a year or so of shooting with it, and I got a new one for Christmas one year.
	How Far To Burnsville June, 1982 I could always identify with that holiday song that went "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go", since we went to my grandmother's house in Burnsville, NC and did go over several rivers and through uncounted woods. I need to check if B. D. went with us in 1982 or not. I know he did once or twice. (Note: Burnsville was the home of my father's family; B. D. was my mother's father.)
	Spring Again ... One More Time! 1983 Unfortunately, one of the most colorful and imaginative logos for a cartoon has been ripped off, likely because of storing this in a three-ring binder.
	Boy! What A Summer! Summer, 1983
	A Real Fourth Of July 1983
	The Tobacco Tag Puffing Game July, 1983 This cartoon was drawn because B. D. both mentioned the tobacco tag game in "The Night The Rock Quarry Burned Down" and to me in passing. I had never heard of "tobacco tags" and could not even imagine a game based on them. Fortunately, he drew this cartoon. This game is likely completely forgotten.
	The Great Snake Caper July 17, 1983
	Somewhere Somebody Always Has A Permanent Record On You 1983 The note on the back: B. D. told me the story, but I don't remember it; it was something very similar.
	Good News 1983

Other Cartoon Series

	The Chopper Boys The two Chopper Boys (if they had names, they've long since been lost) flew their green and yellow chopper around and had adventures. (One cartoon identifies one of the Chopper Boys as "Earnest", but this is likely a generic placeholder name.) Technical Diagram of the Chopper Boys' PU-1 helicopter Weekend Helicopter Rides Eat At Joe's Thru The Woods The throttle is jammed In this cartoon, the helicopter's throttle is jammed, and it outpaces Jack and Joe in their modern jet fighters. Reg'lar folks This was a curious title for cartoons which involved the Chopper Boys or helicopters. At least, only the two cartoons presented here in the Chopper Boys section are extant. If there are any others, they were lost. I don't remember any others. The other Reg'lar folks cartoon The child has a toy helicopter. The rest of the Chopper Boys cartoons: The Chopper Boys: Checking insulators The Chopper Boys: They'll never launch missiles The Chopper Boys: Trolling the lake The Chopper Boys: The Bomb Squad (mislabeled cartoon) The Chopper Boys: The engine quit The Chopper Boys: Ground maneuvers The Chopper Boys: Windy The Chopper Boys: Nice and smooth The Chopper Boys: Spring days The Chopper Boys: Hungry The Chopper Boys: Night flying The Chopper Boys: Heat wave The Chopper Boys: Back in time The Chopper Boys: Lightning never strikes The Chopper Boys: The orange helicopter The Chopper Boys: What the ... ? The Chopper Boys: Dangling the hook The Chopper Boys: Did you untie from the hangar? The Chopper Boys: 30 minutes for lunch The Chopper Boys: The stealth bomber The Chopper Boys: Being followed The Chopper Boys: Ancient joke The Chopper Boys: Fishing The Chopper Boys: Turn the radio down The Chopper Boys: Dirigible The Chopper Boys: Best not to think about it The Chopper Boys: Like a King The Chopper Boys: Ready for liftoff The Chopper Boys: Nothing to it The Chopper Boys: Any landing you can walk away from The Chopper Boys: Nest The Chopper Boys: Landing marker The Chopper Boys: Apples The Chopper Boys: Parking hazard The Chopper Boys: Drive-in movie The Chopper Boys: Nothing happened The Chopper Boys: Embarrassing The Chopper Boys: Out of the shop The Chopper Boys: Backing up The Chopper Boys: Fuel The Chopper Boys: Tied down The Chopper Boys: Beautiful morning The Chopper Boys: Not a video game The Chopper Boys: Don't park in a barn The Chopper Boys: Iron The Chopper Boys: Anchor The Chopper Boys: Flying high The Chopper Boys: Purple helicopter The Chopper Boys: A good day The Chopper Boys: Great pumpkin The Chopper Boys: Batteries not included The Chopper Boys: Russians practicing (dated Sept. 2, 1983) The Chopper Boys: Snakes hissing The Chopper Boys: Loose connection The Chopper Boys: Mascot The Chopper Boys: Armored plane The Chopper Boys: Number 6 The Chopper Boys: Camouflaged airplane The Chopper Boys: Leaky canopy The Chopper Boys: Beautiful fall day The Chopper Boys: Flying formation The Chopper Boys: Red The Chopper Boys: Back black The Chopper Boys: Heater The Chopper Boys: Stranded at sea... The Chopper Boys: ...a ship passes... The Chopper Boys: ...fishing... The Chopper Boys: ...night... The Chopper Boys: ...almost rescued... The Chopper Boys: ...alternate ending 1, Navy rescue. The Chopper Boys: ...alternate ending 2, Blimp rescue. The Chopper Boys: Welcome back The Chopper Boys: Don't cross that field (kites) The Chopper Boys: Don't cross that field (fireworks) The Chopper Boys: Don't cross that field (balloons) The Chopper Boys: Don't cross that field (clothesline) The Chopper Boys: Don't cross that field (perfectly open) The Chopper Boys: Stowaway (snake refugee from Jenks' PT-22) The Chopper Boys: The last snake The Chopper Boys: Fate of stowaway snake thrown out of helicopter The Chopper Boys: The foam aircraft The Chopper Boys: Observing the Bomb Squad The Chopper Boys: First squad war games The Chopper Boys: In the wrong cartoon The Chopper Boys: No! No! No! (In Jack and Joe's jetstream) The Chopper Boys: Allen Airport The Chopper Boys: Orion flyby The Chopper Boys: Starship Invincible flyby The Chopper Boys: Patrol The only full-page cartoon with more than two panels in this series. This was apparently drawn on paper cut out from a paper bag. The large white blob is corrective ink covering up a word balloon that says "why?"
