MAN DOWN!

36x12"
oil on linen
$450

Have you ever fallen in public? We all know, as long as nothing is irreparably damaged, our pride is more bruised than anything else. You feel yourself losing control for whatever reason, you try to correct, but it's too late...you're goin' down. Thud!

In my last year of junior high school, I was, much to my surprise, gleefully accepted into what I considered to be a very cool clique. The leader of the pack was exactly what I wanted to be. I was thrilled. We all had lunch together, traveled the hallways as a group, and enjoyed what we considered to be very witty repartee. I thought I was in heaven. They liked me...they really liked me!

Then, without warning, it happened. One day someone slipped the head honcho's little chair out from under her as she went to sit down. Thud! Her face turned crimson as arms and legs flailed to regain control. I was completely clueless and had never been in a situation like that and without even thinking, I began to laugh...uncontrollably.

As you might well imagine, I was instantly banished. It's amazing what can happen when the one in charge hands down an edict. It was as if I'd never existed not 10 minutes after the incident. One member of the group, in secret, apologized for not being able to speak to me again, but she was determined not to suffer my fate, and she too turned her back on the outcast. I was very careful, from that point on, not to ever laugh when someone fell and I guess that's a good thing.

That said, I'm having the best time with these freakin' bugs!