Gobo Gazette

That’s right! It’s that special November Thursday where everyone fills up on fine food and finer company! It is Thanksgiving time! And, as it says in its name, it is a time to look back at what we have and give thanks for it. Seems easy enough, right? Just go to your big chain grocery store, load up on all the goods, and then cook it up. Sure it may take some time to prep and get everything ready, but you’ll have help. And there will be plenty of socializing as things warm up, both in the kitchen and on the television as the big game kicks off.

But what if it wasn’t so easy? What if, say, you had to personally hunt down, forage, or cultivate all that food yourself? As Fip is learning here, turkey hunting isn’t a sure thing. Those birds can get ornery (at least from what I hear). And what if we were to cut out all the tech? Forget freezing that fowl for later, you have to get that all cooked before it spoils. It would be difficult to reach out to others without a phone, or even make it in a timely fashion without our planes, trains, and automobiles. And entertainment would be word of mouth, not fourth and goal. So when you are giving thanks on Thanksgiving, try thinking about what it would be like without when you are being thankful for what you have.

I do believe that I may have misspoke in an earlier article. A few weeks turned into half a year. But, since they have made a return appearance in one of the most recent comics, the Snake Gorge Raiders have been added to the Gobo Gazette cast page. Unlike the Party of Adventurers™, the Snake Gorge Raiders will have only one entry… for now. And although there are nine pictured, there are a few more to come. As mentioned soon after their first appearance, these characters are based on those from an earlier, short-lived comic. These, in turn, were based on some of my friends. Except for their leader. He is based on something completely different.

Now this is the time I would normally announce that I will be updating the cast again or developing a locations page really soon. My track record for this has not been the best so lets instead state that I will get to those when I get to them. Instead I want to remind everyone that October is right around the corner and that means it will soon be time for Inktober! That’s right! Next month, I will be inking 31 drawings. One for each day. I will post an update on October 1st. See you then.

訪ねてきてくれて、ありがとう (Tazunete kite kurete, arigato)! Please note that I do not speak Japanese. I found this translation online and when I passed it by my wife, she said “All Good.” You might be wondering why I am going through all this trouble. Well, my mother-in-law had traveled from Japan and spent the last ten weeks with us. And it was quite enjoyable. I had first met her, her mother and her daughter when she was still living in Hawaii. That was many years ago. I am happy to say that little has changed since then, other than we are all a bit older – hopefully wiser – and there was a grandson for her to see in person for the first time.

Ten weeks seems a long time but it went by too quickly. We all saw her off just the other day and we found out this morning that she has arrived safely back home. Among the items she returned with is a printed version of this Instagram image (albeit in an 8×10 format). When she had asked for a gobo drawing, I thought “why settle on just one?” Plus it gave me an option to explore a different take on the twelve of them (I don’t think Bam gets it). It is a kind of omiyage, which is so much more than just a souvenir. And it is my little way of saying arigato. We hope to see you again soon!