The Sattler Series: The Story of Boo

Second Post of the Day

Originally published in Teachinmama, this sheds light on why the black kitty, Boo, appears in the portrait that Dave drew of me.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2012

The Cartoonist versus the Teacher: A Sunday Morning Tradition

(All cartoons are shown with Dave Sattler's permission.)

Lafayette is fortunate to have its very own editorial cartoonist. For forty plus years, Dave Sattler, a lifelong local resident, has been drawing wonderful cartoons for the Sunday newspaper that comment on (and sometimes skewer) the ins and outs of life in Indiana. Opening the Sunday paper and reading his weekly cartoon is something I very much look forward to. (You can see them on Friday if you go online for a sneak peek, but I always wait!)

Dave is married to Nancy Sattler, a friend of mine who teaches at Hershey in the classroom next to mine. One day a couple of years ago, she was talking at lunch about their diabetic cat, Boo, who required daily shots of insulin. A fellow teacher asked in a derisive sort of way, "Why go to all that work and expense? Why not just put the cat to sleep?"

And Nancy drew herself up and responded frostily, "Because that cat allows my grandchildren to put diapers on him!" (He willingly acts as a baby when they play house.) She then proceeded to tell us some of the things patient, loving Boo tolerates from her six grandkids. Later, Nancy also told me that Boo kept Dave company in the early hours of Friday mornings when he works under deadline to draw that week's cartoon. Apparently Boo follows Dave down into the basement and hangs out with him by the drawing board while Dave creates.

Who wouldn't love a wonderful cat like that? I have been a Boo fan ever since.

Dave occasionally included a little black cat in his editorial cartoons. Sure enough, that was Boo, Nancy confirmed when I asked. Seeing Boo in the cartoons was a treat, and I began finding myself disappointed when Dave did not include the kitty.

One Boo-less Sunday, I decided to email Dave and, in a tongue and cheek manner, protest and tell him how disappointed the President of the Boo Fan Club (i.e. me) was that her favorite kitty had not been included in that week's cartoon. I said something along the lines that, if deer could be on campus, certainly Boo could be, too.

Dave responded quickly, telling me that Boo was in the cartoon and hiding behind the newspaper box.

And that started a nearly every Sunday correspondence between the two of us. On Sundays when Boo was included, I would comment on Boo's activities for that week. When he wasn't there, I would "protest" and ask Dave to reconsider.

Recently, on the second Sunday in a row without a Boo sighting, I emailed Dave "complaining" about another Boo-less editorial. Dave replied, "Look closely." So I pulled out the newspaper and did:

 The Boo Fan Club President hung her head in shame when she saw that she had overlooked her favorite kitty in the lower left-hand corner. "Okay, Sattler, game on!" I thought. "You won't fool ME again!"

 The following Sunday, I again had to look hard, but I spotted Boo in the passenger seat of the car. Those two little black ears were tiny but unmistakable! (Apparently Nancy asked him why Boo was in the car, and Dave responded that he knew I would be looking for him.)

Today's comic was very, very clever. Not only is Boo himself hidden, but he is present in another way, too. (The background on this cartoon is that a family is suing a local school district. Their 13 year old son was asked to remove a "Save the Boobies" wrist band that he claims is in support of breast cancer awareness and the family claims the school district is suppressing his right to free speech. I am with the school district on this one!)

In addition to the cat hidden in the hair of the character on the right, see Boo's name all over the place? I wrote Dave the following email:

Boo barrettes! What a concept! As fan club president, I should have thought of that one myself!  

I am not sure about using the BOObies bracelets as fan club memorabilia, though. The teacher in me shies away from that one. ;-D

As always,

Signed most respectfully yours,

Lynn, Boo Fan Club Prez

Here are some of my favorite Sattler cartoons (many without Boo, but that's the way it goes!)

I like this one because Boo plays a central role and actually gets some dialogue:

It is in response to a community art project where artists (including Dave) signed up to humorously paint dogs under the theme "Dog Days of Summer." The dogs were displayed all over town. Boo got his own 15 seconds of fame! (Not sure who his friend is.)

 The girl-geek in me LOVES this one:

Downtown by the courthouse is a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette. Apparently his sword was broken off the statue. Dave suggests replacing it with a light saber! (See Boo?)

And being married to a teacher, how could Dave not reflect on some of the things that happen in education? 

Most Indiana educators are appalled at what our governor, Mitch Daniels, and state superintendent, Tony Bennett, have done to education. This cartoon is hanging on the wall in the Hershey librarian's office.

The next cartoon actually happened at Hershey as well as at several other schools in the state. After a LONG list of mandates as to how the ISTEP tests MUST be administered, and in-your-face comments bordering on accusing teachers of cheating... (the state of Indiana actually counts erasure marks on a test - too many, and the teacher is accused of cheating. Happens a second year in a row? Your name WILL BE PUBLISHED in your local newspaper. Even if you did not cheat. I kid you not. Some of us were in tears over this.) ... there was a SLIGHT problem.

After following ALL the mandates, familiarizing ourselves with ALL the rules, ensuring that EVERY child was assigned a computer, and that THEY WILL NOT use ANY OTHER COMPUTER for the duration of the testing...

 ... the test itself proves faulty, and children are kicked off randomly throughout the testing period. It was a HUGE fiasco and the state had well-deserved egg on its face. Dave memorialized our frustration at the double standard to which we were being held. (Teachers must be perfect; the state, not so much.)

One of the cartoons that touched me most:

 That's Dave and Nancy standing in front of their home. The original cartoon was published the Sunday after 9/11; Dave reprinted it on the tenth anniversary this past year.

Craig had a question about this one: "Does Nancy know that Dave wrote about her?"

 Yes, that's Dave and Nancy in the new Mackey Arena, and yes, she knew he'd written about her. (Not sure she was super excited about it...)

