SkADaMo 2014

kill ralphie
The light was getting purple and soft outside.
Almost time for my father to come home from work.
What’s the matter? What you crying for?
Daddy’s going to kill Ralphie.
No, he’s not.
Yes, he is, too.
No, he’s not.
I promise you Daddy is not going to kill Ralphie.
Why don’t you come on out of there?
Would you like some milk?
You would?
Here you go.
All right?
I’ll see you later? Okay. Bye.
I heard the car roar up the driveway, and a wave of terror broke over me.
He’ll know what I said, the awful things that I said.

SkADaMo 2014

fight
Deep in the recesses of my brain…
a tiny red-hot little flame began to grow.
Something had happened.
A fuse blew and I had gone out of my skull.
I’m telling my dad!
Hey, Ralphie!
Beat him up! Beat him up!
Did you hear what he said?
I have since heard of people under…
extreme duress speaking in strange tongues.
I became conscious that a steady torrent of obscenities…
and swearing of all kinds was pouring out of me as I screamed.

Ralphie!

SkADaMo 2014

Oooh fuuudge!
Only I didn’t say “Fudge.” I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the “F-dash-dash-dash” word!
*What* did you say?
Uh, um…
That’s… what I thought you said. Get in the car. Go on!
It was all over – I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph. Mere child’s play compared to what surely awaited me.
Xmas_lifebuoy72_Rbaird1
Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. My personal preference was for Lux, but I found Palmolive had a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor – heady, but with just a touch of mellow smoothness.
Life Buoy, on the other hand…
YECCHH!

SkADaMo 2014

xmas_leg lamp_rbaird

The snap of a few sparks, a quick whiff of ozone, and the lamp blazed forth in unparalleled glory.

Oh, look at that! Will you look at that? Isn’t that glorious? It’s… it’s… it’s indescribably beautiful! It reminds me of the Fourth of July

SkADaMo 2014

Xmas_Farkus1_Rbaird

Scut Farkus! What a rotten name!
We were trapped. There he stood, between us and the alley.
Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes! So, help me, God! Yellow eyes!

SkADaMo 2014

Xmas_snowsuit5_Rbaird

Preparing to go to school was like getting ready for extended deep sea diving….

Come on mom, we’re going to be late!

My kid brother looked like a tick about to pop!

What’s wrong?

I can’t put my arms down!

Put your arms down when you get to school!

SkADaMo 2014

Today starts SkADaMo 2014, a month long Sketchathon started by the UBER talented Linda Silvestri.

There are no rules. There are no winners. Sketch what you want, as often as you can. It’s really fun to find out what everyone comes up with. Post your sketches or links to your blog on facebook, twitter, instagram, tumblr, flickr or pinterest,  and add the  hasthtag #SkADaMo

Me, I like to come up with a theme to keep me motivated. Last year I did a Cajun theme and enjoyed the heck out of it. This year I’m feeling a little more Christmasy, so this is my theme for SkADaMo 2014. They won’t all be finished, after all this is a sketchathon and/or colored but this is what I’ve got on the brain. It’s one of my favorites!

red rider72_RBairdskadamo-2014-post-monkey