In the early 90’s I set about to try my hand at commercial cartooning. This was before the days of the PC (at least for me) and the halftone shading patterns were purchased in sheets and applied to the paper manually.
I never followed-up nor submitted anything….
In 1996 I sent out a questionnaire to get story ideas for the next family newspaper. Due to an unfortunate event in my life, that family newspaper never got published. But after all these years, it might be interesting to see if anything said back then still holds true today.
I would have answered all of these question along with everyone else, I just would have written my answers as I was putting the paper together. Since I hadn’t written the answers back then, I wrote what I could think of now.
I will list each question and then the responses I got to the question. Some folks put some thought into their answers and others may have been too uncomfortable to look within for the answers. The Commander’s answers make me sad, except for the one that was terribly funny.
Donna Edwards: A more balanced life.
Robert Cross: To be independently wealthy or to win the lottery, whichever comes first.
Daniel: To be happy with no worries or fears.
Willie Edwards: To be on an eternal vacation.
The Commander: To live as long as possible.
My deepest fear is:
Donna Edwards: Stroke or some disease that would leave me unable to care for myself.
Robert Cross: Death.
Daniel: Being humiliated.
Willie Edwards: Having to work for a living.
The Commander: To die before I accomplish everything that I have started.
Donna Edwards: I’m eating ice cream or working in the garden or when I complete a project that’s been hanging over my head.
Robert Cross: I’m doing “the nasty thing”. (DME translation: SEX)
Willie Edwards: The channel changer is close.
Daniel: Working on a project.
The Commander: I doubt if I am ever really happy. I am a cranky, grouchy old man.
Donna Edwards: Fantasy career would be musical theater or being a singer. I can’t think of a real career better than what I already have, but only 24 hours a week….but paid for 40.
Robert Cross: Being an artist.
Daniel: Being a music producer or movie director.
Willie Edwards: Running a political advocacy organization.
The Commander: To find a nice young thing who is really turned on by an old, cranky sailor.
Donna Edwards: I want to stay active and be healthy, work less and have more time for fun.
Robert Cross: I’ll never grow old and I’m never growing up!
Daniel: I plan to be healthy and active.
Willie Edwards: I’ll probably die.
The Commander: I hope that I will be able to take care of myself so I will not be a burden on anyone.
Donna Edwards: In people around us and the wonder of nature.
Robert Cross: Mysterious.
Daniel: A fictitious character.
Willie Edwards: Irish/Italian.
The Commander: Good!
Mike Gattozzi: A fictitious myth created by mortals attempting to answer the complex questions of the universe and the origins of life itself. Things that cannot be easily explained by men are given one simple answer-the almighty, omnicient, infinite creator with super-human powers and intelect – GOD – that will absolve everything you have done wrong in your life with a few Hail Marys. I do not believe in putting anyone on that pantheistic pedestal. If God does not exist, then man will create one.
Donna Edwards: DUH! We don’t see them until they’re on TV.
Daniel: Get Shorty
Willie Edwards: “The Cleveland Browns” soap opera.
The Commander: I don’t go to movies and seldom watch them on TV. One hour programs are usually my limit.
My Memories of Dusty (Rudy’s Dog):
Donna Edwards: I always thought she was a strange dog. Becky used to have to cover her with a blanket and break her leftovers into small bites or Dusty would just stare at them. If she was home alone during a big storm, Dusty would claw out the screens to escape from the storm by brightly running out INTO the storm. Genetics weren’t too kind to her.
I did learn a lot about how tender people can be about old dogs as she got older and Dan invited her to live at the Geriatric Center in Asheville to offer her a reprieve from lethal injection since Becky had no friends that could take her. She was always a gentle girl, though, and appeared to thrive for a few years at the Geriatric Center.
The Commander: I never knew Dusty that well. I was always impressed (or annoyed) because Dusty did not want to be apart from her Mommy (Rebecca-Becky-Becka-Rudy).
Willie Edwards: When Dusty was a young puppy, Rudy and I would walk her and Afta together. Afta was stronger and more aggressive than the puppy, Dusty.
I got the idea to chain the two together on one leash so Dusty could walk with Afta and follow her. This worked well for about 2 minutes until Afta (the Water Spaniel) took off at full speed for the sprinkler run-off in our sub-division. Poor Dusty had no choice but to be dragged helplessly, at top speed, tumbling head-over-paws, in the water. When we finally caught up with Dusty and Afta, Dusty was a basket case. For her entire life she had a tremendous fear of water.
Daniel: I always liked Dusty. She was a cutie and was loving and loyal. She was a bit strange, but I was happy to provide a home for her in her final years.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Who inspired or influenced you?
Donna Edwards: I wanted to be a nun for a long time, probably influenced by teachers. I trashed that idea when I started thinking about BOYS.
I always wanted to be a Mommy, influenced by a loving Mommy.
The idea of being a Physical Therapist came from Grandma [Miniello] when she broke her hip.
Robert Cross: I always used to get mad if my sisters got outside the lines in coloring books. I always wanted to make things with my hands and wanted to be an artist.
Daniel: As a child I wanted to be an engineer (the guy who drives the train). Later I wanted to be a truck driver, definitely influenced by the CB radio and trucking craze in the 70s and the TV show Movin’ On. I wanted to be a pilot, influenced by my Uncle Willie, who flew gliders. I wanted to be a disc jockey…and actually got to be one at a local public radio station. It was harder than I imagined. Later I wanted to be a doctor (?).
The Commander: How do you expect anyone my age to remember that far back in life? I probably wanted to be a baseball player, or a bum. Who knows??
