SkADaMo 2014

The weeks of drinking gallons of Ovaltine, in order to get…
the Ovaltine inner seal to send off for my Little Orphan Annie…
secret decoder pen, was about to pay off.
decoder-ring
Remember, kids, only members of…
Annie’s secret circle can decode Annie’s secret message.
Remember, Annie is depending on you.
Set your pins to B-2.
Here is the message.
12. 11. 2…
I am in my first secret meeting.
…25. 14. 11. 18.
16. 23…
Pierre was in great voice tonight.
I could tell that tonight’s message was really important.
…3. 25.
That’s a message from Annie herself. Remember, don’t tell anyone.
Ninety seconds later I’m in the only room in the house…
where a boy of nine can sit in privacy and decode.
Ah! “B.” I went to the next.
“E.” The first word is “be”!
“S.” It was coming easier now. “U.”
“T. O.”
“Be sure to.” Be sure to what?
What was Little Orphan Annie trying to say? Be sure to what?
I was getting closer now.
The tension was terrible. What was it?
The fate of the planet may hang in the balance.
Almost there! My fingers flew.
My mind was a steel trap.
Every pore vibrated.
It was almost clear.
Yes!
Ovaltine?
A crummy commercial?

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_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_tripledog2_rbaird

Well I double-DOG-dare ya!

NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare you”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare.

I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!

 Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!

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