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December, 2997
WE DREW TILL WE DROPPED
by
Karyl Miller
I’ve always avoided Charger games because 1. I hate football and 2. it’s a well-known
secret among paranoids that they employ scouts to recruit Charger Girls and that they can be
relentless in their pursuit once they encounter a female who has the right “eye candy.”
Naturally, I’ve always felt the need to protect myself (as I do near any Hooters – same reason).
But some causes are worth the danger – and volunteering to draw caricatures for the donors
at the San Diego Blood Bank annual Charger Blood Drive was one of them. And for the record
to any scout who might be reading this: I’ll become a Charger Girl when their pay equals that
of the players.
Other SCCS artists willing and able to make the sacrifice on a weekday were Joe Schmidt
(there from beginning to end), Jim Whiting (who changed into a magician half way thru), Joe
Annino, Joanne Stevens, the one name only Koba, and Greg Evans (who also gave away
Luann books). Greg Mullendore assisted in the donation room.
Unlike drawing at the Blood Bank for Cartoonists Day, the Charger Drive is more…
charged. While the BB lounge is like an intimate hotel lobby in Florida with sunlight and lush
plantings, the Town and Country Convention Center like… a convention center. The Chargers
stage was just like a telethon with live bands (rock, jazz, country, mariachi), dancing troupes
(ballet, Irish jig, cloggers, mariachi), interspersed with dignitaries (the mayor!), a fashion show
and then last, but not least – taa dah! The Charger Girls!
At the BB we had numerous lags between “customers” where we could take group
photos, ask about each other’s pens or draw each other. Because Charger crowds were
relentless in their quest for our art, we had work continuously to keep up with the demand.
The only excusable excuse to abandon my comrades in pens was to heed the call of nature.
For the Chargers, we drew till we dropped.
Even though I wouldn’t know LaDamian Tomlinson from Fifty Cent, he definitely breezed
past our SCCS booth - as did all the players and their entourages. When a star cuts through a
crowd it’s obvious - they always leave gawkers and gaspers in their wake.
In all I drew 43 caricatures. I’m not sure if I got better at drawing, but I certainly got
faster. Lynn Stedd reported the day’s blood tally was a record 1,944 pints with 150 people
registering on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. And the greatest gift of all – the
Chargers thanked SCCS on the game scoreboard (photo posted on our website sccs-online.
org along with photos of all the artists at work).
November 5th we lost one of our dear founders, Paul Norris, creator of Aquaman. Thanks
to all the members and friends who sent messages of condolences and eulogies and to the
many who attended our Paul Norris memorial meeting. A complete video of the meeting and
remembrances can be found on our website sccs-online.org.
Happy Holidays!
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