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…when those rubber bands that had been wound up all day in the hot Texas sun finally let go and broke a third of the way down the line in the last race and absolutely shredded my little winner into a glorious spray of balsa wood toothpicks. Most kids, I’m sure, would have been disappointed. Me? We won all day long, and did what we wanted when we wanted to do it. And that was the fun part for me. Doing things our own way. So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s THE SECRET. If you want to be suc cessful at comics, or business, or what-the-hell-ever, do the hard work, sure, know what you’re getting into… …but think for yourself. Don’t do what other people are doing, because, you know, other people are doing it, already, and better than you. You won’t stand out if you’re just following the crowd. Sure, your rocket may destroy itself and you’d be stuck with fourth place, but, y’know… that’s a fourth place you did your way. Get a whole bunch of like-minded folks on your side and throw a shin-dig, and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing on Saturday night. When the word gets out you’re having fun, there’ll be folks showing up at your party. Attack of the Fifty-Foot Comic Store June 8, 2001 A couple of weeks ago, I was riding home from a lunch with my pal John Lee, and I headed down Noriega, which is a thoroughfare in San Francisco that heads to the ocean. It’s a straight road, and there’s not a lot to pay attention to in the way of traffic, as everyone’s pretty much heading in the same direction, heading down the hill and soaking up the gorgeous view of the Pacific arrayed out before them. If it’s a nice day, of course. Mostly it’s pretty foggy out there in the Sunset District. Comedian Will Durst has a great line about living out in this part of San Francisco: "I don’t know why they call it the Sunset District. They might as well call it the Unicorn District, because you have a better chance of seeing a unicorn than you do a sunset."

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