Christmas in (The Last 4th of) July

"I shall sit here upon this rock, this new cornerstone of American civilization.  I will gaze across the barren lands with arms spread wide and I shall harbor those which this world has left behind, brought forth, through pain and suffering of the worst kind.
"Upon wings of glimmering, golden mirrors reflecting the true shape of things to come--as a phoenix rises from the ashes, life begins anew."

     So began a most epic saga half-a-lifetime ago...and I'm really just getting down to it.  Funny that I mention it, too, because one of the other members of this itty bitty life o' mine just walked into the coffee shop I closed down a half hour ago to write this.  He'll show up from time to time in pictures for a project I'm working on, too: he plays a big part in the cast of characters, not just in real life.  To quote "Throw Momma from the Train" as he leaves:

"All you ever do is sit there at your typewriter and
peck peck peck 
just like a fat pigeon."  

  
     Truer words were never spoken.

     "What is all this rambling for?" you may ask yourselves.  "Can he keep it up consistently?"  "Traveling Tales of what?"
     These are all fine questions that I will one day hopefully answer here or elsewhere in the aether.

1.  I ramble because I care.  If I don't, you (or I) might miss something important that could leave us stranded in the previously stated aether.  Truthfully, though, I have an ultra hard time focusing my attentions onto a keyboard (sans typewriter) because my fingers travel faster than my thoughts.  'course, maybe that should be the other way around...  Anyhow, I edit a bit as I write, too.  Not very well, either.

2.  I'm gonna try really hard to be on my game with this.  At least every other day.  I figure that if I've got people's attention (or keeping my own?) I'll do this for as long as I can.  I need an outlet, and though I despise sitting in front of a computer, I figure I'll be here anyhow.  Might as well do something productive with it.

3.  The Traveling Tales of Waybackwhen (TToWBW) is a little something I've been working on since time out of mind.  Seriously, I've been working in this in one form or another since I read Robinson Crusoe in ninth grade.  (Followed by reading The Stand, you couldn't expect this to not be slightly off, could you?) 
     So, TToWBW has taken so many twists and turns in the last fifteen years that I hope this newest venture into comics and graphic novels is just the ticket.  I've seem to've gotten all my personal junk out of the way (and having an illustrator helps) so now I've got time to devote to this story mostly wholeheartedly.

     What's it about?  Tune in to see...

     The Oracular Beard