(Note from Kevin: I’m taking a break from writing about teaching in order to do some different kinds of writing, with an aim towards humor. Here, I try out the monologue technique with the silent partner. And today, you can listen as I podcast a reading of the piece.)
Listen to the podcast.
Hey, come on in. Ignore those comics. Just move them off the couch. The floor is fine. What? They’re my kids’. Really. Maybe not THAT comic. But the others, for sure. Yeah, true, I was reading this Mother Goose and Grimm when you walked in. It was close enough to grab and you were running late, remember. But really, they’re my kids’ comics.
That’s true. I do turn to the comic page first in the newspaper. You remember that, eh? It is a bit odd for a former journalist who spent so many years as a political junkie. You would think that the front page would be the first thing I would read. What’s that? You read the sports first? So, there you go. I’m not the only one who jumps to what interests them.
Why comics? Why not? Don’t give me that look. I know you hate it when I answer a question with a question. Hmmm. Why comics? I suppose … there is something interesting about the art. No, that would not explain Dilbert. It’s the writing. But … not always. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it has to do with remembering Sunday mornings as a kid. I did get up early. You, too? Before the rest of the family? Yeah. Particularly when I had my newspaper route. I’d come home from that, my hands all grimy with newsprint, and after I’d wash up, I’d sprawl out on the ground, on my belly usually, with the Sunday comics like a canvas before me and a bowl of sugary something at my side. Too bad they don’t give paper routes to kids anymore.
What? My kids do read the comics. Yours don’t? That’s odd. Sorry. I should have said, that seems odd to me. I’m not being judgmental. Honest. So, what do they read? What do you mean, nothing? You can’t be serious. Books? Magazines? Nothing? Here, take this home. If Calvin and Hobbes doesn’t elicit a chuckle out of them, then nothing will.
What’s that? Ha. Yeah. That is a funny one, isn’t it? That Calvin is always up to something. Here, let me show you my favorite comic in this. Let’s see .. ahh, here it is. I knew you’d like it. Calvin reminds me of you. Just a bit. In a good way. Maybe that’s what I like about comics. They peer a bit into who we are, and all in just a few frames. No, don’t worry about it. The kids won’t miss that book. I’ve got another stack in our bedroom upstairs they can read. Let me know how it goes, will you? I’d hate to think that your kids are just sitting around, not reading anything. Not when there are plenty of great comics around. See ya.
Peace (in the silence),
Kevin