I'm watching the Closing Arguments in the Donald Trump Hush Money Trial…only I'm not. What I'm really watching is the CNN coverage which consists of someone who's actually in the courtoom texting (I guess) summaries of what's being said and a few selected quotes to the CNN newsroom. Then reporters report and analysts analyze based on those summaries and selected quotes. So we're hearing how things are going in the courtroom from people who are not actually in the courtroom.
I don't have time to follow it all today because I have too much to do. There also won't be too much here today.
I have a number of e-mails asking me (a) if I had anything to do with the new Garfield movie, (b) if I've seen the new Garfield movie, (c) if I'm upset about not having anything to do with the new Garfield movie and (d) if I'm happy that it's getting not-great reviews and not-great reports that people are not flocking to see it. The answers to those questions are, in this order: (a) no, (b) no, (c) no and (d) no.
One thing I learned long ago about writing comic books and cartoons is that you should never get possessive about characters you don't own. I have friends who have made this mistake; who forgot that they were baby-sitters and not the actual parents. They wrote Marblehead Man for many years and perhaps did great work that brought Marblehead Man to new heights and new popularity. They may even have had people tell them, "You did the definitive Marblehead Man stories!"
But in a legal sense, Marblehead Man belongs to others and one day, someone else is writing Marblehead Man. The company that owns it is sold or it has a new CEO or…well, it really doesn't matter why. One content-creator is out and another is in and the old one no longer has the income or bragging rights. The new guy or gal might be following his or her template — in which case, the ousted creative person feels someone else is reaping the benefits of his or her hard work. Or the new guy or gal might be changing everything — in which case, the ousted person feels his or her hard, acclaimed work is being disrespected or ruined.
Either way, there is reason to suffer if they made that mistake of forgetting they were baby-sitting. I watched one friend go through some genuine pains when he was no longer The Writer of Superman.
I had a great time writing Jim Davis's great character on and off for about twenty-five years but I was careful to remember it was Jim Davis's character and Jim was still in charge, still doing the insanely-popular newspaper strip, still supervising everything done with his cat. He has since deeded some of that over to others and that's his right.
I have no idea if I'll be involved with the lasagna-eater again. If I am, great. If not, I'm delighted to have had such a long run as the baby-sitter.