Visiting my parents in the country was always an adventure. My dad would eventually arrive, but the car was a bit unpredictable. "Junky Jack"  loved to tinker with his old cars, he often extended their life before they ended up on the scrap heap!

I really got into reading more and more McLuhan books after taking Eric's class. The work seemed to resonate with me and my thoughts on literacy. The Gutenberg printing press made mass education possible - and that was hundreds of years before it came to me! We all take for granted that the book has been around for a long time but it hasn't really, if you look at the big historical picture. Anyway, Ken had planted the seed of relocating out West, but I wasn't ready to consider the thought of moving so far away at that time in my life...

Back in the late 70's we took a trip to New York; I had never been there before, and I decided to do drawings of our trip rather than photos, 'cause I'm a bit camera shy! 

The upper left drawing is us standing around waiting to get in for a tour at the Marvel Comics office. Tom Orzechowski (he's one of the greatest letterers ever!) and Dean Motter were there with us. 2nd picture wis of Times Square, the 3rd pic is us at a great restaurant in NYC, in pic 4 we went to see the play A Day In Hollywood a Night in the Ukraine. Pic 5, we couldn't afford much so we stayed in the Iroquois, a scary cheap hotel; in it's day it was a great place but by the 70's it was totally creepy!. Pic 6 is us at the Metropolitan Museum, pic 7 the  World Trade Centre (!) Pic 8  window shopping at Bloomingdale's, and Pic 9 the scary subway!

Although these drawings weren't comic strips, they did have a certain narrative that I enjoyed doing, but didn't take them seriously at the time!

I think Alex's first day at school was more traumatic for me than it was for him. He had an amazing inventive spirit even back then, and I just hoped he would retain it while he learned to read and write. We are all born with imagination, but hanging on to it is another story. Some of us draw, some of us dance, some sing effortlessly as children. The effort of becoming literate is a huge task that takes many years to perfect - I'm still working on it! ;^)  

For many people the creative side gets pushed aside in order to focus on literacy - as Picasso once said said " It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to paint like a child." And Einstein said, "logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere." 

And so it goes. I'm glad I can draw, that  is my first language - the other one is English, which is a lot of work! 

This quote by Marshall McLuhan ties in nicely with these images:

"Innumerable confusions and a feeling of despair invariably emerge in periods of great technological transition" 
The technology of TV had a profound effect on literacy; our brains were changing as a result. The dominance of print was being overshadowed by TV, but both technologies had an effect on how we think, and literacy remains essential in order to function in our world. I had fallen through the cracks of the educational system, so the fear at that time in my life was; what's in store for my children? McLuhan observed that every time a new technology emerges, the ground changes, and the more we are inundated with new technology the more we have to adapt. The next generation is growing up in a digital world that requires a new kind of literacy, but hopefully we learn how to communicate effectively with all the new technology we have today.

The children's book CDB! by William Steig, was an interesting find because it used the individual letters of the alphabet, as actual words. By saying the letters Alex thought he was reading the book, it was a fun thing to do but I hope it didn't mess him up to much!! The book is full of fun stuff, although you have to read it aloud for the full effect. Another  book I recommend is Mots D'heures: Gousses, Rames  IBN 0 14 00. 5730 7  it's worth a look. The rhymes sound like English but are written in French - it's fun to ask someone who speaks  French and English to read it aloud and wait for their reaction!

I've got nothing against streetcar drivers and there're a lot of great ones out there but this time - this guy really pissed me off!  He actually said that, I was shocked, all I could do was blert out a few sarcastic words. I think if that were me today I would have said what's in the thought balloon. (I just noticed the thought balloon should have been placed above my head, oops!)