That’s me, as painted by my brother, Scott!
This week, I’m headed to Texas to visit some of our clients. I love business trips to Texas because I also get to see my brother, Scott, who lives in Houston. He’s not just an amazing brother; he’s also an amazing artist. When he was in the military, he took a clean sweep (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes) in a nationwide Armed Services art contest. Monsters from classic movies often serve as his inspiration.
For years, I begged my brother for a piece of artwork to hang in our family’s game room. Scott drew my portrait on a piece of plywood and turned it into a pool-playing FrankenMary. Do you see the resemblance? I love it!
Of course, my brother and I aren’t the only fans of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his famous monster. For more than a century, popular culture has fixated on the monster that represents the duality present in all of us. Is the monster good or evil? Is he an innocent creature with a heart of gold, lonely for companionship? Or, is he an angry villain filled with self-hatred and the need for revenge on those who fear and torment him, judging his appearance and misinterpreting his actions? No matter what, like all of us, he is an often misunderstood creature who thinks, feels, suffers, desires, and reasons.
He’s appeared on fashion runways, cereal boxes, on stage and on screen, and he’s a mainstay on Pinterest, especially around Halloween. He’s even part of our vocabulary: the Franken- prefix can be used for anything assembled haphazardly from originally disparate elements. For example, Eddie Van Halen played a guitar he called the “Frankenstrat”.
In 2006, the book , The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived, listed Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster at #6. And, although artists, cartoonists, filmmakers and fashion designers pay homage to the sweeter side of Frankenstein, I have a feeling these politicians don’t.
Which reminds me of a joke:
Q: What do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dr. Frankenstein have in common?
A: They were both body builders!
As for me, I may not be a body builder, but I’m a relationship builder. Look out Texas, here comes FrankenMary!
Happy Monday,
Mary
