middle age romance | The Direction of Intention

Face Downwind [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on October 14, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Mighty regrettable breath! I laughed so hard when I read this that tears came to my eyes. She didn’t back up when I laughed so I’m fairly confident that I’ve taken care of the problem. Either that or I’ve permanently damaged her sense of smell.

Note: She also ate the dip. That I didn’t write a cartoon about my point of view (smell) is why she loves ALMOST everything about me. Well, okay. She probably likes a lot of things about me. I think. I know she tolerates a very long list of eccentric character traits and quirks. All-in-all, I generally get a passing grade if I point my mighty regrettable breath downwind. And open the wine. And make the coffee.

read Kerri’s blogpost about MY BREATH!!!!!!!

(Oh great. She just said, “You don’t really have bad breath.” And laughed raucously.)

share. support. like. comment. brush your teeth. we thank you!

buymeacoffee is a tooth-extraction site where we can trade your old fillings for support of our continued creative work. We appreciate your desire to eat soft foods on our behalf.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, bad breath, breath mint, breather, brush your teeth, cartoon, cartoon about middle age, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, food trauma, garlic breath, halitosis, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, onion breath, painter, regrettable breath, rogue rattler, sense of smell, smack-dab, snack warning, story, studio melange, the melange, two artists breathing | 4 Comments »

Love Both Ends of the Spectrum [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on September 23, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Training manual for an artist’s life: there are times of plenty. There are times of pain. In the times of plenty it is impossible not to know there will be times of pain. In times of pain, it is impossible not to believe that there will be times of plenty. The tide rolls in. The tide rolls out (just as in every other life).

The results? There are two that accompany both times of plenty and times of pain. 1) The ever-present weird comparison. This meal = a week’s groceries. The weird comparison is probably why we love to cook at home. And we do. We love it. 2) The unassailable hope. It’s an exercise in focus-placement. It’s never really about the cost; it’s about focusing on the experience. We regularly split a burger and a glass of wine whether in times of pain or times of plenty. We regularly love every minute.

Pain and plenty are both worthy experiences on the full palette of life. We are capable of savoring a side salad. We laugh all the way home because the tip is often the most expensive portion of our bill (our daughter and my mother did serious time as wait-staff and we know the value of a great tip).

Loving both ends of the spectrum simply means that we are fully loving life. And we are. It’s not really about the food anyway.

read Kerri’s blogpost about SIDE SALADS

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buymeacoffee is a “tip-jar” site that allows you to support the continued work of the artists you value.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artist's life, artistry, comparison, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, full spectrum, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, pain, plenty, savor, second chances, story, studio melange, the melange, two artists, value, worth | 3 Comments »

Do A Bit Of Reading [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on September 16, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Yes. It’s true. I’ve been paying on my student loans for 22 years and I currently owe more now than the original loan. That little statistic is not an accident. I am not alone. There are so many of me, in fact, that our economy will teeter when payments resume.

The mechanism was set up in the Reagan years, a mechanism that has more recently been echoed in the Affordable Care Act. What seems like a good idea at the time, accessibility to education, accessibility to healthcare, is in actuality a shell game. The government provides a subsidy-or-loan-program for an industry yet places no cap on what the industry can charge. It places little regulation on how the loans are structured and serviced. It’s a money-making-machine in the guise of a social program. Tax dollars to corporate pockets. Compare the cost of an education in 1988 to what it is today. Compare the cost of healthcare in the USA relative to other developed nations. Once in the trap, it’s nigh-on impossible to escape it.

Do a bit of reading before you weigh in on student loan forgiveness. For extra credit, compare the amount of recent loan forgiveness granted to businesses (not to mention the amount given to large corporations when the economy melted down in the Bush years – due to bad corporate/market practices) relative to the amount proposed for student loan forgiveness by the Biden administration. Student loan forgiveness is peanuts in comparison though the impact on real people would be profound.

For extra-extra credit, keep in mind that humor is often the result of other people’s pain… it’s possible that this cartoon will strike your funny bone since the pain for us is real. We hope it strikes a slightly different bone.

read Kerri’s blogpost about PREDATORY LOANS

like. share. comment. support. ~ thank you.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: ACA, artistry, corporate socialism, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, disparity, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, middle class, Miguel Cardona, navient, parity, predatory lending, predatory loans, President Joe Biden, shell game, smack-dab, story, student loan forgiveness, studio melange, The Department of Education, the melange, US Government | 3 Comments »

Love Your World [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on September 9, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s simple. Dogga wants to be where we are. He reads us like a book. He anticipates our every move and makes certain our passage is clear of marauders.

He does not split himself in confusion. He does not hold onto the past. He never worries about the future. He is all in, every moment. His happiness is sourced in our happiness. When we are on opposite sides of the house he places himself directly between us.

Last night, we watched him struggle to get up from the floor. We caught each other’s eyes, said nothing. I remembered the moment, years ago at farmer Don’s farm, that the little Aussie puppy ran to us and sat at our feet. He chose us. In that moment, we became his whole world and I do not exaggerate to write that he became ours, too. We chose him. Our whole world.

read Kerri’s blogpost about DOGGA

what you can do: like. share. support. comment. thank you for any or all.

buymeacoffee is a donation “tip jar” where you support the continued work of the artists you value.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, Australian shepherd, cartoon about middle age, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dogdog, dogga, dogs, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, pets, second chances, smack-dab., story, studio melange, the melange, two artists | 1 Comment »

Measure The Path [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on September 2, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

And isn’t the true wealth of life about the extraordinary people that walk the path with you? I am, every day, astonished by my good fortune, especially by this woman who chooses to walk this life with me. In this measure, I am unbelievably rich.

read Kerri’s blogpost about HOLDING ON

like. share. comment. support. many thanks!

