WE’RE GETTING used to an unpredictable climate here in Southern New England: mosquito bites while cutting the Christmas tree, snow after Easter. We had no snow to speak of this winter. Depending on ocean temperature we might get 100-plus inches one winter and nothing at all the next.
I put down fertilizer and clover seed on the lawn yesterday. Note where a couple of deer came through this morning.
My granddaughter and I seeded the wildflower garden out by the street the other day.
That maple tree I repurposed a couple of weeks ago.
Wider POV on the backyard. That trail over on the right, my granddaughter and I hiked it yesterday, down to the Pawtuxet River. Saw not much wildlife, which is unusual. Just a lone turkey vulture.
Jeff Weigel, Mike Manley and I received word the other day that our overseas readers in Scandinavia gave high marks to four of our Phantom yarns reprinted in 2019. Four made the top ten. The stories were published originally in newspapers, in 2017-18. We’re up against original stories produced by outside publishers licensed by King Features Syndicate.
It’s nice to get a vote of confidence once in a while, but deeply ingrained in my psyche is Kipling’s advice on building immunity to kudos and brickbats alike: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same…”
You get the concept fast in newspaper work, where you’re a hero one day, a villain the next, and I don’t mean to critics sitting around in their shorts reading comics, either, but to people with real influence and power in your state: politicians, judges, Chamber of Commerce bigwigs. You learn to shrug off praise as easily as condemnation and just keep doing your job as best you can, given the imperfect real-world conditions you need to operate under.
Jeff’s the artist on the Sunday strip, Mike’s on the Monday-through-Saturday side.
Here’s an image from one of Mike’s winning stories. The Phantom’s outnumbered 20-to-1, going into a fight mindful that some of his ancestors, Phantoms 1 through 20, knew when their time was up. Now the 21st Phantom has that inexplicable inner conviction that he won’t survive the night.
Not that it slows him down any. He wouldn’t be the Phantom if it did.
Jeff’s winning story was called The Rat Must Die. The Phantom breaks an informant out of Boomsby Prison, on the understanding that the aforementioned “rat” will lead him to a wanted man, a cop killer.
Only the Phantom knows the secret way out of the old colonial citadel. The route starts at the top of the execution tower. Hidden behind a cache of autopsy tools, there’s a secret stairway between two walls. That leads to the sewers under the prison. Cons who find their own way down there die following the flow of the water, thinking it will lead them to the sea.
The Phantom knows where the sewers connect to an abandoned mine shaft. That’s the only real way out.
I stole that last line of dialogue from the bride. It’s been directed at me more than a few times in the last 44 years.
In closing, a tip of the hat to Brian Dennehy, who shuffled off to Buffalo this week at the age of 81. I enjoyed his talent and the many roles he played. He was one of the few actors who could pull off a halfway convincing dead-meat flop, as he did in Silverado while playing the corrupt Sheriff Cobb.
When he walks down the steps to the gunfight, notice how he checks for where the sun is. And when he loses said gunfight, note the turn, and the little half step with his right boot. It’s wonderful stuff.
Of course, this is a Hollywood myth of the old west, the quick-draw face off, mano-a-mano. Few were eager to risk getting winged in a fair fight, losing a limb, dying slow of infection. Most disputes ended in a bushwhacking, real stealthy-like, wherein the whacker had the luxury of drawing careful aim on the unsuspecting whackee. But no one’s ever going to separate humanity from its myths.
Consider the latest one to make the rounds: It’s the common cold, not even as bad as the seasonal flu.
My niece, I’m sorry to hear, has tested positive. Testing remains widely unavailable to mere common folk like us, but her doctor was able to get her priority status because she’s expecting.
Stay healthy, all.
Tony DePaul, April 18, 2020, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
Hope your niece has recovered and the baby is doing well.
We’ll learn that many more of us are carrying the virus than originally thought. Is this nature’s way of weeding out us old farts. Cept some are too ornery to cooperate. And the health care industry is cooperating.
Busted a tooth off at the gum line several weeks ago, called the oral surgeon.
Are you in pain?
No, that tooth had a root canal job on it.
Okay, call us back after the virus quarantine is over.
You mean if I’m still alive then, to call you back?
Being frugal here, why pay for dental work if you won’t be around long enough to chew again.
Your place looks amazing – such an incredible country (lots of wilderness per capita in Australia, but only small parts get snow). I hope your niece is now well on the way to recovery.
