August 27, 2008

Whew! I had a lot of catching up to do after my long hiatus and this cartoon represents my first cartoon since returning to the drawing board. I have some reservations about it now because there have been a few deaths as a result of eating meat tainted with Listeria. Using humour in that context is always a potentially risky proposition because of the risk of offending grieving families. This is why I usually stay away from tragic stories, unless I find a way to use the utmost sensitivity. This one is a departure from that policy, which I hope does not cause unintended grief. I certainly am no stranger to the grief of losing family members and my heart goes out to the people affected by eating the meat. If I could be an apologist for my own work, I'd say that the cartoon is not really pointing fun at the tragedy, but represents the uncertainty we all face in wondering if the food we eat and ate is safe. I say ate because the incubation period is one to eight weeks. That means the food we Canadians all ate this summer may have been contaminated with Listeria and we wouldn't know it. It has occurred to me that with all the outdoor barbecues I've attended, there is potential that I, or one of my loved ones, am at risk as well. The scope of this tragedy is not yet fully known.