Hello beautiful people! It’s so good to see you again! Thank you for gracing me with your presence. I have less words for you this week. I love you just as much as ever!

These Days …

I went to Analy High School in Sebastopol, California. I moved to Seattle in the early 90s and I’ve only sporadically been back. Through the magic of the internet and social media I’ve learned that Analy has been renamed West County High School. There’s a Facebook group dedicated to reversing that. I’m part of the group. I don’t participate much. I don’t pay property taxes in Sebastopol so I don’t feel I have much say in the decisions about the school. Apparently enrollment both there and the “rival” high school, El Molino, has dropped so much that changes needed to be made. El Molino has been shut down and the student there are to finish their high school years at Analy. The school board decided, apparently without consulting the general population, to rename to school. This will require new signs, uniforms and other things that will cost money. Which is weird to me since I thought the whole point of consolidating the schools was to save money.

Most of what I know comes in dribs and drabs from the FB group. There are a lot of people passionately opposed to the changes. A very 21st Century part of the fight has happened at Wikipedia. Analy’s entry has been subsumed into the West County High School entry. Not so odd. The ridiculous bit is that, for a few days, many notable alumni had their entries changed to say that they had graduated from West County. That name is only a month old. No one has gradutated from it yet. No one can graduate from it retroactively.

I’m tempted to add “graduated from Analy High School” to my Wikipedia entry but not enough to actually do it. I’m just not that nostalgic for my high school years.

While I don’t have much attachment to the school, I do have bonds and love for friends I made while attending  the place. Early tomorrow morning Sarah and I will take a road trip down to Northern California. Last September my friend, Andy Syversen, passed away. Andy and I were in the same graduating class at Analy. We remained friends. His family is finally able have his memorial. Flying had already become an unpleasant experience before covid. Adding in the possibility of having to deal with idiots and uncomfortable seating while flying and then figuring out rental cars and places to sleep at the other end and we decided we’d rather just drive. It should only take twice as long and we’ll both be happier. We’ll drive down Saturday, attend the memorial on Sunday and then drive back Monday.

On Tuesday I’ve got plans to meet up with another former alumni who will be passing through Seattle. Hopefully I’ll have recovered enough to be good company.

The Mighty Nizz

This kid. This kid, the Mighty Nizz, has her own collections in both my Zazzle and my Redbubble stores. Clearly she’s one of my favorite subjects. I did a lot of illustrations of her before I opened the stores. I’ve done more since. As I’ve gotten more experienced designing for physical objects I’ve been editing and/or expanding some of the early illustrations. Here are a few of the before and afters –

This kid leads a busy life.

As do we all.

May you find some joy in all the activity. And some peace.

See you next week!