Bluedude, A Retrotoast

I have a lot of posts that I would guess no one has actually viewed.  It turns out there is a little doojahickey thingy here on Blogger that tells me that many of my early posts went, shall we say, unnoticed.  The decision I had to make is whether to link back to them or show them again in their entirety.  The answer follows, shown originally in May of 2012.

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 I am digging this guy:

You might remember him flying his jet in my very first post Ain't It True.  This time N drew him.

I really like this color palette, the blues and turquoises, a little red to rosy his cheeks, accent the sun and draw attention to the flowers he is holding.  I am not sure why he is wearing Paul Revere's hat and I have never been able to truly trust people in bunny slippers, but, I really do dig this guy.  (He strikes me as Swiss, as if he's preparing to yodel about his missing suspenders and his ironically large buttons.)

Here's the thing; there is more to it than just Bluedude.

Bluedude is what I get for not having much to do in my truck (he was drawn on the way to church on the little black sketchbooks the boys have in the backseat). 

Bluedude springs from imagination of a happy kid and an idle mind.  Giving kids nothing to do is probably one of the greatest gifts we can give.  Filling their days with endless practices and the like denies them the time they so urgently need to do nothing.

Bluedude is happy, nearly all the boys protagonists are happy, it's only the bad guys who frown.  Happy faces = happy boys, in my mind.

Bluedude is the result of something big; the time and energy we have put into making them feel safe and happy, nourished and nurtured, loved and respected.

Bluedude is officially my mascot, his arms forever wide open, silly hat on his head, flowers in his hand, a smile on his face... and bunnies on his feet.

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In my mind I sort have a little explaining rationalizing bullshitting to do.  I talk about this blog being for the boys; how I want them to have something real and honest to look back on, a legacy if you will; how I so desperately want them to know and understand how very deeply and profoundly they were loved and cherished; how I noticed how perfect their imperfections, how worthy their efforts and failures.

Yeah, well, that's true, but...

Listen, here's the thing - recently, some people on the innerwebs have been very kind to me, complimentary even and, well, I like it.  People have been looking at my posts and commenting and noticing me and, well, I like it.  I personally feel like I'm getting better at understanding what I am doing here and, well, I like it.

Guilty as charged.

So, on Thursdays (it is Thursday, isn't it?) I am going to keep running these 'retrotoasts' and see if  anyone likes it.  I often look back at past posts and, nearly always, I think, damn it's a shame no one saw that, or I'll laugh again at the image presented, at  the sheer silliness that I like to showcase, and think yeah, I should run that one more time.

Thanks for taking a look, again...