My son and I were over to my in-laws yesterday to take care of their cats while they’re vacationing. After scooping the litter box, the boy and I played with on old Fisher-Price Little People Village leftover from my wife’s childhood.
I gotta tell you, not only was it a blast from the past, but as I examined the little people (wooden, mind you, not the later plastic ones) I noticed that the simple dot and line faces painted on them seemed a lot like the style that I use on my cartoons today. Sure there are differences, but it made me wonder how much stuff like this from my childhood influenced my artwork and writing today.
My mom had gotten me a joke book once (I think it was called The Big Book of Jokes or something) that I proceeded to annoy the family with for months. I also used to study comedy albums and late night TV with an almost religious fervor. I do have a love for terrible puns, and I wonder now how many of my jokes have a Cosby or Carson slant.
Of course I’ll never know for sure, but watching my son play with those old little people suddenly became fascinating on a whole different level.