Time is so short.

In some ways, cyberspace can produce life, but it cannot stop death.

After being alone for so many years, my older brother has appeared from out of the murky anonymity of cyberspace and become a living, breathing reality. Never would I have predicted such an outcome from my decision to start collecting sheets of paper with art printed on them and encased inside clear, protective plastic.

My big brother has been an inspiration to me both in CGC and in life. We both share the same concerns, although while I have been mired in the past, he has held a more comfortable balance between what was and what is. His enthusiasm for both has now made me more aware of the current offerings available in the hobby we share and love so much.

Whether its Locke and Key or Ten Grand or East of West or Day Men, he has opened my eyes to the many possibilities of the present. I have a growing understanding of my need to have something to strive for in a short time. This is because I am slowly coming to accept that the creators and icons of the past are beginning to enter into their next great adventure after this life, one by one.

With wonderful creators like Jack Kirby, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert all permanently leaving the scene and with many more not getting any more youthful, I have to stop and consider some questions.

What will I do when they are all gone? Whose writings and artwork will I continue to enjoy? Who will I look forward to meeting one day when all of those I have known have vanished from meatspace, from cyberspace, from time and space...

For now I must put aside my dire contemplations and appease myself with simply planning the next Con I will attend, just as my big brother is doing.

As I sit here, writing this journal, with my mind considering so many avenues of possibilities, many of my little ones are away from home going through a maturation and transformation that will completely change them by the time they decide to visit with me again. Some of them are even staying with my big brother for a time and I can only hope that he will have a hand in helping them to become all that they can be in life.

When the day comes for all of them to come home to me, I will have aged just a year short of a year and a half and I may have a different outlook on life by then. Already, I am contemplating the option to sell off some of my progeny to the CGC collecting masses out there.

Like my brother, I am having a difficult time deciding which ones I should hold close to home and which ones I should send off into the world as examples of my patience, perseverance and accomplishments. As they begin to trickle in, I will have the unenviable task of choosing who goes and who stays.

Pray for me, fellow CGCers. I will need it.....

Below is a pic of me getting something signed by Pat Broderick at the Miami Supercon!

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