Other Stuff | Sketch Book
Sketchbook page 1 page one | page two | page three
Unfinished stuff, doodles, and whatnot
 Clark Park, Philly stuff. - Every Summer weekend in a section of West Philly, a group of folks would coordinate efforts to transport and assemble, within a natural bowl of ample acreage and footing, all the requisite components of a full size vollyball court. "If you build it they will come." I'm reminded as I type, and truer words, so on and so forth. They came by the dozens. Here are some of these hardy people, shaking off Fridays and Saturdays hangovers, to sweat out the poisons and shoot the shit. Good times (mostly).
Tim - No story i can tell about myself as an adult would be complete without talking about Tim, whom i met at Clark Park. Highly intelligent, funny, and kind, He made me welcome as a stranger, introduced me to a host of people i would soon call friends, and through he, i met the woman who would be my wife. That connection bore me two children, who are everything to me. No thank you i might ever extend could accurately reflect my gratitude.
|
Jodi - When i first approached the park with a hope to join the merriment and sport, she was the first person i focused on, sitting on a slope of the grassy bowl, hundreds of feet away. She was sitting alone, and i thought to myself, "She's the woman i'm going to marry." Four years later, that vision was realized. Though no rational person would accept me at my word regarding this farsight, and likely think me a liar, or worse, my story will remain unchanged. it is merely the truth. Jodi taught me more about more than anyone else in my life. She was a force of nature, having died only two years ago, and though she was very displeased with me (understatement of the decade) since we split, and rarely let me forget it, i miss her.
|
Grover - One of my favorite people in the world to just be around, pictured here midst one of his legendary dinks, with a grace and athleticism that belied his substantial girth, he consistantly astounded me on the volleyball court. He could seemingly reach balls beyond his span, lunging his ungainly upper body and throwing an arm out, screaming "CHICKEN WING!!" upon perfect contact. He loved music more than any person i've ever known, played stage-worthy percussion, blues piano, and the harmonica, and was just a joyous, delightful individual. I truly hope he is well.
|
Joe - When it came to volleyball, he didn't care. Pictured here punching the ball, he just wanted to enjoy the day, smoke a red, and fist a cold one on a beautiful day. We used to go catch the monthly pro wrestling events at the civic center. man, did we have fun, dropping blotter, sitting in the good seats, screaming our heads off, trying to avoid the muscle-heads that always wanted to scrap, and just marvelling at Dusty and Ric and The Rock & Roll Express and having more fun than we deserved.
| 
Selene - Vollyball skills notwithstanding, i was quite fond of her. She was always nice to me, even flirty, and funny, and pretty, and partnered with a great guy of perfect physical form, boyish charm, and kind heart. i hated him. |
Chris - The object of Selene's affection, he checked all the boxes; handsome, charming, nice, generous, body of a greek god, and the gals all drooled. he was also pretty good at volleyball. Good hops and strong spiker. I was very jealous of all the female attention he garnered, small little monkey brain i was.
| 
Paul - An interesting and very funny fellow, he had a razor wit and sliced and diced as he pleased. He was openly gay, dramatically effeminate, and just hilarious to be around. He wasn't great at the game, but he really tried hard to get better, which he did. i really liked him.
|
Tony - Seen here mid-spike, he played angry. Add to that substantial size (compared to me, anyway), decent athleticism, strength, and no conscience, and you have a face hunting machine. On more than one occasion he sent someone to the sidelines after planting a mammoth spike square in their mush. I liked defending against him and making him eat it. |
Colleen - Like her bo, Joe, she didn't care about the game itself, but enjoyed the company. She was intelligent, and funny, and lots of fun to be around. she loved music as much as Grover, Procol Harum particularly, and was a brilliant pianist. |
Dinty - Pictured above getting bonked on his melon, He was quiet, pleasant, and a bit inept. On the court, he was like Jupiter to our solar system. All dangerous objects flying about (there are a few of those in volleyball) must inevitabley be caught in the gravity of Dinty's head and thus save the rest of us from the harmful impact his dome so often suffered. Yes, his head was a ball magnet. Don't know why, but i had seen the effect for myself numerous times.
| 
Alva - She was one of the many people that showed up, a complete stranger, just to play ball. Nobody knew her outside the volleyball group, she spoke broken english poorly, and she always smiled and balled out. she showed up every weekend with her kneepads on, looking ready to compete. Shown here setting with a perfect bump, as always. Her involvement was an excellent example of just how welcoming a milieu this was.
|
Phil - I don't remember him actually ever participating in the games, but he was often there, making everyone laugh. He was smart, enterprising, and a great conversationalist, and we got along really well, right up 'til a gal i was just at the precipace of getting close to informed me that she was kinda sweet on him, too. Jealously is unhealthy, for sure. ended up distancing myself from two awesome people, or maybe they distanced themselves from me.
|  
Jan & Brian - This pair of friends almost always showed up together. Don't know where they came from, they didn't hang out with anyone i knew during the week, but they loved to play volleyball. Jan, the shorter of the two, always had shorts on top of sweatpants, and Brian, who played the drums, he said, was very fond of wearing multiple sets of wristbands. they played to win. i like that.
|
Ray - Look up the definition of bohemian, and you may pull up a picture of this kind, unassuming, and very hippy dude. Seen pictured flailing aimlessly at a ball, he was a liability on the court but was such a nice guy, nobody cared. He played in sandals, for pete's sake.
| 
Karate Chop Guy - Obviously, i don't remeber this guy's name, but i do recall that he used to attack the ball and karate chop it, sometimes to great affect, others we would have to chase the ball 50 yards to retrieve it.
|
Carol, Josh, and Les - Carol was a good friend, always a joy to be around, and we watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang together. She didn't play volleyball, but i liked her enough to draw her anyway. Lovely lady.
Josh i included because we have the same first name and he had a very destinctive, cartoony face. He was the youngest of our group, and we tried to be on our best behavior when he was there.
Les, a park fixture, was a member, maybe the chair, of the folks that governed the park itself. He was the person who commisioned me to duplicate the Clark Park logo, seen above, the original artwork having been lost to time. Les was an interesting guy, very serious and smart, whom i enjoyed messing with for those very reasons.
| |
page one | page two | page three
|
