This the March 29th sketch for Cedric Hohnstadt’s ‘March is Sketch Book Month’. Fellow artist William Palacio contributed the subjects of hound dog and jump rope. Thanks, William!

This Friday, April, 1st, is the debut of the new Swampy’s Florida: Lakeland coloring book at The General Store as part of Downtown Lakeland’s First Friday event.

The coloring book has lots to color and learn about Lakeland’s history and great places to visit. I was able to price the coloring book at $3. If you’re in the area come by and say HI! and get a free drawing between 6 to 9pm.

All of this happening at a store that I think every town should have, The General Store. You can’t miss the rocking chairs outside! Also, if you haven’t met Downtown Lakeland’s infamous Sparky at The General Store, now’s your chance! By the way, that’s Sparky in the middle on the cover.

The Marion County Republican Executive Committee had our Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner Saturday night and I contributed by serving on the planning committee and drawing caricatures at the event. Political talk show host and potential presidential candidate, Herman Cain, was our guest speaker. Before going out to speak to the assembled crowd Mr. Cain was out where I was in the corridor. He came up and asked if I drew black people. After a hearty laugh he sat down and asked if I’d draw him. So I did. Above is Mr. Cain, myself and the drawing I did.

What a very open, extremely friendly and funny person! And I don’t mean in a ‘Like Me- I Wanna Get Elected’ way. I’ve met and worked with a ton of politicians in 25+ years of working campaigns and I know the difference between going through the motions and being genuinely friendly. Of course, most all politicians become like that over time to some extent. You have to when you meet so many people, realize you serve the people you meet and have a career to look after. It’s not really a bad thing politicians shake hands and do their best to make you feel comfortable with them. Otherwise, they would be like me and admit they can’t remember everyone and apologize all the time, which doesn’t win me any votes. If Mr. Cain gets into the presidential race, eventually he’ll have to modify his meet and greet also. Right now he exudes an openness that is very refreshing.

Equally impressive is his staff, particularly Mark Block who was a key to setting up huge wins for Tea Party/conservative candidates in November’s Wisconsin races and  the challenges we see in the state house in Wisconsin today.

Below are two more photos. I’ve been off the past few days in my drawings. I felt it Thursday while guest speaking at a cartooning class. My friend, who visited the same class, noticed it also. I see it very much in these drawings. I gotta shake whatever fog is in my head and sharpen my pen and draw better.

The one above was one of the better drawings I did.

I have no idea why I put so much hair on top of Jan’s head. Again, my head is not translating well right now. By the way, Jan, above, and her partner Kay did a terrific job running an auction we had at our event. Turns out both also went to Rollins College.

I had always hoped for another reunion of Alexander Scott and Kelly Robinson, but apparently that won’t happen. Robert Culp, 79, died today after a fall in a park. I can only hope he might really be Bill Maxwell and the little green guys got him and swapped bodies…or… something like that.

Here’s more about Robert Culp’s death.

Below is an autograph I was fortunate to get many, many years ago.

I’m digging up all sorts of items from the past as I clear through boxes. Below is a page from a sketchbook from around 1986. I love hearing all sides of an issue. Back then I had more time to do that. A dear friend told me about a retreat with …radical Abbie Hoffman and I went to see first hand what this fellow was all about. During the retreat I made a ton of notes and sketches. Was I shocked to open the pad last night and there at the top is Hoffman’s autograph. I don’t recall getting it, butI did.

After the retreat, which was somewhere near Umatilla, we all gathered at East India Ice Cream Shoppe in Winter Park. I remember former classmate Missy Gaston working there that night. She was shocked when I told her later who she was serving.

What I have always remembered from the retreat was Hoffman speaking of the need for “one world” “an order” “a world dollar”. It was just a couple years later that George H.W. Bush started preaching a “New World Order”, essentially what Hoffman had described at the retreat. A major reason I have a problem with the Bush family.

We had our first Suncoast Inkslinger meeting in a few months. We gathered at Bay Coast Coffee Market in Clearwater. Below is a photo of the gathering. To the right is a sketch I made during a discussion with Ron Johnson and Jim Fern about the possibility of Ben Franklin being a mad scientist.

A couple weeks after the kidney stone affair and a trip the the doctors office to have a stint removed I attended with Sandra the annual Florida Outdoor Writers Association meeting. I picked up the pen for the first time since the medical mess and tried drawing. I had a heck of a time with focus and depth perception. A doctor there said I was still suffering from a form of disorientation from the anesthesia. As I drew I was able to better focus, but the whole thing was very disturbing to me. After 30 years of drawing I hadn’t felt like that before.

Above Sandra adds to her multi-numerous awards! Here presenter Ralph Allen congratulates her.

Here’s FOWA members Sandra, Pat Pochurek, Charlene Johnson and Doug Kelly.

Late Thursday I had been drawing caricatures. To the left is one of the drawings I had done. A few hours later I was awakened by extreme pain and rushed to the hospital by my dear friends the Singers.

The folks at Sandlake hospital did a great job getting me through emergency room and into a hospital bed. The pain was as you may have either felt or heard of. Just horrible.

The next day emergency surgery was done to blast away a 7 millimeter stone that was blocking my kidney. Just before I was put under I asked for a piece of paper and pen to sketch something to put in the sketchbook. To the right is a quick sketch I drew of the anesthesiologist.

I woke in a hospital bed with all sorts of tubes connected to me. I learned from the urologist, Dr. Hilwa that there had been complications and the normal 45 min. work went on for 3 hours. I had pain return that was as bad as when I had entered the hospital. I was released the next day. My friend Ann Alexander at the hospital was great to visit and bring flowers and a balloon. The balloon helped me with concentration to get around the pain. Below is a photo of me by Sandra just before leaving the hospital.

Sandra and I made our way through Palm Beach County to visit a few parks in the area. We started off at Serenoa Glade Park. The posey below is from there.

From there we visited Sugar Sand Park. The sketch to the right is of a very rare plant sprouting from a sabal palm. We also stopped at Blazing Star Preserve.

The film above was shot at Grassy Water Preserve. Below is the sketch I made.

On the way home we saw this was the weather we encountered.