	The Soldiers BD often did both humorous cartoons and autobiographical cartoons about war, the army, and his war experiences. These examples are the Soldiers. They'll Break Through Here On Lookout Don't Chop The Tree I don't know if these are the funniest or not, but they're the ones I liked. The rest of The Soldiers cartoons: The Soldiers: Gas! The Soldiers: Sleep The Soldiers: By dawn's early light The Soldiers: Presents The Soldiers: Morse code The Soldiers: Zeroed in The Soldiers: Enemy behind the lines The Soldiers: Out of ammunition The Soldiers: Don't fire the bazooka The Soldiers: Watching the launch on TV The Soldiers: Grenade countermeasure The Soldiers: Happy new year The Soldiers: One of our bombs The Soldiers: Men ("The Visiting Officer") The Soldiers: Take the enemy position The Soldiers: Eggs for breakfast The Soldiers: Oblivious The Soldiers: Enough of this war foolishness The Soldiers: Over the hill in a tank The Soldiers: Sick of this crummy hill... The Soldiers: ...oh, no! The Soldiers: Ricochet The Soldiers: Mutually ineffective The Soldiers: Success (for once!) The Soldiers: Clean that gun The Soldiers: Peace The Soldiers: Campfire in peace, with a visitor The Soldiers: Visitors join the campfire The Soldiers: Too many visitors! The Soldiers: Proper uniform
	The Bomb Squad Closely related to The Soldiers was another series called The Bomb Squad. Both involved a lot of explosions. The Bomb Squad took a while to develop as its own concept: many of the earliest cartoons in this series were labeled The Soldiers, Stick Figures, etc. Wrong header! Don't pull that lever. (It started out as a Chopper Boys cartoon, but wound up starring the Bomb Squad.) The Bomb Squad: Model C The Bomb Squad: A New Model The Bomb Squad: Fuse The Bomb Squad: It's disarmed The Bomb Squad: Remember the last four The Bomb Squad: Tree surprise The Bomb Squad: Bigger tree surprise (never trust the enemy) The Bomb Squad: One of ours The Bomb Squad: Stolen bomb The Bomb Squad: Early The Bomb Squad: A long day The Bomb Squad: A wasted day The Bomb Squad: I like the travel The Bomb Squad: Scott's not here The Bomb Squad: Mine field The Bomb Squad: New robot at work The Bomb Squad: New robot removes bomb The Bomb Squad: Christmas present The Bomb Squad: It's a habit The Bomb Squad: Time to go to work The Bomb Squad: Taking the Jeep The Bomb Squad: Our office The Bomb Squad: New bomb fuse detector The Bomb Squad: Lunch break
	Jack And Joe Only a few Jack and Joe cartoons are extant now, but I seem to remember more. They were yet another manifestation of the military and aviation aspects of BD's cartoons. The airplanes were #5 and #7. Jack and Joe are unusual in the sense that they're flying jets. BD's experience was almost wholly with propeller driven aircraft, and some with helicopters because his son flew them in the army. Radar Compass Heat-seeking missile
	Captain Jenks And His PT-22 Captain Jenks (whom I called "Jenkins" in one of my wire-crossed mental filing system errors similar to "Joe Denver" for "Joe Dever") was a character who flew the classic PT-22 aircraft, which BD obviously liked. The idea of an adventurer whose main task in life was a recurring theme for BD, cf Starship Orion's Commander Scott and The Chopper Boys. Jenks was a short-lived character who had a run of cartoons in sequence, and never appeared again. The Primary Trainer was a propeller-driven airplane used in World War II as the first stage of pilot training. The Army Air Corps (the US Air Force did not exist until 1947) bought some Ryan Aeronautical civilian training aircraft, designated it the PT-16, and liked them so much that they ordered more planes from Ryan. The new model was designated the PT-22, the "Recruit", and was in production from 1941 to 1942. Some of the approximately 1100 of these planes have found their way into civilian hands, since the model was eventually designated Army surplus after the war, and are in museums and owned by collectors. That Cpt. Jenks bought one of these after the war is not out of the realm of possibility. (1) Captain Jenks' First PT-22 Adventure (2) In The Jungle (3) In The Jungle (4) In The Jungle Long before Dell was the name of a computer manufacturer, it was the name of a comic book imprint, which primarily published titles related to licensed characters, aimed at younger children. (5) In The Jungle (6) In The Jungle (7) In The Jungle (8) In The Cave I do not remember the suggestion I made that inspired this episode. (9) In The Jungle The order of the cartoons in this series is most likely a later reconstruction and is not necessarily the order in which they were produced.
