Classy art.
If you have ever been over to my house or just happen to be one of my stalkers that peeks in you undoubtedly have noticed my collection and have uttered the word, "classy".
The framed Bing Crosby prints and posters from his golf tournaments, sure. The posters and bills from my comedy shows. The signed black and white 8 by 10' of my comedy heroes; Don Rinkles, Betty White, Tim Conway, and Bob Newhart. Right next to them, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa; one of my favorite comedy teams, come on, you know between the two of them some jokes had to be cracked and if you didn't get them it was because you were not holy enough too. We move on to the Jesus playing hockey painting. Various crucifixes I rescued from a Belgium flea market that were surely pillaged from a closing church. Numerous photographs of friends and family and oddities I picked up during my travels doing stand-up.
And then the piece I am most proud of.
Dogs Playing Poker.
About 15 years ago when my mom decided that our family room should not look like a brothel just because we have a bar and cards were being played on a regular bases the DPP came down. After negotiations they were not throw out but stored under the bar where they rested in between 40 year old bottles of fermenting booze (which was best enjoyed after opening and after proper refrigeration) and other junk that didn't fit anywhere else.about 10 years ago while moving into an apartment for the semester at USD I found them and they promptly went up on my wall. How proud I was. How good I felt to educate people on how lucky I was to have such art hanging in my room. I was borrowing art from my parents.
I moved and down came the DPP and they found their way into my closet where they have been resting until yesterday when they saw the light again.
Not wanting to show off I just put one up for now. "A FRIEND IN NEED" is now proudly displayed in a place of honor, right below Bing but not above Jesus.
Every time I gaze upon it I saw a prayer of thanksgiving for the artist who painted it, C. M. Coolidge and also for the people in the sweat shop who recreated the one that hangs on my wall.
Classy.
