John Callahan, who was a quadriplegic, as well as an alcoholic whose cartoons appeared in many newspapers and magazines passed away last Saturday at age 59.
Having a strange creative mind, such as that of John’s, I thought I would pay tribute to him in today’s blog by featuring some of my favorite cartoons by him.
He had a very different and unique way of looking at life. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons his cartoons were cutting edge and offended many people. Especially those that did not understand the concept of humor, still don’t understand the concept of humor, and most likely never will.
He never apologized for his cartoons, thereby infuriating many who thought his subject matter was tasteless and politically incorrect.
In defense of Callahan, my own personal opinion is that if you can’t laugh at humor, regardless of its content in a “free speech and free expression America” (supposedly) then obviously you need to move to another planet.
Something…….anything, will at some point bring on the zealots. Callahan had his share of them. I’ve had quite a few as well in my lifetime. But, you can never let these select individuals get the best of you. For that mind-set, I salute John Callahan and his ability to ignore the critics throughout his career and achieve the success that he did.
If you called John on the phone, the message on his answering machine went as follows:
“This is John. I’m a little too depressed to take your call today. Please leave your message at the sound of the gunshot.”
My kinda guy.
Copyright 2010 MisfitWisdom RLV
Like this:
Like Loading...
About misfit120
Former disc jockey, 30 years, and author of, "I Could Have Been Famous But Sex, Love & Life Got In The Way" available at Amazon.com books, & Kindle, "A Grimm Look At Fairy Tales, For Adults Only" and "the Job" (Amazon.Kindle) and "The Covert Chamber" a mystery novel available at Publishamerica.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
Retired from broadcasting in 1988 and floated around aimlessly in various no brainer jobs such as a traffic clerk for a TV station, dispatcher for AAA, a cab driver in a tourist town, a phone company line assigner, and finally a chauffeur for a resort casino.
After all of those various experiences I felt it was time to retire and devote my otherwise useless time to writing this blog. I could write serious commentary, but who the hell would take me seriously? So I decided not to be serious and write a daily blog on a humorous level.
However, I do find myself getting somewhat frustrated at today's world of political stupidity and the people that tend to believe everything that is fed to them by the mainstream media. So, with that in mind I write on a daily basis what I see as newsworthy but funny....at least from my demented viewpoint.
Please feel free to comment on my daily blog regardless of your opinion both pro or con. If it's con, I will have to track you down and severely pound the hell out of you. (only kidding)
Appreciate any help from my blog readers in forwarding my daily rants to your friends, neighbors, or enemies. Hey, I'll take whatever it takes to get more followers. You can also vote for this blog at weblogawardscom.
Richard Vittorioso aka MisfitWisdom receive no compensation for these blogs. However, any donations for creative effort are appreciated through PayPal. Thanks everyone.
John Callahan, who was a quadriplegic, as well as an alcoholic whose cartoons appeared in many newspapers and magazines passed away last Saturday at age 59.
John spent time in upscale N.W. Portland around Lovejoy St. and 23rd Ave, where I met him once by chance on a Sunday afternoon 3 years ago. I was new to the city and a new author. We discussed our arts and traded successes. I told him about my book: SEND LITE TO EVERY FEAR: THE EVERYDAY HERO’S LITANY which in turn inspired him to relate the content of one of his cartoons, as follows: a lover of the potables was about to ‘pass on’ only to envision 2 bottles of beer in the sky. The caption of the cartoon reads something like: “Choose the Lite, choose the Lite.”
I haven’t actually seen this cartoon…yet, now I silently wish the same to John: “Choose the Light.” All is well.
Patriczia Petrus
http://twitter.com/Patriczia