And finally, my most favorite of all. The one that I clipped when it came out Father's Day, 2009, and is taped to the computer in my office:

 For me, that last panel reflects the joy we feel when our kids call us. Whether it's early in the day, afternoon, or evening, whenever the phone rings and it is one of our children, that happiness is the emotion. Dave captured it perfectly.

I told Nancy about my feelings for this editorial, and she laughed and said that Dave had gotten tons of comments about it. She then told me that he had struggled that week to find a topic, and that he felt this one was a bit lame. He was surprised to discover just how many people, like me, connected with it.

-----

Next up? Dave visits my classroom.

Stay 'tooned!

The Sattler Series: An Introduction

First Post of the Day

Dave Sattler is an artist who drew editorial cartoons for Indiana as well as many other news outlets across the country for 50 years. He is still drawing now.

I am lucky to have been "Sattler-ized" and this caricature of me hangs in my bedroom. It was drawn from a school photo of me, one I did not know he had access to, so it was quite a surprise when I received it.

Dave signed his work and he also added Boo, the cat that appears in most of his art.

He was kind enough to also give me the digital file of the artwork and permission to use the picture as I wished. What a gift!!

Dave's picture of me graces my original blog, Teachinmama.  

And, I used the digital file to create post-its and notepads to use in my classroom. 

The notepads included the classroom motto that a student had coined, "Flying high with Mrs. I!"

I even have some spiral bound journals that I used both when I was teaching and here at home.

As you might imagine, I treasure that picture that Dave drew of me. It has great meaning to me and is even more unusual since Dave only very rarely will do a portrait of someone. All the more reason why I was so surprised when he gifted the caricature to me.

So, how did all this come about? Well, this is the kick-off post for a new short blog series titled, The Sattler Series. (I know, imaginative title, right?) I'll explain how I became Sattler-ized and also share the story of Boo the kitty that I mentioned in this blog post.

I think you will enjoy the stories. (Teaser: Worms, anyone?) A second blog post is coming this morning so...

Stay 'tooned!

Stewarding for BOO

First Post of the Day

Since Labor Day weekend, I have been stewarding BOO, Breyer's Online Open Photo Show.

What a show! There were at least 6,500 photos entered by around 140 hobbyists.

Screenshot from Instagram.

It was a lot of work to steward BOO. Each steward was assigned a portion of the show, and my assignment was to check every model in every class of two divisions. That meant there were 96 classes that I was stewarding to be sure their entries were ready to be judged. I had to check each photo for correct formatting, make sure the model had been placed in the right class, that its name, breed, and gender were listed, and more. 

I spent at least an hour a day looking at entries and contacting owners if there was a problem that needed fixing. (Even during Feast weekend I was stewarding after spending the day out at Fort Ouiatenon!)

When stewarding ended and judging began, stewards were asked to continue checking as the classes were judged to be sure that every class had first through tenth places marked and then two honorable mentions given if there were enough entries to warrant it.

It was fun but a huge task. Kudos to Admins Liz LaRose and Julia Turner who did a fabulous job supporting stewards, entrants, and judges as the massive show progressed over the course of a month and a half.

Compared to Breyer Boot Camp, which I also stewarded this spring, this was a much larger show and the participants were, for the most part, experienced at photo showing. Thus the issues that needed to be fixed were generally more technical/formatting ones and different from the problems the first time or inexperienced showers had in Boot Camp.

BOO is wrapping up this week - my stewarding of the judging portion of my assignment has been completed and so I am finished. I had fun, saw some incredibly beautiful models, and I got to interact with some hobbyists I'd never met before.

Now I move on to preparing for the October Great Lakes Congress show. Can't wait!

A second, non-horsey post is coming in just a bit. Stay 'tooned!

BOO & More

My mornings currently have a new routine that's been added in. I am one of the stewards for BOO, the Breyer Online Open Show. And stewarding is in full swing right now.

BOO is held on the PonyBytes platform just as Breyer Boot Camp is, so I am familiar with the format of the show as well as the formatting that entrants need to use to enter their models. (And which stewards are responsible for checking to be sure is correct.) 

I look over new entries every morning, and I am one week into the process with one more week to go before the galleries close and stewarding finishes up.

Entries close today at noon EDT, so if you haven't entered but want to, head over the Breyer and enter! It's a fun, well run show and the stewards and other staff are happy to help if you have questions or are unsure about how to proceed.

Speaking of Breyer, Barn Buddy Kelsey and I finally had schedules that matched and I got my BreyerFest models! I also got to spend some time chatting with her - she is such a nice lady and a good friend.

We met where she works and thank goodness she sent me a map with the employee parking lot circled - the Lafayette Cargill plant is enormous! (See those train cars of grain on the tracks waiting to offload?) And as I sat in the employee parking lot waiting to meet up with her, semi truck after semi truck rolled up and into a long line of trucks to deliver even more grain.

Kelsey is a scientist who examines and then grades (or even rejects) the grain for quality, among other things. Sadly, she had a meeting to attend and we didn't get to chat very long, but we are hoping to meet for lunch soon. My BreyerFest models are not yet opened - hopefully later  today.

One last bit of Breyer news (there hasn't been much lately, aside from BOO.)

There is a Classic/Freedom test run Andalusian stallion available. You can enter to be drawn for it, and the cost is $800 if you win. Not many Andalusians have been in Breyer's line-up for a while, and most likely that is because Breyer has termed the mold as "delicate."

Collectors Club members have until September 15 at 11/59 PM to enter for it if interested.

Don't forget the September Give Away - this month its a blackened beeswax ornament! To enter, comment on any blog post posted September 12 through Sunday evening, September 15, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

I'll try to get a second blog entry posted later this morning. Stay 'tooned!