Thank You for the Unexpected Kindness

Our family has really enjoyed learning about the Pickles comic strip over the past two weeks. For those of you who aren't familiar, Cartoonist Brian Crane, creator of Pickles, grew up with my father. Recently, I posted a story my father told me about Brian and within a week he had stumbled upon our blog. Since then we have shared a friendly dialogue as my father and him have connected again.

When Brian heard we were going to purchase a book of his comic strips, he emailed me and asked for our address. Within a week we had our own autographed copy of Let's Get Pickled. He even drew a picture of one of the characters inside the cover of the book.

Our children were thrilled. We loved seeing a boy wearing a CTR shirt, a temple picture on a wall and one of the main characters, Opal, reading the Ensign. Rebekah said that was her favorite part of the book, looking for things that most people would overlook unless they were LDS and looking for it. She has taken a "Where's Waldo" approach to reading the comics.

It was no surprise to us that Isaac grabbed the book and started his speed reading routine almost immediately. He was so caught up in the reading that we couldn't even speak to him. We tried but he was so enthralled that he just couldn't hear us.

Within a week another book arrived in the mail. This one, Still Pickled After All These Years, was addressed to Isaac. It was a total surprise. A personal note was in the envelope. It said:

Hi Isaac -- Your Grandpa Romer told me you like cartoons. I hope you will enjoy this book of my cartoons. Brian Crane

One night last week Isaac came up to me with his Pickles book in his hand and said, "Dad, do you know why I like these comics?"

"Why," I asked?

"Because they are funny," he said, a shy smile appearing on his face.

Thank you for your kindness, Brian. You can't buy the experiences we have had over the past three weeks. You have six new fans.