My friend John Markuson grew concerned when he did not see the Weekly Dose of Mark grace his inbox last week. I reassured him that all was well. I missed posting last week because I was too busy with the WA State Toy Show to type anything.
Many years ago, a guy named Steve decided to do a toy show. It was going to be held in Puyallup, so he called it something like the Puyallup Toy and Geek Show. There were not a lot of vendors, but he did fill up half a building. Steven was a natural when it came to organizing a show. He did everything right, and the one-day show was a huge success. The next year he expanded- really expanded. He went from half a small building to a huge building, from one day to three days. He added jump castles, tents, food trucks, military vehicles, and a dozen celebrities for autographs. I thought he over-expanded. But I was there for the first show, and I hopped on board for the second show. And it, too, was a huge success. The show went through a few name changes as it continued to grow. It finally became the WA State Summer Con. A couple of years ago, the toy vendors from at the first show asked him, “Hey! How about a show like the first one? Where it was mainly toys?” So Steve brought back the toy show as a separate thing. It’s smaller, gets a different crowd, and he does it a couple of times a year in other towns. I table at the one held in Puyallup because it’s just over the hill from where I live. And while it’s not as busy as Summer Con, it’s nearly impossible for me not to make a profit.
The WA State Toy Show is a two-day affair. Last Friday, I prepped all of my merchandise, loaded up the car, and then unloaded at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.
My neighbor Pat Smith was going to assist, but he forgot to clear it on his calendar. I called my friend Allen Gladfelter and asked him how he felt about helping me out at a toy show. He laughed, “A Toy Show? Sure! Why not? I’m not doing anything else on Saturday.” Krista was happy. Since the table was all set up, that meant Allen and I could take his car, and Krista would have a car to do some shopping. As a reward for helping me, I bought Allen breakfast at The Meridian Café, which replaced Aunt B’s. The Meridian Café is one of the few restaurants in downtown Puyallup that open before 8 am. Which is a good thing as the Toy Show starts at 9. They do a good breakfast there. I just don’t like the wood bench seats in the booths.
I’m very glad Allen came with me. While I did some final tweaks to the signage on the table, Allen walked around the two buildings, one of which had a second floor. He reported that there was a booth of Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Legos, and action figures. He laughed and announced, “There is a sea of Funko Pops.” I tried to squelch his rants on Funko Pops as Anthony, the guy selling right next to us, had his tables covered with Funko Pops. Things got very busy for me on Saturday. Allen was running most of the transactions, and I pulled merchandise from boxes. This was the first show while I was selling my new set of Atomic Age Alien pins. A couple of my die-hard fans came by and bought the full set. I sold a dozen more over the weekend. I “made table” in the first hours. I offered to buy Allen lunch, but we ate a big breakfast. I’d brought some snakes, and we nibbled on those. Allen and I were placing bets with each other. Who would return to the table? Who would buy something? Allen came out ahead. I thought for sure those emo teenagers would come back. A couple of my other friends were also at the show. Corey Macourek had a table featuring Star Wars backgrounds he made for folks who want to show off their figurines. Mark Brill was there doing Caricatures and selling some of his prints.
I was by myself on Sunday, which wasn’t a problem. Sunday wasn’t as busy as Saturday. But it was busy enough that I could sit and do some drawing. Every time I tried to draw on my tablet, I found myself talking to a friend stopping by or selling an item off the table. I took my time breaking down at the end of the day. Since the show started at 9am, it ended at 4, a little earlier than other shows. It wasn’t raining as I made two easy trips to the car. I could sit down and tally my earnings, which were better than last year. Woo Hoo!
Because it is spring break, Freelance Fandango was filled with teachers this week. I was so happy to hang out with my friends. While there was a lot of chatter and show and tell, I got a little drawing done as well. Mark Brill, Stan Brown, and James Stowe were there. We were all exchanging Weird Elephant prints. They dropped off extras for me to put into the archive I use to refill our binders. There was a discussion about who would want to create posters for some of the movies coming out. There wasn’t too much talk about art events happening in Tacoma. We’ve all had to rely on our solo activities in recent years; discussing or even being active with others is a slow habit to get back into. Sharing those activities can be a lot of fun. I gave a report on the Toy Show. Nori received a lot of compliments on his recent nature photographs. Stan has been regularly drawing monsters on Monster Monday and doing a podcast on his YouTube channel called The Sumo Show, where he and his friend Owen talk about sumo. I’ve been learning many behind-the-scenes facts about the players, the stables in which they live, and the political intrigue within the sumo association. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/@StannexStan
Alley News
My neighbor Pat is new to playing Pokemon Go. I think he and I have gone on more walks together in the last few months than in the many years we’ve been neighbors. He asks me questions about the game I’ve never figured out. Ever since the special Pokemon event that Pat and I attended at Wapato Park he’s been itching to be a part of the next one. I’m helping him locate Pokemon Go friends online, which is part of the playing process. But he has yet to actively meet any other players in person. Once he comes out of his shell a little, he’ll be more open to doing so. Most people I played with in the Fern Hill area use an app called Reddit to keep in touch and organize. I don’t use that app, so I never caught on. I relied on someone in that group to call me when something happened. That worked fine until she moved out of state.