	Just Sketching A look at some of BD's life experiences.
	Pokunk BD's signature cartoon. Two versions are extant, although there are no telling how many he did and sent to people. Smaller version with orange airplane Full-page version with blue airplane
	Industrial Espionage Another cartoon which is similar in nature to the Podunk one, but with less notoriety. (LTD, by the way, used to be either a type of car or a car manufacturer. It no longer exists that I know of.)
	Watercolor Where did I get my artistic talent? BD's watercoloring had to be a big influence on me, and I had to have inherited something from him.
	Airplane Watercolor BD was an aviator, and much of his art reflected his love of aviation. This watercolor is a great example. He did many other pieces like this, as well as creating the Chopper Boys, Jack And Joe, and many other aviation-related characters and situations.
	Doc And The Nursery Rhymes BD did a whole series of cartoons based on illustrating the absurdities of nursery rhymes. This Doc character was my favorite of the series. I never got much out of nursery rhymes, especially some of the strange and inexplicable elements of the rhymes, and these literal interpretations were hilarious to me. Others in this series: Nursery Rhyme: Ballad of The Two Kittens Nursery Rhyme: Kitten Mittens Missing Nursery Rhyme: Little Boy Blue Nursery Rhyme: The House That Jack Built Nursery Rhyme: Mother Hubbard Nursery Rhyme: The Cat And The Fiddle Nursery Rhyme: Mary Had A Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme: Song Of Sixpence Nursery Rhyme: The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe Nursery Rhyme: Piggy Went To Market Nursery Rhyme: Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Nursery Rhyme: Simple Simon Met A Pie Man Nursery Rhyme: Little Miss Muffet Nursery Rhyme: Peas Porridge Hot This was one of my favorites, too. Nursery Rhyme: The Crooked Man Looking back, I'm surprised at how many of these B. D. did, because I don't remember there being so many. What these generally have in common is some memorable character who can be drawn in a humorous way, like Simple Simon or the woman who lived in a shoe.
	Stick Figures There were few Stick Figures cartoons. The Stick Figures and the Little People were closely related, and the art style makes it hard to tell where one stopped and the other started. It often seemed the logo at the top was the main determinant of which people the cartoon was about. Stick Figures: School Daze Stick Figures: Umbrella / The Swing The second of these is based on a true-life experience. Stick Figures: Kites / Fishing Stick Figures: Bicycle / Foot races Stick Figures: Marbles / Frog jumping Stick Figures: (With The Little People) Model Airplane Stick Figures: That's Not Wood Stick Figures: Plink Stick Figures: Balloon Stick Figures: Let's eat Sketch on back of this page Stick Figures: Jogging Stick Figures: Elephant gun Stick Figures: Climb Stick Figures: Radar Stick Figures: Arrow "Bury me where this arrow lands" is part of the legend of Robin Hood. In his childhood, B. D. was almost certainly exposed to these legends through the book by Howard Pyle. (Although there is no direct evidence of this, this book was popular among boys in this time.) The Epilogue of this book has an illustration of Robin Hood and Little John entitled "Robin shooteth his last shaft" (complete with straight, "f" looking, forms for the letter "s"). I suspect this is the inspiration, whether direct or dimly remembered, for the setting of the first panel. The exact quote, in Pyle's overblown prose, is "...mark, I prythee, where this arrow lodges, and there let my grave be digged." Stick Figures: Strange animal The strange animal is the cartoon character Garfield. Most likely this cartoon came when I got a stuffed Garfield cat by mailorder in 1981 or 1982; at the time, merchandise based on the cartoon strip was not common. Stick Figures: Building
	The Little People Although the adventures of the Little People were not prolific, they did appear on occasion. This cartoon is one of my favorites. I loved the irony of the guy finding a dime and missing the biggest event in history. I also liked them bringing the moon buggy back. The Little People Go Swimming This is based on a suggestion I made, no doubt in connection with going swimming at the Bear Creek apartments. There was a joke or story behind "the Australian crawl" which I can't quite remember. How'd he make Sergeant? What is it?
