Morty Comix # 2515

 The fate of Morty Comix # 2515 is rather involved, so settle in and read this tale of wonder.

 I set a thin plank above the living room floor

 On this plank I precariously set puzzle pieces for all 50 states

 Then I took out some potent catnip in order to gain assistance from my little friends

 The catnip was sprinkled along the plank

 All set to go

And within minutes Charlie was on the job. I wanted to choose among the very last states left on the plank. Washington was one of the very first ones he sent to the floor.

Seeing that he had started the process, he decided to take a break.

Since it almost time to hit the hay anyway, I made a choice to just leave it for the night. By the next morning I noticed more pieces had been knocked to the floor in the course of the evening.

That morning Dreamer and Buster decided to check out this scene and add to the carnage. Dreamer's tail really did a number on many of the states remaining on the plank.

In fact, one end of the plank was knocked to the floor and the other barely held up by a tiny bit of the corner.

 Buster inspects Dreamer's handiwork.

It was at this point I left for the day.

 When I returned home from work, here's what the plank looked like.

 

Three states were left touching the top of the plank: Florida, Oregon, and Alaska

  

Oh, wait, I found Arizona under Alaska. Make that four states!

As it turned out after examining the earlier photos, I was in error. 

Arizona was merely where part of Alaska landed on the floor.

Then it was time to haul out the old Washington State House of Representatives Cafeteria tray and some wooden pegs.

The tray was placed on the kitchen floor and the four states were balanced on top of the pegs. I was going to let a cat narrow down the contenders, but this time I would pick the states that were knocked to the floor.

Charlie obliged within a minute, by knocking Florida to the floor.

He was enjoying batting around The Sunshine State so much on the linoleum I was afraid he was going to  knock the puzzle piece under my dead dishwasher, so I had to rescue it.

 So for good measure, he reacted by returning to the tray and punching down Arizona.

 Tired out by this activity, he returned to his duties as the sentinel of the kitchen window.

Meanwhile, Hettie, who is the smartest creature under this roof, observed all this foolishness with a bit a haughty disdain.

So it came to Arizona and Florida. I decided to enlist the help of my cartoonist comrade who also dates back to the Newave Comix days, Richard Krauss. As an Oregon resident, he knows we Pacific Northwesterners have to do something to keep occupied in these dark and rainy winter days.

Actually, all I did was ask him to choose either Arizona or Florida and explain why, but he went all out in the spirit of this random art distribution, which demonstrates how contagious it can be. When he was done I had a name and address. Here is Richard's response:

Of course, I'm honored to play "Where is the Morty Comix going to be sent?" The rules of this particular edition are somewhere in Arizona or Florida.

First thought was to flip through Delaine Derry Green's Not My Small Diary #17 to select a city. Her contributors span the country and she lists their addresses at the bottom of each page. There would likely be cities in the two states to narrow the selection. 

Another thought was to take a character name from my novelette in progress, Walt Hutchison, and see if the interwebs point to anyone. Bezango! There's a real estate agent in Fort Myers. And Linked-In lists a full 19 candidates. The Route Salesman at Bimbo Bakeries sounded like a winner, but unfortunately his location in the greater New York area was an instant disqualifier. I wonder if he'd consider moving?

I discussed the game with my family. Ideas of using Pinterest and six degrees of separation were discussed, without conclusion.

I searched "How to make a random selection" using Duck Duck Go. Too scientific.

Drawn to Florida, I downloaded a spreadsheet of population data from the Office of Economic & Demographic Research, scrambled the counties, closed my eyes, held my breath and blindly placed a cursor on Pasco County, population 464,697 by way of 2010 count. Now, we're getting somewhere.

A new search provided Pasco County, Florida results. The official site, leading the results nearly sucked me in, but no, Morty wouldn't go there. 

Pasco County was created in 1887. It was named after Samuel Pasco, who served in the Confederate Army and the U.S. Senate from 1887 to 1899. Towns include Anclote, Blanton, Dade City, Earnestville, Fort Dade, Macon and San Antonio.

The name Dade City is appealing and it's the county seat to boot. Population 6,449 in 2011.

Scrolling results for Dade City, Florida, the entry listing Bee Removal looked interesting. Turns out the resident beekeeper there is the lucky candidate. He is not actually located in Dade City, but he serves the area's bee removal needs and his company is located in Pasco County, in Lakeland.

