The Plains, the Mountains and San Diego

 What's the opposite of success? 

Most people would say the opposite of success is failure, but consider this. Success isn't possible without failure as they are two sides of the same coin; book ends if you will, so even though success may be on the opposite end of the failure spectrum it isn't the opposite of the experience of success. The real opposite of true success is mediocrity.

Webster defines mediocrity:

"of only moderate quality; not very good"

Mediocrity is doing just enough to get by; adequate but nothing more. It's just enough to pay the bills and keep gas in the car and not much else.

South Dakota

I drove through South Dakota a long time ago and it was the flattest place I'd ever seen. I drove from one end of the state to the other and the only thing higher than the land around me was my car. I felt like if I stood on the eastern border of the state, I could look west and see the whole state, all the way to the western border, without interruption. 

Montana

But then, after driving for a few hours, I ended up in Montana which is the opposite of South Dakota with gigantic mountains that seemed to never end. The views were indescribable. I felt like I wouldn't have appreciated the magnificence of the mountains if I had not first been through the featureless plains of S. Dakota. 

Someone once said, a person can never know how beautiful it is on the mountain top unless they've been in the deepest valley. If there were no valleys, there would be no mountains. If there was no bad, there would be no good. If there were no failure, there would be no success. 

Go Ahead and Vomit

One more story. As a young recruit in San Diego, our drill instructors had us understand in their own colorful manners, that during the brutal training we were undergoing, we were going to pass out from exhaustion, vomit from the heat, pull muscles, get bruised, bloodied and blistered. 

"So what?", they said. "When you get through vomiting or when you regain consciousness, just pick up where you left off and finish." 

You can't have success without failure even if it means vomiting your guts out.

Joleen is Having a Bad Day

When I showed this particular gag to some people, they asked "who is she talking to?". 

Fair question, but my intention was to make it appear as if Joleen were talking to someone off-screen like a husband or a friend. 

Yes, I know before I put this to publication in another book, I should make modifications, but I think it brings to mind something totally unrelated to the joke itself. The fact is, most of the people who I showed it to, initially, knew that Joleen was talking to someone not pictured until I asked, "Does it look like she's talking to an invisible man?". 

"Oh, yeah, maybe, now that you mention it." some people answered.

Afterwards, I began formulating the theory that most people don't notice imperfections until someone points them out. I experience this many, many times in my profession. When I see the mistakes and faults and imperfections in things I draw (or anything else for that matter) others do not. So, I thank them for the compliments and move on to the next drawing, without bringing to their attention, the flaws. 

Garnish, Steak Dinners and Windows

 

Garnish doesn't make the steak taste better. 

What does that mean? I think to understand it better, it may help to define what garnish means.

Garnish: To decorate or embellish, especially related to food.

If a restaurant garnishes a steak dinner by putting a sprig of parsley on the plate, it's for appearances only and has nothing to do with the way the food tastes. The way the steak tastes has to do with the cut of meat, the way it was prepared, and how it was cooked, which has everything to do with the chef. 

But it looks so good

In the mind of the person eating the meal, the appearance of garnish next to the steak may give him the impression that it tastes better but even in that case, if the steak sucks, he will not likely order it again (or may never return to the restaurant) regardless of how green the sprig of parsley is sitting next to it. In fact, I've had steaks so tough and bland, I left most of the steak and ate the parsley instead.  

In my particular line of work, if I had pretty drawing paper and fancy pens, but wasn't skilled at drawing, I wouldn't be in business very long. As a window cleaner, I can have a nice uniform, new equipment and a fancy ladder, but if I don't get the windows clean, I'll not receive return calls or have any more customers. 

So, in conclusion, maybe it means to be wary of outward appearances. What does the work say?

Not Playing by the Same Rules

 

A lion, feeling majestic one hot afternoon, was sauntering through the jungle when he happened upon a hyena and the lion rumbled,

“Who’s the mightiest of the forest?”

“You are” said the hyena, meekly.

“Thats right”, declared the lion who walked away smugly.

He then approached a zebra, gazed at him and said again,

“Who’s the mightiest of the forest?”

The zebra fearfully said, “You are.”

“That’s right”, said the lion as he resumed his walk. He then saw a huge elephant feeding on the cool, tasty leaves located high in an Acacia tree and with self-assurance the lion said to him,

“Who’s the mightiest of the forest?”

At that the great elephant peered at him with his black eyes over his massive trunk, reached out, gripped the lion and pounded him on the ground with great force several times. He then held him down while he stomped him into the dirt repeatedly with his massive foot and finally the mastodon kicked him 20 feet into the rigid trunk of the Acacia tree where the lion fell to the ground, dazed.

Finally, after regaining his senses, the lion looked up through his battered face a said, wearily “he just doesn’t understand. He just doesn't understand.”