The recycling service had to return on Thursday because they should have picked up the containers set out in the alley on Wednesday. Our neighbor Cathy Smith called the city. She is usually very quick about such things.
I had a quick visit with my parents this week. My father had a morning session at a chiropractor, and my mother went to the gym. I got to their house just as my dad returned from Kingston, and a minute later, Mom returned home. We ate a speedy, light lunch of clam chowder before I got Dad in the car to get some cortisone injections into his back. He’s been getting them about every six to nine months, and they have been helping a great deal. Dad asked the other patients in the waiting rooms questions about their upright walkers. He has one but desires a version with armrests. The people we encountered were very proud of their walkers and more than happy to show the unique features to be found on their model. I took photos to show my siblings in case his new interest continued. We made a couple stops back on the way home.
Dad lavished a sushi lunch on me the last time we were out. This time I got him some razor blades, a tank of gas, and a bottle of Makers Mark. I told him it was an early birthday gift. His 93rd birthday is next week. My brother Stan is taking Dad and Mom to Hawaii. While in Hawaii, Stan will take Dad fishing. I hope he catches a whopper. The sibling pitched in on that. I left my folks with some carrot cake Krista made, some Brazil nuts for mom, and some Japanese chocolate-filled cookie treats made for little kids with pictures of pandas playing sports. Then it was home for dinner.
Some of the meals Krista made for me in the last few weeks:
Chicken and Squash Sauce with Pine Nuts.
Katsu Squid Flanks with rice and brocolli.
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.
A new variation on her Chicken, Carrots, and Noodles dish done with a Sheppard’s pie crust. This one is spicier than the other with a creamier coating.
Pulled Pork, this batch was spicier and sweeter than the last batch.
Salt and Pepper Panko covered cod.
Crispy Spicy Korean Chicken with rice and broccoli.
Songs I’ve woken up with in my head:
“George of the Jungle” by Sheldon Allman and Stan Worth
“Tonight You Belong to Me” by Patience and Prudence
Some of my dreams:
March 27
#IDreamt spirits would stay close to the people that killed them. I found myself following my murderer to prison. The ghosts there debated their purpose as there were no instructions.
March 28
#IDreamt, a large corporation, went to the moon to claim it as its own. They discovered the moon was already inhabited and had more advanced technology. The Lunites kicked the invaders back to Earth.
March 29
#IDreamt I was working as a graphic recorder at an impromptu conference. A hurricane had everyone in the hotel holed up in a conference room. Someone suggested we should pass the time constructively.
March 30
#IDreamt I found a terrific ‘50,s era looking suit at a thrift store. I bought it and, while wearing it, discovered it was a computer capable of time-dimension travel. From there, things got a bit hectic.
March 31
#IDreamt I met a band on tour to talk about storyboards. They were so bombed on pot that I used my phone to video them playing and interacting with fans who were more stoned than them. Made it into a music video.
April 1
#IDreamt that four agencies deal with supernatural events. They are so heavily warded that people who work for them often need to be remembered. Only people who are cursed can perceive them.
April 2
#IDreamt that I was paired with another dreamscape agent to infiltrate a roughy supercomputer. One access point was a hidden door on an elevator. The dream was looping, the computer’s defense system in action.
April 3
#IDreamt I was back in an alternative version of the old West where women were required to pass a literacy test to work in a brothel.
April 4
#IDreamt I was cleaning a river next to a metropolis. This was part of my duty looking for bad guys. I was talking to a raccoon and her pup for ecological advice, but they were city dwellers.
April 5
#IDreamt I was overweight with a beard and spent all my time at a dirt racetrack with a bad crowd. After a racing accident, I turned over a new leaf, left that scene, and changed my appearance.
April 6
#IDreamt, the secret cure to the secret alien virus invasion, had a 73% success rate being distributed in food at Denny’s. Taco Bell was selected as the next distribution site because of its user demographics.
April 7
#IDream I was walking into a lighthouse expo.
I watched some movies in the last couple of weeks:
32. March 29
Penny Serenade (1941) Rating: 6
I rewatched this film to confirm that I saw it before, maybe before I was a teenager, on our old black-and-white television set before cable was even a thing. It’s a soft-touch melodrama tear-jerker with bits of soft-touch humor. Perhaps its soft touch is why I had difficulty remembering if I’d seen it before. I watched it on a Netflix DVD.
33. April 4
Unhuman (2022) Rating: 5
This movie teases the audience with the zombie and young teen drama genres. It does land in the horror genre. When you finish watching it, you will have to decide where in your Venn diagram it falls. I watched it on Amazon Prime.
34. April 5
The Wave (2015) Rating: 6
You have the trope of a man’s marriage being a bit on the edge. But it’s done without a lot of exposition. The trope of an emo teenager, without it being in your face. His colleagues see him as tight, not paranoid about things, not really. These little bits of anxiety build to the moment when things obviously go, well, downhill. It's a fun enough disaster movie to watch.
There is so much I haven’t written about. I had a lot of phone calls with various family members and friends. Krista and I are trying to plan out our summer months for visitors and to visit. But, I must stop writing this missive at some point, fearing I will bore my readers or wear them out.
More next week,
Mark
