Bob Cox, the Man, the Catoon

 

As a student of cartoons and caricatures

for most of my life, I have made it a practice

to study and employ certain outstanding

features and traits of my subjects.

Mostly, my intent is to focus on particular

facial and bodily attributes of a the person

I have chosen to illustrate . If the nose is

pronounced, make it larger, should the

ears be oversize, focus on enhancing them

freakishly. Beady eyes and heavy brows,

elaborate those. And so on.

There was one character, however, who

possessed a unique trait which did not

fall into those previously mentioned

criteria. His name, Bob Cox. He was

the executive vice president of King

Radio, a company where I was employed

in the 1970s and early ‘80s.

Mr. Cox was a tall, lanky man who

made it a practice of always having

his hands in his pockets and putting

his rather gargantuan shoes on your

desktop whenever he stopped by to

talk. Rather disrespectful and

disgusting I would propose. Muslims

would have removed his head for

such an offense. Who knows what

kind of filth he had plodded through

during the course of a day? If a desk

wasn’t available then an empty chair,

a container or trash can would do.

The minute he stopped to talk, he’d

plop his size 14 clod hoppers up in

your face on whatever was available.

That, my friends, is how I decided to

portray his image as a unique and

clownish individual. No face or head

revealed for Bob Cox. No sir, just hands

in pocket and those gunboat shoes of

his up in your face. What’s more, and

the beauty of each portrayal, everyone

knew who it was being caricatured.

That’s how Mr. Bob Cox exercised

his stature and power as VP over the

minions at King Radio back in the day.

I’m guessing likely he has since passed

away. Had he become renown as having

done something great or outrageous

for humankind, he may have had a

most unique bronze of himself cast,

posed headless, hands in pockets,

wing-tips propped up revoltingly yet

cartoonishly laughable in your face.

At least he was captured and

preserved immemorially by me

in pen and ink on paper.

-30-

Chris Hanch 10-8-2023

Choices or Not

 

Pick and choose.

I can do what I want to do.

Skill or will

Am I able or not?

It comes naturally to me

or I have yet a lot to learn.

Either way, win or lose,

I get to pick and choose.

The key is, am I old

enough to know that

I am responsible

for the way things go?

In most cases

I see myself face to face.

I can either let it go

or accept and embrace.

Am I old and wise enough

to know? Have I learned

my lessons in life or not?

Mostly, my friends, I am

responsible for what I have

and have not. I accept,

however, once in awhile

a car crash or cancer

happens. Then of course

there’s the possibility of

that old “lightning striking

twice” thing.

              -30-

Chris Hanch 10-7-2023

Jazz, Man

 

Jazz me up, man

Jazz me down.

Jazz me inside

and out, man

jazz me

all around.

Scat, man

bebop, doo wop,

skiddly

diddly doo.

Jazz me up with

your rhythm,

with your sound.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 10-6-2023

Biblical

 

I begat, begat is what I

begat when I begat.

‘Tis fortunate for me,

I assure you,

that I shall not forget

that which through

begetting I had begot.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 10-5-2023

Face in Place and Time

 

How many grown older,

how many passed away

shall I consider and share

with you today? Birds in

flight, cows in the pasture

footprints across the sandy

beach in passing have no

name. Stars and galaxies

in the heavens shine. Your

name and mine can be

counted as well if only

one or the other can

remember our name.

Hello, friend, your face

in place and time is

unforgettable.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 10-5-2023

My Imaginings

 

There is a lot in my life

I have forgotten, but I

still have many memories

to fall back on.

And as my years have

progressively passed,

my memories seem

sweetened with a

sprinkling of sugar

each year.

Indulge me, please.

At my age my imagining

tells me, old memories

of mine over time

deserve to be fermented

mellow as they can be.

             -30-

Chris Hanch 10-3-2023

And for This, I am Grateful

 

The work I did to earn my way,

the wasted time of tens of thousands

of days past served to get me here

approaching my 77^th year.

My travels, my artworks, writing and

photography, the seriousness and wit was

my gift, portraying the chronology and

essence of the person I came to be.

Looking back at my personal impressions

and expressions of life, I could not have

asked for or wanted anything more diverse,

fulfilling and glorious than that.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 9-30-2023