The Master Of Memory

Funny black and white comic of Bryan finding his notepad. Drawn by artist Bryan Skinnell.

Well goodness golly dear readers….. what can we talk about today? Oh, lets give the topic wheel a good spin and see what it lands on shall we? I’m right curious to know myself.

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Well I’ll be! We’ve got a dandy for today folks. And a timely one too as I’ve been thinking about this very subject myself. It reads, “Hey Bryan, why is it you keep losing your pocket notepad EVERY darn day?!” Why yes, let’s dive in and scrutinize this vexing issue because this is exactly what I need to know because right at this very moment I have lost my pocket notepad and have no idea where on this big and beautiful planet of ours it could be hiding. Unfortunately this is a regular and a super-annoyingly predictable occurence in my life. It’s amazing, and a bit worrisome, how often that thing goes AWOL. And I bet you thought I only lost my mind???

Now is as good a time as any to let me state for the record that I am a recognized world class expert at losing all manner of critically important things. You name it and I’ve probably lost it more than once. When it comes to losing stuff I am truly world class. So dear readers, if you ever want anything to disappear, hit me up for I am the best man for the job. But consider yourselves warned as my fees for this service are exorbitant and my waiting list is long. But I will not apologize for that as I am the best in the biz at what I do and have been honing my craft of losing all manner of loot for a great many years now. There’s nothing I can’t lost and that’s an open dare that still remains unchallenged. And one of the very few things which I can’t seem to lose.

Growing up my good mother always had some sage (and utterly useless) advice for me every time I lost something. Which happened every ten minutes or so. She would always ask me, “Now where is the last place you remember seeing it?” Ahhhhhh….. if I only knew! But of course I don’t because if I did I would hustle myself right over and grab it. This was true of me as a kid and it’s still true of me now as a middle-aged and rumply doofus who still thinks he’s a kid. Funny how my mind only seems to retain the utterly useless info while quickly purging anything of importance from its memory banks which might be useful later. Science should look into that.

Naturally if I could remember where I lost something I would run straight to it but I seldom (if ever) do. My memory banks have been wiped cleaner than my dog’s supper dish when he’s done eating. Logically I know it must be buried somewhere underneath one of these random piles of my messy existence laughing with glee at my ineptitude of keeping track of it. Which is pretty darn comical when you get to thinking about it. Hey, I might even make a board game out of it along the lines of the famous ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Now there’s a million dollar winner! I oughta write that sucker down in my notepad before I forget all about it. If only I could figure out where it is!!! AIIIIEEEEE!!!

Welcome to another day with Bryan. This surely explains why I never get anything done. So before I forget I’d better head off to the store and buy myself another notepad. Or four or five of them! It’s no big deal. I need to go to town anyway. And I’ll jump in the car just as soon as I can find my wallet and car keys.

Why hello there! My name is Bryan Skinnell and I am a middle-aged (50-ish) artist and neighborhood kook who is living the artistic and creative life out in the boonies of Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is one of the largest counties in the commonwealth of Virginia and, for the most part, it’s still a mostly rural one that bridges the gap between Roanoke and Lynchburg. You could say, in more ways than one, that Bedford is the heart of Virginia. I can’t argue with that although I usually think of Bedford more as Virginia’s belly button myself.

I grew up right here in Bedford and have lived and toiled most of my life on our infamous red clay. The sort of clay that makes the stickiest mud known to man after a rain and which clings like super glue from God to anything and everything it touches. If you are so foolish as to get it on yourself you’ll wind up tracking and leaving a trail of red goop everywhere you go for days afterwards to the delight of your family and friends. But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and Lord knows I tried as I’ve wandered from one end of the country to the other. But Bedford has my heart and that’s where I’ve chosen to live my life today. In my free time when I’m not stuck in my studio making art I do love being outside gardening or hiking or just pestering the neighbors.

Every day I try to write something that’s original, entertaining, and half-way thoughtful here on my blog while sharing my happy-go-lucky attitude and zest for life. Quite often I don’t have the foggiest notion of what I’ll end up saying in a post. But, whatever I end up writing about, I do hope you enjoy it!

I do keep a mailing list for interested readers and fans. If you would like to get in on the action and follow my musings and rabble-babble, that can be easily arranged. Just give me an email address that you would like for me to send my blog posts to and I’ll see that you get it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Bryan Skinnell

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