No. 229: A Christmas Ride For Max

A Christmas story that arrives a little late ...

N0. 229: Max II, December 2013

Our beautiful friend Max had a rough holiday ride from Ohio to Texas.
Twice.
In the end, it was worth the trips: His adventures in transit helped long-time friends and families in three states reconnect and re-establish their relationships, after decades of silence.
Max, you see, has been a very good boy.

Max

I was blessed with a wonderful childhood in a great neighborhood with wonderful and caring neighbors, Jan and Bob Hipple with their three daughters and son. They were all athletic and tanned types while I was pale and musical and sneezy, yet somehow everyone found common ground -- especially my late mother and Jan, who frequented each other's kitchens and saw each other through times good and bad.

No. 224: Max I, November 2013

But people come and go from this earth, or they grow up and move off and into their own lives, or they realize their retirement dreams in places such as Florida. On their own paths, they do lose track of and touch with each other.
Social media has many faults but it is valuable for connecting -- and reconnecting -- people.
Jan (I still call her "Mrs. Hipple") and I would chat on Facebook and relive some nice memories, while acknowledging the tragic ones in both families' books.

My girl Emily and our boy Corly

Eventually the topic of German Shepherds came up. I'm sure it blew her mind, hearing that I have one, Corly, considering all of those childhood sneezes and wheezes. Turns out her son Jeff's daughter Brittany has one, too.  Max.
And could I please draw him for Christmas?
Well, of course, I would be delighted!

Here is the birth of Max I on my drawing table, before Thanksgiving.
We tried to keep the gift a secret,  but that plan got blown away in a Texas storm.

The first Max drawing left the post office in Cortland, Ohio, on Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.  He was to arrive in Frisco, Texas -- north of Dallas -- by Tuesday, Dec.  3, or maybe Thursday the 5th.

Texas, I was told, is "a tough state to get stuff to."
What happened next isn't really clear, but by the 5th Max had not arrived. I figured I'd wait until Monday the 9th to worry.

 

Unfortunately, the storm hit by the 7th:
More than 3,300 travelers were forced to sleep on cots overnight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where workers had managed to thaw only two of its seven runways by Saturday morning.
Airlines canceled more than 400 flights from DFW that were scheduled for Saturday. Nearly a thousand flights were canceled on Friday.
At the height of the storm, some 267,000 electricity outages were reported in Texas.

The ice storm affected millions of people. Travel by vehicle or foot was dangerous due to icy roads and falling trees and power lines.  In some locations hit by ice, temperatures dipped into the single digits and teens in the storm's wake, causing wet and slushy areas to freeze solid.
This is in Texas, people. Already "a tough state to get stuff to," remember?
Emails and texts were exchanged, and phone calls, then finally Max arrived 18 days later.

Max I upon arrival in Frisco, Texas

He was a mess. Creased and crushed, it appeared his tiny postal shipping tube -- more of a square, really -- had gotten piled upon by tons of holiday packages, for a really long time.
It looked to me like it had been driven over. 
I called Brittany in Texas and we tried steam-ironing him flat, but he could not be salvaged. No amount of insurance or apology would draw him again.
She was disappointed, grandma was upset and I was crushed -- no pun intended.

His rebirth begins.

I said I would draw Max again, no hesitation.
No two drawings, however, can be exactly the same.

Sometimes the differences are subtle. Other are more pronounced, for a reason.
Lessons are learned the first time around, some repeated and some not on the second attempt.
The second Max, I decided, would have a fuller neck line and better ears. Partially Corly's ears, in fact.

Another important lesson Max brought home is how important my art is to me, and to those on the receiving end. There is a bonding during the process, and expectations are high.
If it's not right, I want to make it right.
It's my signature under the snout.

 

I drew Max II in three days. I worked the night shift, and got up early to draw during the days. I drove him to the UPS customer center and shipping facility in Girard, Ohio, and watched the staff tuck him into the biggest, thickest, heaviest tube they could find (and they did have to look around the warehouse for one).
"This must be a pretty important drawing," the helpful clerk-lady said.
"Um-hmmm," I said -- while supervising the packaging.


One lesson that I forgot about was, "Don't ship into a Texas storm." Because four days before Christmas, storms hit again!
The storm danger zone included eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, Arkansas and western Mississippi  -- the result of a collision between arctic air pushing down from Canada and unusually warm air pushing up along the East Coast.

But by Tuesday morning, Max was indeed at the Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport, and the UPS online tracking system asured that he was "on time" for Christmas Eve delivery. Updates were posted on Facebook and anticipation built in three states, and some other friends also tagged along for the virtual ride.
That is, until 10 a.m., when this message arrived:
"Your package encountered a delay. We expect your delivery will be postponed by one business day."
Crap!
Turns out that UPS bit off more than it could chew for the holidays:

Max finally arrived the evening of Dec. 26 and -- wouldn't you know it -- had to spend another night in the tube, locked in a condo complex office!

There is no way I could make up a story like this.

But today, the 27th, at 11:20 our time, I got a sweet text from Brittany:

"I got Max and he is PERFECT!!!!!"

That's five exclamation points. Everything is bigger in Texas.

Look at those ears!

I am so happy that this turned out well, and that Brittany, Jan, Bob, Jeff and others can enjoy an original from me.
Be advised, however, that next year I'm sending dog treats. For Max!

Merry After-Christmas and Happy New Year 
from Tom Wills Productions.