18 years ago, I illustrated a book for a friend of mine. It was a book of poetry he wrote after his son died. He wanted the themes of pumpkins, moons, crows, but he did not want it to look like Halloween. I pulled it off the shelf this morning and looked through it. There are about 35 drawings inside, plus the cover painting.

Here’s an abstract still life from a few years ago. I posted a detail of it 6-29-21. I was looking through paintings this morning and came across it again. “A Bottle Of Red.”

Years ago, a lot of random people started saying “Thank you, Sheldon” to me. I didn’t think much about it.  I figured it was a new slang word, and I always have to look those up. When my daughter said it to me, I asked her.  

Apparently, I reminded people of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. 

When I started watching the show, I was a little bit offended. 

My friends still insist that I’m “just like him.”

I recently started watching Young Sheldon. I didn’t like the previews, and had no interest in seeing the series. I was wrong about it. 

The kid that plays the lead is so cute, and it touches on a lot of triggers for me (in a good way). 

If my friends see adult Sheldon in me, I see young Sheldon in myself. Not his intelligence, although I now believe that I am and was smart. 

My brother told me it wasn’t that I was stupid, it was that my small minded school couldn’t force me to assimilate. I like that. 

Sometimes people say “My five year old could do that!” like it’s a put down. I welcome it, and take it as a huge compliment. If that’s your idea of a criticism, my advice is to go home and hug your five year old. Tell them how special they are. Do you think you’ve evolved beyond them?  They have a lot to teach you. What I wish for you and for myself, is that we’re not too arrogant to receive it.