Mike Gattozzi (The Commander answering): Mike always wanted to be a firefighter. Still at the stage where he doesn’t know. College in the fall of ’96 (maybe) – marry a rich old woman? Who knows at the age of 18/19!!
Karen Edwards: Anything but a teacher!
Willie Edwards: God (with real lightning bolts).
Mike Edwards: An engineer who designs either Lego toys or battleships. After that, to be a chef.
Sarah Edwards: A makeup artist.
Donna offerred an essay expanding on the question asked about God. She submitted it to be published in our family newspaper, so I have to think it’s okay to put it here.
What Do You Believe
by Donna M. Edwards
I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching over the past few years about my relationship with God and the church.
After one of my baby sister’s middle-of-the-night calls, I started to wonder about the rest of my family. What do we believe and why. (Note: Middle of the night to me is 11pm! My biological clock never did react very well to those of you who are night owls. I’m definitely a morning lark.)
For many years I have been conflicted about my membership in the Catholic Church. The main reasons are:
1. The church’s position on women as priests.
2. The church’s position on homosexuality. (I feel this is a throwback from a Dark Ages mentality in light of recent scientific discovery.)
3. The church’s stance that all sexual intercourse must be open to conception. This means, in the eyes of the church, that intercourse between married couple is sinful if a condom is used, even if the male is an HIV+ hemophiliac.
4. The church’s stance on sexual intercourse outside of marriage between consenting adults – obviously I’ve had a problem with this one.
5. The nightmare of the annulment process and the fact that a woman must go through this even if she did not want the divorce – and of course she must bear the financial burden.
6. The lack of support for non-traditional families.
My bottom line about the Catholic Church is that I have recently removed my name from the membership list. This was a long, slow process for me, one not without regrets, especially given Mom’s love for it. Right now I am not attending any church but have explored other options like Unitarian, Native American, New Age, etc.
I do believe in God but my God has always been a Father/Mother God, even before that was fashionable. God has to incorporate the goodness that is everywhere and in everyone. I feel a very close connection with God in nature; so much of my spiritual sustenance comes from the mountains, the sea, the flowers and even the weeds, all around us. So for now my church is the outdoors and my chapel is my garden.
This is the final issue of The Edwards Family News that I produced. This was the first issue to be created with the aid of a computer. The text was created on a UNIX version of WordPerfect. For those who know, on that system, there is no graphic interface. You only saw what you created after it was printed! A lot of paper was wasted this way, for sure!
REMINDER: Click on the image to open in a new tab with the full-size image. When the image opens in the new tab, click once to enlarge to full size.
Published 25 years ago, in the Summer of 1993, this edition of The Edwards Family News took a quantum leap in print quality. Although it was still created “by hand” (I didn’t have a PC in 1993), the quality was helped by using the then-new color-copying technology and non-white paper. The result is an issue that looks less “xeroxed” than previous issues.
The cover image of Rudy was taken by Robert and was part of a series now referred to as the “Babydoll Pictures”. That set will be shared in an upcoming post.
I regret now that some of the content of these issues was harsh or insensitive. For example, I have an ad for “Mike’s Discount Pharmacy” which was lampooning some trouble Mike Gattozzi had gotten into involving drugs. Probably not appropriate.
A bit of trivia. I didn’t own a “long reach” stapler to fasten the pages along the center fold, so I had to insert the staples by hand. I used a push pin to create the holes, then pushed the staple through all the pages and then bent the ends over.
REMINDER: Click on the image to open in a new tab with the full-size image. When the image opens in the new tab, click once to enlarge to full size.
Presented in a single page (front and back) newsletter format, this is a quick and informative issue. We even have contributions from the Nevada Edwards clan.
The first issue with color. Also, this issue seems to have fewer stories and more visual gags (“Man Grows Cat on Head” for example). Also, Some of the stories are vulgar (example: the incest joke story) and I have to wonder what the hell I was thinking when I wrote stuff like that. One line was so vulgar that I had to remove it.
REMINDER: Click on the image to open in a new tab with the full-size image. When the image opens in the new tab, click once to enlarge to full size.
Reed was in the wedding of neighbor/friend June Tinsley in Asheville, NC on October 27, 1984. I just got these pictures today after asking for them for the past 12 years (story of my life!).
Love the blue tuxedos! The photos show Reed, separately, with the bride, the groom and the bride’s daughter, Michelle.
It was Summer of 1989 and Rosie was in the hospital with Congestive Heart Failure and put on Lasix. Donna, Daniel and Rudy came to town to visit her. Some weeks later on a separate visit, Donna took Rosie on a shopping spree for clothes. Those two photos are included here as well.
These are new scans from the NEGATIVES, yielding better quality images than the previously available scans of the photographic prints. The photo on the blog post is scaled-down. To view or download the image in full resolution, click on the photo, which will open the full-sized photo in a new tab. To download the image, right-click and choose “Save image as…”
The family gathered in Memphis for Donna’s graduation from PT school. In case some aren’t aware of the story, the photo of Daniel and Reed at the hotel window was staged as a joke because Rosie had passed gas and we made it look like we were trying to escape. The photo of Rebecca with her back to the window was her mooning the city.
These are new scans from the NEGATIVES, yielding better quality images than the previously available scans of the photographic prints. The photo on the blog post is scaled-down. To view or download the image in full resolution, click on the photo, which will open the full-sized photo in a new tab. To download the image, right-click and choose “Save image as…”
Note: These are the updated scans. (I first posted these and they were slightly blurry due to a scan error.)
Finally some new information on Frances, sister of the Commander, William Leonard Edwards. I found her obituary from the Marion Star, October 11, 1967.
The Edwards Family Archives 