 

Thanks Richard! Now, off to Florida!

Phone photo 2230

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Core

"Being a leader isn't about ability, it's about responsibility."

Phone photo 2229

Postcard - Aberdeen, Washington

"This telephoto view from Belaire Hill shows the Downtown Shopping Center and on the left the Modern New Bridge spanning the Chehalis River."

To help date this, the "Modern New Bridge" was built in 1955.

Somewhere in about the very middle of this postcard stood Eaton's Bookstall, where I bought most of my underground comix 40+ years ago and also met cartoonist John Workman before he moved to New York City. Eaton's was also one of the few places where you could buy my first pre-Newave comic, Gimmie Comics # 1. The building where Eaton's stood is long gone.

Phone photo 2228

Hettie and Buster

Morty Comix # 2514

Morty Comix # 2514 was wedged behind a shingle at a street entrance to a stairway near the main intersection of Montesano, Washington, our county seat.

Phone photo 2227

Deschutes River, defunct Olympia Brewery, and fish ladder

Tumwater, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Men in Black II

"Just about everybody who works in a post office is an alien."

Phone photo 2226

Treebranch Rectangle Space

Olympia, Washington

Postcard - Washington State

"Giant fir log from the forests of Western Washington. This log is 11 1/2 feet across the butt and contained 13,700 board feet. The logging crew shown here was proud of this one."

On the truck door I can make the words "G & D Co., Inc." Judging by the hair on the younger loggers I'm guessing this dates back to the late 1960s to mid-1970s. It was mailed to me in 1978.

Phone photo 2225

An orderly mole with a strong sense of direction

McCleary, Washington

Morty Comix # 2513

Morty Comix # 2513 was tucked away behind some forms for Selective Service (aka military draft registration) at the US Post Office in Tumwater, Washington.

Phone photo 2224

Olympia, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Carrie

 

"It was bad, Mama. They laughed at me."

Phone photo 2223

Snapped tree, Olympia, Washington

What, Me Worry?

An advertisement found in the Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Washington), Jan. 2, 1905. I thought those of you who grew up reading Mad would find this interesting.

"It Didn't hurt a bit"

PAINLESS EXTRACTING

50c

Examination Free.

ALL WORK GUARANTEED

Whatcom Dental Parlors

Dr. Charles C. Turner, 

Manager

See Electric Sign, Clover Blk.

Phone photo 2222

Chambers Creek fish ladder, Pierce County, Washington

Phone photo 2221

Pierce County, Washington

Morty Comix # 2512

Hey kids, let's play "Where is the Morty Comix going to be sent?" 

Tonight we will be finding a new home for Morty Comix # 2512.

I rummaged through my studio and found a bunch of old postcards I have been keeping for no apparent reason. They are actually pretty fun and maybe I'll start sharing them on this blog.

I grabbed a bunch at random, except I weeded out any non-U.S. geographic places.  Maybe after payday I'll consider international postage. As you can see, Charlie is supervising. The postcard sampling I was left with was spread across the floor under the ironing board.

 A line of foam darts was placed along the edge of the ironing board.

 I scraped through several drawers in the house to round up a small number of rubber bands.

 I took aim and shot all the bands.

 

Two darts were knocked on the postcards.

 

 And those cards were:

"Super Star Webb Pierce's Guitar Shaped Swimming Pool at his home 801 Curtiswood Lane, Nashville, Tenn. He has won more awards for hit records than any other country singer in the music business."

and

Stewart Falls Flats, from Sundance in Sundance, Utah.

So, figuring Tennessee is the 16th state and Utah the 45th state, I rolled the dice until I rolled a 1 and 6, or, a 4 and 5. Within a few rolls it was determined this comic was being sent to Sundance, Utah.

OK, now is this weird or what? Just today I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a movie I have not seen since it was first released in theaters! What are the odds? "I'm not crazy, I'm just colorful."

Anyway, Sundance, Utah is Robert Redford's project and this comic will be heading for one of his enterprises there.

My favorite Redford movie is The Hot Rock. I'll track down a copy one day.

Phone photo 2220

Steilacoom, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

"I don't know where we've been-- and I've just been there!"

Phone photo 2219

Steilacoom, Washington