| Every Saturday morning when we post one of our animations it reminds me of growing up in New York and watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. |
| Careful, you are showing your age. That was back when there were only a handful of television channels and they had specific lineups, including Saturday mornings full of children's programming. It was long before there was the Cartoon Network. And, well before you could stream cartoons or watch them on smart phones. |
| I don't want the history of cartoons; I want to reminisce about the simpler times. I remember sitting in front of our black and white TV in the playroom with a bowl full of cereal watching my favorite cartoons. |
| I remember Mom had all the cereal on the bottom shelf of a kitchen cabinet so that we could make our own breakfast. |
| Yes, and I tried so
hard not to spill any milk but invariably did. |
| Well, that may explain why I have always eaten my cereal dry. And, often straight out of the box. |
| Gee, you were
efficient even as a kid? Although, I
have a hard time imagining you sugar loading on cereal and watching cartoons. Anyway, I can't remember us ever watching
cartoons together. |
| You are five years younger than me which, at that age, was a huge difference. Plus, we probably did not like the same shows. What did you watch? |
| That's easy! The Flintstones, Magilla Gorilla, and Mister Magoo. |
| The Flintstones was one of my favorites. That and The Jetsons. Did you know that The Flintstones started out as an animated show for adults? And, was the first animated show to air on primetime? |
| You really are determined to give me the history of cartoons, aren't you? |
| You brought up The Flintstones, not me. Anyway, the show's creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, had created Tom and Jerry, and were certain there was a market for adult animation given the success of relationship-based sitcoms. Shows like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Donna Reed Show. |
| Isn't that the same logic you used when you thought you could turn my crisis into a relationship-based sitcom? |
| Yes. Especially when I realized there was an entire cast of supporting characters. But, we never would have hired an animation firm if Hasbro had not suggested it when we met with them. |
| True. Regardless, I love that we post our animations on Saturday mornings. It's like going full circle! |
| That is fine … as long as cereal is optional. |
You may have to wait until the end of the month to celebrate Halloween, but the entire month of October is Bat Appreciation Month. So, Red can’t help but reminisce about when her oldest daughter, Natasha, first fell in love with bats. And Black? She can’t help but think of her first tattoo?!
| Thanks for sending me Natasha's Austin-inspired business plan. But while I know that's her future, I can't help but think about the first time I took her to Austin. |
| All I remember is that it was love at first sight. |
| It was on our way home from taking Sawyer to camp, and I told her we were making a slight "detour". She was so excited when I pulled up to the hotel as she's always loved hotels. But that night, as we walked onto Congress Avenue Bridge and saw the thousands and thousands of bats fly out into the sunset, she was mesmerized and "in love". |
assets.rebelmouse.io
Black
assets.rebelmouse.io
| Although I knew about the bats (the largest urban colony of bats in the world), if it were not for Natasha, I never would have planned a trip to Austin just to see them. But having watched her watching the bats, I was not surprised, years later, when her first tattoo was a bat. |
| That may not have been surprising, but I was shocked when a few weeks later you decided to get a tattoo, and it was identical to hers. I didn't know that you were such a fan of bats. |
| It was not the bats; it was the fact it was identical to her tat. Although, I think Natasha and I should add a few more bats. And this time, do it in Austin. |
| It's amazing how so many of my memories of the girls growing up are connected to Austin. |
| Funny thing is whenever I would be there with you and the girls, and they would "drag" me to that old-time candy store at the top of Congress, I would see things I had not seen since we were little, so would be reminded of us as children. |
| That's always one of the first places they'd want to go to in Austin. That and Green Mesquite BBQ. They both loved Austin, and it wasn't like going to a large city, where there are so many places to go and sites to see. They were always happy to go back to the same familiar places and enjoy simple things, like that snow cone truck or even just walking around downtown. |
| For as long as I can remember, Austin has always been a foodie town. And, it had food trucks before they became popular around the country. Austin has a unique culture, which may be why the girls, but especially Natasha, love it. And, its " Keep Austin Weird" vibe not only makes it the perfect place for her, but has provided some great ideas for her business concept. |
| I'll leave the business analysis to you. I know that she's doing that as part of her studies in the U.K., but I prefer to think about the great times we've had in Austin. And the mom in me thinks she'd be very happy to one day make Austin her home. |
| Especially as that's where millions of her beloved Austin bats live. |