Busy Week

Me and the very talented Ivan the Bear.



David Pitts and his faithful companion, Frank the Wonder Dog!

This is Saturday's post, which I started but never finished. It was so busy this past week we couldn't see straight so the postings were delayed. Oopsy! This post, though completed on Monday, was started on Saturday the 14th and will have that as the day and date ( as you can very well see) when I finally get it done. The Saturday Morning Matinee and Slapstick Theater will also be posted before the end of the day.

The photos above were taken at a Tow Truck Convention that took place this past weekend at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio. David Pitts (pictured directly above) hired me to help out with some face painting and walkaround puppet work in the kid section they had set up. Thanks David. I had a lot of fun and painted quite a few dragons that day. I don't know why. Frank the Wonder dog was very popular with kids and Ivan the Bear showed off his circus skills to children of all ages.

Eye in the Sky

I took a photo of this gorgeous sunset this past Tuesday. I drove over to the nearby shopping center for a better view. The skies were calm and dry. Today's weather was radically different with some much needed rain drenching San Antonio and the surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, it was part of a large storm that included plenty of lightning, hail and in some cases tornadoes, which was experienced by the cities and towns to our west. It wasn't quite so severe for us. I'll have to catch the news to see how rough it was for everyone else. On the bright side the Edwards Aquifer got a good drink and if we get some more rain soon it might mean the end of the drought. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

21st Century Nipping at My Heels!

My lovely wife Pammy, riding shotgun on our way to San Marcos for lunch with Rik Gern, Bob Abdou and Ian Varella.

David Pitts: mild- mannered illustrator and entertainer, sitting patiently as we hit the road. Not once did he ask," Are we there yet?"

Pammy, Rik Gern and David chillin' at a very cool Chinese restaurant.

Pammy is all smiles because we're socializing with grownups. We're so wild and crazy!

Two illustrators go dueled as we were waiting for the other guests to arrive. It was a ...should I say it?...It was a draw!! Bring on the corn!

It's finally happened. After a decade of putting it off, because I really don't want one, I've finally purchased a cell phone. My work as Doc Ed for the Edwards Aquifer Authority has gotten to the point where the good ol' Doc needs to be easily found. Bummer. On the bright side it's only one of those pay as you go phones and best of all I'll be reimbursed for it. I can live with that but one of these days we'll have to get one of our own.

Today I found myself on the far side of San Antonio. Actually I was in the town of Von Ormy, just a hop, skip and a jump from town for a Doc Ed show at Barrera Elementary. When I last visited the school it was early winter. The day was grey, windy and cold. I really enjoy that kind of day because a good cold winter day is somewhat uncommon round these parts. This time around it was warm and muggy but very cloudy because of the nearby storm system just to the east. In fact, as I traveled southbound down hwy 35 I caught a few sprinkles that really got my hopes up that we'd finally be getting some serious rain. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few minutes then the clouds moved away and it was bone dry again. Alas.

I posted a the few shots I took at our lunch yesterday. We were having so much fun I forgot to take photos after a while. What can I say. I was to busy gabbing and laughing. The last time we socialized with fellow show folk was in Salado at Granger Esch's place. That was a year ago. Along with the laughs with met and made new friends. It was great. We need to get out more. Sheesh!

I wanted to post a link to this ventriloquist website where Bob posted a photo of all of us at the restaurant. If you go to their blog section you'll find the photo in today's entry:

http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com/

The website itself is great. If you're a fan of ventriloquism and variety entertainment this site is a treasure. Check it out. By the way, we finally got the puppets from Bob and they look great. Thanks Bob. We'll put them to good use. I'll post some photos of them soon.

Road Trip Today

Pammy and I along with David Pitts drove to San Marcos to have lunch with Bob Abdou and Rik Gern. More on that tomorrow. Here's some photos taken today at sunrise and sunset. Which is which?

Let the Week Begin!

Hey, it's Monday! Another Mother's Day has come and gone. We had a great dinner last night with the in-laws to celebrate it. Now it's time to prepare for the week. This morning we had a meeting at the Edwards Aquifer Authority offices to chat about Doc Ed stuff. It was a very productive meeting. I started packing the freebies for this weeks shows too and I'll pop in tomorrow for one last look-see in the event I forgot something today.



Bob Abdou a.k.a. Mr. Puppet.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow because I'll be having lunch with some very cool people from the hometown variety entertainer business. I'll be enjoying Chinese food with Rik Gern (Bonzo Crunch, Fool at Large), Bob Abdou (Mr. Puppet) and David Pitts ( The Astonishing Mr. Pitts). Sounds like characters straight out of a comic book from the nineteen fifties. I don't visit often enough with these guys and it always feel good to hang out with kindred spirits. Bob and his wife will be pulling up stakes late this summer relocating to Columbus, Ohio in August. He will be sorely missed. He's a great guy and a fine entertainer. He'll be providing quality entertainment to all up north. Happy trails, Bob!



David Pitts a.k.a. The Astonishing Mr. Pitts.



Rik Gern a.k.a. Bonzo Crunch: Fool at Large.



Here's this week's Doc Ed schedule:

Wednesday, May 11th Barrera Elementary
Thursday, May 12th Knowlton Elementary

Slapstick Theater- Remembering Jackie Cooper

Jackie Cooper passed away early last week, so this week's Slapstick Theater is dedicated to him. Below is his bio from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Cooper

Sunday Morning Matinee- The Neverending Story

Happy Mother's Day!

Mi abuelita linda, Emilia Soto.

Happy Mother's Day

My very cool mother-in-law, Rosemary Leonard.

Happy Mother's Day!

My wonderful wife, Pammy.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mi querida madre, Emilia Cipriana Ramirez.