God and the Tiger - Ethiopian Proverb

 

Fighting

22^nd November 2015

Dear Sister Margaret,

My hope is that my last load of recyclables found you easily. I often forget how heavy the bags can be and I still question if I should save them. I wash out my cans and bottles for you out of habit I guess. I have no problem with bringing them down once or twice a month, but I doubt management would be happy about an ex-employee coming by in that regard.  

In related news I learned on Thursday that the company will be fighting my unemployment benefits, likely with some forged documents, and I will not know the outcome until the following week. This may be delayed by thanksgiving or I may get bad news for my holiday.  Either way I spend the day alone and in contemplation.

I have filed a complaint of retaliation with Labor Enforcement and they may rule my termination retaliatory in nature. I can’t say how that will help me. Perhaps they will need to give me my job back or pay out a settlement. To be honest, I don’t know if I want to be back there dealing with all that mess again, but we all do what we do, and life gets on with itself.

Further along, three of the kittens have been homed, and I still have two maybes. If I had room for another cat I’d keep one, but I can’t afford the pets I have. Doing the right thing has never profited me but good men die hard.

The last thing I have to talk about is, well, I don’t like asking for favors, but if you could remind Raf to read the script I gave him I would appreciate it greatly. He promised me his opinion and has been sitting on the thing for months. It’s not that I think he can help me with it or anything like that, but he did make a promise.

My life is so full of broken promises that I’ve learned not to let things like that go. It would be great if he knew who or how to get the thing made, but I don’t think he does.

I hope you are doing better than I,

Richard Leland Neal

The Big Hero Cat

 

Two Days

20^th November 2015

Dear Cassi,

It was yesterday that I learned that the company would fight my unemployment benefits and yesterday that I drew four pages of comics. Then today that I drew another four. I ended my work four Issues away from being caught up on Random Street theater and nine issues away from being caught up on Jonny American.

The sun was gone from the sky and two of the remaining kittens, Bob Denver and

Nimh, slept on my drafting desk offering up another opportunity for a photograph. It came to me that the news of the fight had been great motivation, but I have been here before.  I’ve been to the place where I had everything under control and was a single page of drafting away from being caught up. Then I fell back into depression and had to start over.

Truth be told, it would be better to post late every day than to post everything now and be baron for another few days or weeks. The only real problem is that many of the comics I’ve drawn are Halloween themed and that was twenty days ago. Readers need a reason to come back every day and I want to give them that reason.

Still, I am so tired. I slept part of the day then woke and worked. I slept again leaving many of the hours of sunlight behind me. Two days of hard work when I should have had two weeks of hard work to bring things back to the now. I don’t know, Cassi, may be this art business just isn’t for me.

Well, midnight strikes and I have work to do, so, off I go again.

Stay safe, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

Cat Saves Boy

 

Who Planted the Tree - Vietnamese Proverb

 

Anniversary Angus

5^th December 2014

Dear Cassi,

       

It’s funny how things get turned around. Yesterday Pickle took me out for the anniversary of my birth and, as is my custom, I permitted him to choose the restaurant.

       

Let’s be clear that he needed me to take him to the store and that when I take him to the store he pays by taking me to eat. I never press this issue. We go where he wants to go and eat what he wants to eat. I just drive. In this manner he cannot legitimately call me overtaxing or a burden.

       

In any case, Pickle decided on Black Angus Steakhouse because he had a coupon for the place. I shrugged, and said I didn’t care if we went to the Costco food court. I made a few jokes about Angus sounding like anus, and Pickle took offence.

       

He said I was calling him an anus, and I burst out laughing. A few years ago we had gone to that same restaurant and he had called me the same thing only with far ruder the tone. It was on his birthday and he was having the most expensive thing on the menu.

Some folks take you for granted,

Richard Leland Neal

The Kiss was Lost - Georgian Proverb

 

Rain Can Soak a Leapard - African Proverb

 

Favors

4th November 2015

Hay Lee,

I’m not a man to ask for favors normally because they never get done, but I’m in something of a bind here. By now you have to know about the Kittens I got stuck with, well, there were about four employees that wanted one and I can’t go calling them.

Emma and Raf both said they wanted a kitten, the music teacher as well, and Danny. Danny is just not calling me back but the other three I have no way of contacting. I was wondering if you could have a word with any of these folks and see if we could set up a time and place for them to get their cats.

I mean, being unemployed and all I have to get these little fur balls out of my hair before they eat me broke. If I could unload the four I’d only have two left to look after and that would make my life just so much easier. It’s not that I don’t love having them around, but now I need to focus on looking for another job. That and the things are ripping up my legs something awful.

Oh yes, and I save recyclables for sister Margret and I figure I’d still bring them to her but I’m sure I’m not permitted on property. I guess we should be asking what to do about that.

The last thing is kind of a long shot, I was wondering if you knew who could put me in touch with Marni. I have a question that only three people on this earth can answer and she is one of those three. I honestly don’t think you can, but I have to ask to settle my mind.

Thanks bro,


Richard

It Happened Again

31st October 2015

Dear Cassi,

Well, it happened again. I’m jobless for the second time in five years and the fourth time in my life. I loved what I did, but hated who I did it with and that’s kind of why I don’t feel so bad. I don’t know, maybe I’m still numb to it, but the world has dealt me another bad hand and here I am working through it again.

They FedExed me a letter letting me know I was no longer an employee with two checks for my last weeks and one my vacation. They had this all figured out, they’d get me eventually. On the one hand now I need a job and on the other they have to live working at that place.

My last supervisor used to say that she hadn’t gotten a raise in eight years. That made her a bitter old nut with anger problems. I imagine all the bits I held in place will fall apart and then what will they be left with?

Still, in a month or two I will be forgotten and that place will still be running like it always has. That’s the world for you. Hard work doesn’t keep a man in this economy.

I know that if nothing else I should be using this time to catch up on things. I mean, If I had kept working all that hard before this maybe I would be walking away with a smile on my face saying ‘screw it, I have better things to do’.

If there is one thing people have said to me it is that one should see the opportunity in every situation, and here is a situation all right. So what do I do? Make all the videos that I have been meaning to make, draw the comics I’ve written, get all that business taken care of like I meant to do all this time.

I guess I should put in that same forty hour work week like I had before only now I’ll be doing the things I enjoy. The only thing is that the things I enjoy have never come with a pay check.

Stay Strong, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

Man or Money - Greek Proverb