There are a whole host of reasons why everyone on our staff enjoys both weekends and traveling, but one of the most important reasons is when we get to combine the two so that we can see our family, whatever that means these days.
This weekend, some of our extended cartooning family will be conveniently located near the Mall of America, in Minneapolis, for the Fall meeting of the North Central Chapter of The National Cartoonists Society. Another part of our family will be in Washington, DC, where the official dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be happening.
We're willing to bet that - like us - you've also got some friends you've known so long and so well that they're more like family than anything else. If the crazy stories you have from spending time with your "chosen family" are anything like the stories we have, we imagine that your tales are filled with laughter, love - and things you can't actually publish if you'd ever hope to get another gig. [Bucky - we're lookin' at you.]
The family we choose in life is almost more important than that in which we've been brought up. These are the people we bring into our homes and lives - and this weekend, some of them are people we'll be sharing with you, our readers.
If you're lucky enough to be in the Minneapolis area this weekend, we invite you to come out and see some of our family at the Midwest Comic Book Association FallCon. Stephan Pastis of "Pearls Before Swine", John Hambrock of 'The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee", Jerry Van Amerongen of "Ballard Street", as well our own wonderful editorial cartoonist, Paul Fell, will be there. Frankly, the entire membership of the North Central Tooners are incredibly talented people you might know - and we hope you get a chance to meet some of them this weekend.
If you're lucky enough to be in DC, the events around the Tidal Basin at the dedication of the MLK memorial should be beautiful, and include some folks you might also know, like Aretha Franklin, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Vice President Biden, and a guy one of our staff members calls his old boss - although we'd recommend that you call him President Obama.
No matter where you are this weekend, we hope that you take a moment and give thanks for your family of all kinds, whether they're the ones who chose you, or they're the 'family' that you've chosen.
Sure, there may be members of your extended family that occasionally make you want to grab the duct tape, and "assist" them to be quiet.
Just remember - they're family, and in a shorter time than you know, you'll all be strewn to the four winds again, back in your own homes... and wishing you had more time to spend with them again.
We hope you will enjoy your weekend as much as we will.
