Yesterday and Tomorrow

If from the title, Yesterday and Tomorrow, you were expecting something profound, philosophical or metaphorical about the Past and the Future, then I'm sorry to disappoint. No, quite literally, I meant yesterday, December 27, and tomorrow, December 29. And a little bit of today being book-ended in-between.

Yesterday would have been my mother's birthday. As regular readers of the blog know, we lost her this past August so this was our first birthday without her (and first Christmas and Thanksgiving and ...). Tomorrow will be the second anniversary of my father's passing. He hung on with his very being to have one more Christmas with the family. He even told me that I shouldn't have bought him a Nook because (he said), "I won't be around to use it." I told him not to talk like that, but a few days later he was back in the hospital. Part of me "knows" that he held on until after my mother's birthday.

The strange thing is that this weird alignment of these two biological anniversaries -- a birth and a death -- gets even stranger because it'll happen again next August. My mother passed away around my father's birthday. I guess she didn't want to be outdone. Maybe it was "payback".

Whatever it was, all I can do is think about the good times that I had with and enjoy good times with my family

Hmmm, I guess I did get a little metaphorical at the end.

Vets 2013

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(C)Copyright 2013, C. Burke.

And I didn't even work in the vet's vest. And that's his best vest, which means that if he works the hardest, it'll the best vet's best vest. You bet!

Don't be surprised if I work in "Let's Go Vets!" next year. Just lobbing that out there.

Happy Memorial Day 2013!

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(C)Copyright 2013, C. Burke.

Have a Happy Memorial Day, and remember those who made it possible.

Being that this is a themed comic -- the themes being math and teachers -- I don't usually have a Memorial Day comics. Moreover, what I'd want to do to commemorate the day is still beyond my skills. So this is my compromise. It's still a backyard barbecue, but there's some 'illogic' to it and there's a veteran running things.

And it's patriotic: Red: the inside of the burgers (and probably the steaks as well); White: the color of the T-shirt that prevents bad sunburns; and Blue: your lips five minutes after you get into the water!

By the way, around here, the water is definitely still too cold.

That's One Small Step ...

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(C)Copyright 2012, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

That's one small step off the couch, one giant leap over the coffee table, the television stand, the lamp, the bookcase . . .

I decided a long time ago that this comic strip (along with the blog that showcases it) could not become the Obit of the Week. I can't acknowledge every famous or historical person who may have influenced me in some way. I will try when I can -- when an idea occurs to me that fits and is something I'm capable of drawing.

That said, this is how I can pay tribute to both Neil Armstrong, a hero whose footsteps I would have loved to have followed in (and for once I can use the word literally!) and, at the same time, to my father.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

M4+h My Dad Says

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(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge when it opened and about the seventh longest at the time this image takes place.

For more Math my Dad says, you can follow My Father's Footsteps.