	Sundry A few cartoons are uncategorizeable, and a few series had only a handful of episodes. Hubert Hubert had only this one adventure. He was a character which never recurred, for whatever reason. I know this is the only Hubert cartoon BD ever made. "SAMs" are surface to air missiles. Columbia was a space shuttle back in the 1980s. The tank is a booster rocket or fuel tank which fell off after the fuel was exhausted. Flowers, mister? Unfortunately, I had to ask B. D. what the joke was. I was not a very quick child. The woman is trying to sell flowers to the man with the overgrown flower garden. Just a Sketch Another retelling of a nursery rhyme. These were hilarious to me, because I had never seen a "Christmas pie", nor knew one would have plumbs, nor why anyone would use a thumb to pull one out. To see these sorts of anachronistic rhymes lampooned were funny, particularly because I took things pathologically literally as a child, and did not appreciate that the rhyme of "thumb" and "plumb", complete with the matching silent -b, was more important to the rhyme than the literal action. How To Detect A Poison Spider Fortunately, I never tried this. Sgt. Scott at his post A commentary on my energetic style of playing army at the time. Commercials, yet? A fake commercial for dodging the draft, unusual subject matter for B. D.! How To Make A TV Show A commentary on the banality and repetition of television. (At the time, cable TV did not exist, and the amount of repeating done by the few UHF stations buying syndication rights to old TV shows and movies was quite moderate compared to the now hundreds of channels buying syndication rights to old TV shows and movies.) Of course, B. D. watched television, and perhaps he doth protest too much. The Wild, Wild West Off to jail Draw, you varmit! Get the drop on him You win! Gold! Horses' mouths How a gold rush starts Gold City Sundown Thanksgiving The Great Turkey The Day Before Thanksgiving The turkey is thumbing a ride out of town before the fatal day. (I had to ask B. D. what the turkey was doing.) Surprise The surprise now is that I can't remember what the surprise was.

Gene's Cartoons

During the late 1970s, and while I was with B. D. in the early 1980s, he also made several cartoons for his son Gene and his two children (Catherine and Stewart). These "lost" cartoons were supplied by Eugene McKay for me to scan.

	Flying, 4/24/67 Unfortunately, this is in faint pencil.
	Spring At Last! From March, 1979.
	Great Moments In Government From March, 1979.
	Basic Training From March, 1979. I remember B. D. telling me of crawling through the confidence course under live fire going by overhead.
	The Dreams We Had! From October, 1978. B. D., at least later in life during his retirement, used the themes of real life to create art, usually from the point of view of looking back. These "cartoons" often have only the kind of humor that comes from contrasting later life with how people are early in life before they have been shaped and molded by the years.
	Myrtle Beach From late summer, 1979. If B. D. took photographs of the beach trip, I can't ever remember seeing them. Some of the writing on this was in a color that faded badly and is now illegible.
	Well, Shall We Talk Trucks? From October, 1979. This is similar to one B. D. drew for me.
	Things You May Not Remember About The Mountains From February, 1979
	Don't Never Move! From April 5, 1978. Much of B. D.'s stuff was still in boxes by the time I arrived in 1980, so the $25 question was never totally settled.
	Hendersonville From April, 1978. The city of four seasons, all in one day.
	Careers For Stewart From May, 1978. Very similar to the one B. D. drew for me. (It is curious that none of the three children who received these followed any of these careers.)
	Careers for Catherine Similar to the one for Stewart.
	Spring In The Hills From May, 1978
	Commercials We'd Like To See From May, 1978.
	Good Grief, Not Again! From June, 1978. More experiences in Hendersonville.
	Once Upon A Time... From June, 1978.
	We Put A Man On The Moon, But... From June, 1978.
	Some Airplanes You Might Not Know About... From July, 1978.
	Please! No More Nostalgia! From July, 1978.
	A Glimpse Into The Future (for Catherine) (Undated, but done at the same time as the one for Stuart.)
	A Glimpse Into The Future (for Stuart) From July 1978. Remarkably, the third panel is an accurate prediction of the Internet, although tape has been replaced by other media.
	I'll Give You Bored! From October 1978. Educational cartoons such as this one were often couched in self-deprecating humor centered on the fact that, with a wink and a nod, B. D. was admitting that "school" and education was boring, while he knew that the readers would digest the material in this format much easier.
	Did You Ever Try It? From October, 1978. This version is similar to one B. D. did for me about the same time. "Somebody" is H. W. Longfellow, who, in the poem "The Day Is Done", wrote as the last line: "Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, and as silently steal away."
Birthday Card (front) Birthday Card (inside)	Birthday Card (Undated.)