Heidi Vs. Heidi

A year or so ago, my cousin, Nick, married my childhood next door neighbor, Kelly. The two met and, after a whirlwind two week courtship, got engaged and were married the following Tuesday. I felt as if two different dimensions had collided. I was (and still am) happy for both of them, but I felt like I was going to wake up from a strange dream at any minute.

The reason Nick and Kelly are the subject of today's journal entry is because of the two drawings shown here. Right after the two began dating, several of us went out for dinner and drinks. It should be pointed out here that Kelly's family has always been obsessed with Miniature Schnauzers. Throughout the time my family has known theirs, they've had no less than 22 of them total. The one that stands out the most in my memory is the one they called Heidi. To Kelly's amusement, I often times enjoy scribbling out a drawing of Heidi on a bar napkin or a ply of toilet paper. This particular night out was no different. After a few hours of conversation and drinks the topic turned to Miniature Schnauzers. This is when the pen came out. Kelly knew what was coming and giggled with excitement and glee. Nick had never witnessed this exchange and one could tell by the look on his face that he felt threatened by what might be on the verge of happening. Afterall, he had only known Kelly for a few days.

In a matter of seconds, I scrawled out a line drawing of the much-talked-about Miniature Schnauzer, much like the detail in the first picture. The crowd was pleased and the sight of the drawing was met with a thunderous applause from our party. Not to be outdone, Nick grabbed the pen from me and carefully drew out his own rendition of Heidi. It took no less than eight minutes and the group looked on in silence and confusion at what was being put down before us on the cocktail napkin. By the time the drawing was complete, Nick had managed to etch out some sort of half man/half beast with stick legs, buck teeth and some strange facial hair that somehow managed to grow around the chin and up over the nose. I'm not sure what ever became of that drawing, but I went home that night and drew it in my sketchbook while it was still fresh in my mind. Somehow, Kelly was able to get past the image of this monster that, I'm sure, was burned into her memory like some sort of tragic accident. As for Heidi herself, I'm sure she was rolling over in her grave.

While I'm on the topic of Nick, I'll also point out that his older brother, Pete, made a mention of my journal in his own blog, Feel Me Don't You, as a call to arms when I made the comment last week about the lack of traffic around here. Some of you may know him as "Steamin' Bowl O' Calderone." He's a good guy. And it's much appreciated.