laughing all the way to the bank...

The title sums up my feelings on Precious Moments, or PM as I've abbreviated it. And that is not in the context of them, PM, laughing at their audience, but at those who probably have found ways to criticize PM and what it does. Even my own cynical self found a few tears in my eyes walking through the Chapel tour and reading some the tributes there sent in honor of loved ones. I enjoyed taking the time to sit outside in the back of the Chapel gardens and just breathe.

As it turned out, Sam Butcher was there the day we visited. I didn't think much of it at the time, figuring that it was a common occurance. He was recovering from some kind of surgery on his ear and couldn't hear well, or at all. His "handler" was there as a buffer, but he was very friendly. Here's a pic, albeit badly lit, of Mr. Butcher and myself...According to Wikipedia, Mr. Butcher doesn't live in the US, but makes his home in The Philippines, only coming stateside during certain season to visit the Chapel. So for that, I feel very fortunate.

One thing I found of interest was his non-PM artwork, which showed a flair for color and cartooning. I liked this painting... And here's some greeting card art he had. Sorry for the poor pics...

The only thing bad about tours of this nature, particularly "Christian" type tours, is that there is a tendency to make things sound a bit too good to be true. Mr. Butcher is not from Missouri, but felt the LORD wanting him to build the PM Chapel at Carthage. Probably so. But it also corresponds to the time Nashville discovered Branson and decided to make it a new Country Music haven. Nor am I being cynical or terse--it made good business sense. The tour version of events was a bit too sugary, and there certainly are Butcher detractors,...but Wikipedia had a more "balanced" account. It wasn't all easy. Mr. Butcher, like us all, is a human being complete with his own flaws. There was some pain that went into the Precious Moments Chapel's coming into being, and that I can respect. My wife's immediate thought wondering if I could work for them. My own thoughts were of is there something I have yet to cartoon, draw, create, and leave behind with some pride and humility? By the way, here's another painting I enjoyed there...

I'm still processing it all, but have concluded in some fashion that I need to return to serious drawing. Too many things half done. Maybe that's what Sam Butcher did--he finished stuff he started.