Hope this doesn’t sound frivolous, but your comments on the Phantom reminded me of a discussion on one of the facebook pages concerning memorable conclusions to classic Phantom tales. Have you ever considered doing a special story that revisits an ending that Falk left ‘open’? For example, it would be fascinating to see what became of ‘Queen Asta of Trondelay’ following her disfigurement in that 1948 (?) story. And I know you don’t like to use Eden, but that last panel of the ‘Fluffy’ Sunday (around 1960/1) was very poignant with the Phantom noting how Fluffy (a lion) kept watch every day from the island to see if Conley would ever return (“maybe some day he will”). It would be amazing to see a story where an older Conley actually did come back.
Hello, Ross,
It’s always fun to tie the new stories to the old ones. Jeff Weigel’s next story will bring in a few elements from three Falk Sunday stories. I think your Chronicle Chamber guys will have some fun with that. There’s an Emperor Joonkar connection. And the Isle of Eden gets a mention.
Now and again I see an opportunity to answer a question Falk left hanging, as in “The Return of Colonel Weeks” from 2010. But if it calls attention to the long, long, looooong run of the 21st Phantom, it’s a challenge. “The Aeronaut” was a tricky yarn for that reason. A follow-up on Conley and Fluffy would present a similar problem. I mean, in 60 years of real time maybe we could pull off a sleight of hand wherein Conley aged very little. I’ll give it some thought. Thanks for checking in.
I hope your niece is doing fine now Tony!
Thanks for writing, all. My niece is doing better today. Two days ago she was in pretty tough shape. Hopefully from now on it’s “better every day,” no more two steps forward, one step back.
Hi Tony,
I remember Art Lake always used to say that April snow cleaned up after itself. Northern RI got about 4 inches or so and it’s all gone by noon today. I also had deer tracks in the snow, going across my deck. No idea why they wanted to be so close to the house.
I’ve never found my peace with Kipling’s “If-“. Seems like he’s promoting a flatline response, a life with little joy, just to avoid the sorrow? But that’s just me.
Sorry to hear your niece tested positive. Prayers to her and all people as it affects everyone. One cannot help but speculate as to the long term changes, if any, that will come about.
Nice weather today, I should have gotten out for a ride. Does a full face helmet qualify as a mask?
Dennis
Kipling aside, this is a time to celebrate any personal victory, however small. Walks with granddaughters matter too. The woodpile means warm evenings with family.
I’ll remember your niece in my prayers.
You stay healthy Tony, and I hope your niece can make a very complete recovery from this terrible virus, and can receive the best of care. I read both of those Phantom stories, and glad to see The Phantom made it in being outnumbered and lived to continue his fight against evil, thanks to Diana. Both of the guys are fine artists, and Mike has just made one very awesome Phantom artist, and surpasses himself each day. May all of you and you families stay safe and healthy, with many long years ahead for all of you.
I hope your niece recovers quickly and that you and your family stay safe.
Hello Tony,
You stay healthy too. I am sorry to hear your niece has the nasty virus, will pray for her rapid recovery and health of her child and husband.
Thanks for that clip of Brian Dennehy, he was a memorable actor. Hopefully we’ll see some warm weather soon, though I really shouldn’t complain (we did not get any snow here in SE PA.
I’ve seen plenty of deer this past winter, red-tailed hawks, and even had four or five turkey vultures on the lawn; the robins were out early this year.
By the way, I think it’s cool that the Phantom is alive and well. Whenever I mention I know the guy who writes the script for that strip, I realize I am dating myself:>)
Stay well, Tony. Lovely post.
Sorry to read about your niece. I hope she recovers well and soon.
We have no pale green fuzz on the trees yet. They look miserable after
the big snow/ice storm. A birch tree is looking very damaged. A limb snapped off and is laying across the ground, whisky-colored insides open to the world.
Easter at the mall was gray and ugly. Nobody home. I needed to take a drive to see for myself, because no doubt I will not see that again.
Take care, all of you.
Good luck to your niece. Our granddaughter and her husband both believe they had it in London, and have seemed to do well, recovering at home. At the time – and maybe it’s still the case – the NHS was being very stingy with tests, even before Boris got more than his share, so they don’t know for sure it was Covid-19; but they say it sure felt like it.
As for wildlife in Newport, mainly birds – extremely loud – and today the dog and I saw a coyote saunter across the road at the end of our street, not far from the Breakers Stables. It was skinny and arrogant – he looked at us at a moment with a sneer and left before I could whip out the old cell phone to document such event. Obviously not sheltering in place. And no facemask, of course.
Stay healthy as you can. Best of luck to the niece, and by extension to all of you.
You stay healthy too Tony. Follow those instructions.