Al Getler, man of many connections, introduced an old friend, Dave Granlund, political cartoonist, remarking that Dave's talent proves that the pen is mightier than the sword. He drew us in with the catchword, Ted Kennedy, one of Dave's favorite subjects.
Dave is a Massachusetts native and Air Force veteran who served two tours in Viet Nam. He began his career working for a newspaper in Chicago, but he currently does freelance work on the national scene, where his work appears in 550 newspapers across the country, and for MSNBC and others. 
He said there are about 80 political cartoonists today, down from over 500 before the advent of the internet. Since today is the 65th anniversary of the assault on Iwo Jima, he began his slide show by projecting his rendition of the scene.
Dave spoke about the need for sensitivity in his work, as demonstrated by his image of Patrick Kennedy rowing away in a small boat, while in the foreground Ted Kennedy's sailboat is sinking - an indication of the end of a political dynasty. Another somber scene represented the shooting at Fort Hood.
On a lighter note, he produced plenty of laughter with renderings of his interpretations of Sarah Palin's hand notes, Dick Cheney shooting his hunting 
buddy, Obama trying to secure the Olympics for Chicago, McDonald's opening at the Louvre, Belichik after the Colts game, balloon boy, and the myriad of school supplies kids need for fighting the H1N1 disease.
Inspiration sometimes comes from the craziest places, and he frequently draws the cartoon in his head when pen and ink are not handy. He draws his images on stiff bond paper using water colors, and he has to make his lettering large enough to be effective on the internet when providing a rough draft for his editor.
The audience interest intensified when Dave began demonstrating examples of his "cartoon alphabet," 
showing that cartooning is similar to handwriting, by utilizing the right side of the brain for producing shapes and colors as methods of expression. He said all his cartoons use the same shapes, then produced an example right before us. He noted that he had to know how to do real art before he could do cartooning. "Fancy shading can't hide poor draftsmanship," is a quote from his art teacher that he always keeps in mind. Dave took some questions from the group, then generously donated a couple of his drawings plus an autographed copy of his book to be used for our silent auction.
This presentation shows the quality of the speakers that we have been fortunate to have for our meetings, another reason to be bringing more potential members. Thanks to Al and Dave!
After Mark Spencer got the humor out of the way by making some remark about Tiger Woods, he provided us with some pertinent questions and answers about Shelter Boxes, a project that District 7930 is undertaking for humanitarian relief in Haiti. Facts: Over 750,000 individuals have been served in 100 disasters since the shelter boxes were initiated. They weigh 110 lbs, can serve 10 individuals each, and contain life-supporting items for food preparation, water purification, sleeping, and first aid, as well as kid-friendly things like coloring books and crayons (12 per box). Our club will be demonstrating and fundraising for additional shelter boxes at the Rockingham Mall on February 27.
With cash totaling somewhere over $150 on the line for the Ace of Hearts, Kerry Ellen Enright's Ace of Clubs beat out some lower card that Mark Spencer refused to display. Kerry gets the $10 and the pot rides.