What Would I Do Without Cardboard Boxes?

Funny black and white comic of Bryan getting a cardboard box over his head. Drawn by cartoonist Bryan Skinnell.

I think cardboard boxes must surely rank as one of mankind’s greatest inventions. I’d place them right up there with pepperoni and condoms. Like every household in America, my crib is crammed with cardboard boxes of every size and configuration conceivable. I don’t know about you but I positively cringe at the thought of a good box being thrown away and I simply cannot bring myself to do it. As a result I have amassed an impressive collection of cardboard boxes of every shape, size, and color which I’m adding to on a regular basis. And I bet you do too you thrifty cad you!!!

Since I’ve got them I might as well put a few of those boxes to work storing my art. So I’ve been selecting various ones to archive my paintings and drawings and cartoons and other rip-raff I’ve made over the years. This has achieved the desired effect of making it look like I’m about to move across the country much to the glee of my neighbors. I’m already feeling more organized and productive now that I’ve worked out an archiving system I can finally work with. No longer will I lose individual pieces of art at a time. Now I can lose entire boxes at a time!

And that leads me to my next million dollar idea…… and it’s a winner folks! Bryan’s Rent-A_Box! You need a handy cardboard box for something? I can fix you up!! I have a box for every occasion, legal or illegal. Just tell me what you need and I’ve got the perfect box for the job. And if you’re on a budget I have an assortment of lovely pre-owned boxes that are still holding up pretty good. My prices start at $30 per week which frankly is chump change for storing your precious junk that you’re too much of a tightwad and sentimentally attached to ever throw away. You need the box and frankly I can use the money. How’s that for thinking out of the box? It’s a service whose time has finally come.

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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