The Assignment

I’ve told a version of this story before, the one

about the therapist who faulted me for being

unwilling to ask for help.

I neglected to tell her about the time I had a

freelance job assigned to me by a prestigious

publishing firm.

They needed over a hundred full-color illustrations

for a children’s slide presentation they were putting

together.

The project director told me that the project had to be

completed within two weeks, preliminary sketches to

the finished works.

Can do, I told him. I needed the money, and even

though I had a full-time job to boot, I committed

to the deadline.

Son-of-a-bitch, I knew I had bitten off more than I

could chew. So, I interviewed two other artists, tying

to enlist help with my overwhelming assignment.

Neither one was suitable for the job, so I worked

alone through the nights for the next two weeks in

order to get the job done.

I had sought help which didn’t work out, so I wound

up doing the work all on my own. I had forgotten to

tell the therapist about that.

I am not Walt Disney Productions, you know. I don’t

command a staff of artists, a hundred of which can

animate Mickey Mouse at any given time.

Had that incident come to mind at the time, I may have

most certainly told that therapist of mine, you can go

eat shit and die!

Chris Hanch 7-9-19