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, appreciation, artistry, companion, companionship, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fortunate, fortune, friends, friendship, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, measure, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, painter, relationship, relationships, riches, saturday morning smack-dab, second chances, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the melange, time, two artists, wealth | 1 Comment »

Rely On It [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on August 26, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our old window AC unit weighs a ton. On the day I haul it up from the basement and heft it into the window, Kerri retreats to the bedroom. “I can’t watch!” she says, fleeing. It’s part of our ritual. For some reason we always wait until the last moment to resurrect it. We wait until we’ve sufficiently suffered before we look at each other and say in unison, “I can’t stand it any more!” That, too, is part of our ritual.

We can’t afford to replace it with something made in the current century though, truth be told, I’m not sure we would if we could. It’s a workhorse! It comes from a time when planned obsolescence was not yet on the plan. It’s like our stove and will likely outlive us all. Built-to-last.

This week, while firmly under the heat-dome, with temperatures soaring to the ridiculous, our too-heavy-not-pretty-waaay-too-loud-ancient-old-AC was not only up to the task, it was a champ. We knew it would be. We’ll take steadfast over fast, dedicated over disposable, any day of the week. Loyal. Committed. Dependable.

Confidently relying on the extraordinary relevance of age and experience. How odd! It’s something we increasingly identify with. It’s rapidly becoming part of our reality.

read Kerri’s blogpost on RELEVANCE

share. like. comment. support. we appreciate it all.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, age, air conditioner, artistry, bloggers, cartoonists, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dedicated, dependable, experience, heat dome, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, loyal, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, painter, relevance, ritual, steadfast, story, studio melange, tenure, the melange, two artists | Leave a comment »

Grow The Return [on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on August 19, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

A lot of love and attention goes into Kerri’s garden. It may be small but it is a mighty source of pleasure and satisfaction.

I’ve found that there is no better antidote for feeling defeated in the world than taking a break and smelling the basil. OMG. The lavender makes me close my eyes and smile. The mint clears my mind. The tomatoes fill us with hope and renewal as we daily cheer them into existence.

What goes around, comes around. So much love and attention goes in to her garden and what comes around, what comes back to us, is nothing less than a miracle. Smells and tastes that affirm how great it is to be alive. Tastes and smells that can turn a dark day into something brilliant.

read Kerri’s blogpost about TOMATOES

like. share. support. comment. all are welcome!

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, affirmation, artistry, basil, bloggers, cartoon, cartoonists, composer, Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, enliven, gardens, herbs, homemade sauce, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lavender, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, mint, painter, positive energy, renewal, saturday morning smack-dab, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the melange, tomatoes, writers | 1 Comment »

Bring It To Life [on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on August 12, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

We’re staying put this summer. Circumstance requires it though that hasn’t put a damper on our capacity to dream. “If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?” For us, it’s a daily game and fun to play.

Kerri and I are roadtrippers. New experiences feed our imaginations and our artistry. Kerri imagines composing with her piano firmly seated at the edge of the canyonlands. I imagine a series of artist-residencies providing stops along the way, taking us to beautiful places to create, stir the pot, meet new people, ignite ideas…

It’s a great dream. Our job, as we see it, one way or the other, is to bring it to life.

read Kerri’s blogpost about TRAVEL DREAMS

share. like. support what we do. comment on it, too. it all helps us grow. it helps bring our dream to life.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, bloggers, cartoonists, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dreams, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, musician, painter, road trip, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the melange, travel, vacation, writers | 4 Comments »

Ask A Rhetorical Question [on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on August 5, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Our stove is almost as old as I am. It was made at a time before planned obsolescence, before things were built to break down. I imagine the people that designed and built our stove had a sense of pride in their work. They built it to last. They were from another time, closer-in-spirit to craftsmen and craftswomen than cogs in a fast moving economic wheel. I imagine the pride they felt in their work was directly connected to the loyalty they felt toward their customer and also their employer who paid them a decent wage, union benefits, a pension.

Loyalty is always a two-way street. Pride is like that, too. A job well done is well done for others.

In our times it seems almost everything operates according to the rules of planned obsolescence. Everything is quickly outdated. Replaceable. Including the customer. Including the employee.

Kerri’s question is as sadly current as it is rhetorical: What about loyalty?

read Kerri’s blogpost about LOYALTY

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Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, cartoon about middle age, change, craftmanship, customer loyalty, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, loyalty, middle age romance, planned obsolescence, pride, second chances, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the melange | 2 Comments »

Come Home [on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on July 29, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s a big day. Kerri has lived in this house more than half of her life. I am approaching a decade in our home. In other words, I’ve lived in this house longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my adult life.

The first moment I stepped foot into this house I felt and saw in my mind the word, “Home.” It unnerved me a bit since, after several months of correspondence, Kerri and I had only just met in person. Also, I was a dedicated wanderer, the kind that is never lost, so I didn’t believe I would ever experience the feeling of “home”. It wasn’t in my cards.

Life changes fast. That first night we crawled out a second-floor window, sat on the roof and sipped wine. It was cold so we wrapped ourselves in blankets. I’d been waiting my entire life to find someone who wanted to crawl out the window with me. Home. My wife and our house. Inseparable stories woven together through time. I am unbelievably fortunate that her house has become our house and it loves us as much as we love it.

Home. I feel it. It was in my cards all along.

read Kerri’s blogpost about HOME