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Up the Creek

“Up the Creek by Vanessa Davis” The title panel contains an alligator showing its teeth, some lily pads, and some flying bugs. 1. “Tubing down the Itchetucknee River as a kid was always fraught with terror. If you gat stuck in the marshy sides you would absolutely be eaten by an alligator.” Young Vanessa, with short hair and glasses and a pink one piece swim suit, floats in a tube along a marshy spring. She is drifting into the marsh despite trying to steer with her hands flapping in the water. In a panic, she shouts out to her peers who have floated much farther past her, “Guys!! Wait!” 2. “Finding a group of friends willing to hang out with (and onto) you during the float was essentially a matter of life or death.” A bunch of adolescent kids sit in a school bus. Young Vanessa, with glasses and a middle part, turns to the girl in the seat next to her and asks, “Do you wanna be river buddies?” The girl points to the person sharing her seat and says, “Sorry, I’m already buddies with Marla.” 3. “More recently, I fretted before my mom's annual summer visit to L.A.” Adult Vanessa, with her hair in a bun and wearing a loose-fitting blue tunic, puts up a clear shower curtain. 4. “It's always really hot, and she has to sleep on my couch, and though she never complains, I cascade in stress over her comfort and the state of My own life.” Adult Vanessa, whose hair is down and falls past her shoulders, turns to her mom stiffly and asks, “Did you sleep OK, Mom?” Her mom, with a reddish bob haircut, replies, “Fine, honey!”

5. “Do I relax and have fun or is everything seriously wrong?” Vanessa’s mom wears glasses and dangly earrings that look like cherries. She is smiling and touching a display of a large gray stone. There are other displays of colorful crystals on shelves in the background. She is “at the Natural History Museum.” She calls out, “Vanessa! Come feel this hematite!” 6. “We are all intense in my family!” Vanessa’s mom closes her eyes and says, “…Listen, it is what it is!” Vanessa scowls at her and says, “UGH, what a cliche. You Know, ’It is what it is’ actually doesn't MEAN ANYTHING, Mom.” 7. “My mom has mellowed a lot in the last 20 years.” Vanessa’s mom looks at Vanessa with a pained or frustrated expression and says, “Yes it does!” Vanessa, still scowling, says, “If anything it means ‘I’m tuning you out, now.’” Her mom replies, “No it doesn’t!” 8. “It seems like the next step, growth-wise. But also like it comes from a tiredness that I recognize.” Vanessa, cocking her head to the side slightly and still scowling, continues, “And can you not walk me off the sidewalk? I don’t—“ Her mom cuts her off and says, “Honey. I'm doing the best I can.” She looks tired and resigned. 9. “Before my mother’s visit, I was drawing my last comic strip, the one about my dad’s beauty regimen. Some of my peers told me it was ‘sweet.’” Adult Vanessa, hair in a bun, sits curled up in her desk chair, working on a comic by the light of her desk lamp. She is wearing the blue tunic from before. She thinks to herself, “Don’t forget to put up the new shower liner.” 10. “After she left, my cartoonist boyfriend and I took a long drive up north to a lake vacation, so we had lots of time to talk.” Vanessa, hair down, is buckled up in a car and wears overalls over a pink off-the-shoulder shirt. She looks serious as she looks at her boyfriend and says, “I mean, I know the LAST PANEL was kind of TIDY.” Her boyfriend, who is driving, looks at her, smiles, and responds, “Well it’s like, you served a hearty meal of rich dishes, it’s okay to end it with a sweet, insipid dessert! To taper it off!”

11. We zoom in on Vanessa’s face. Her brows are furrowed slightly and she smiles in disbelief, or defense. “Insipid!” She shouts. Her boyfriend, who looks small in the background compared to her, side-eyes her nervously and starts, “Well—“ Vanessa cuts him off to say, “No, it’s fine!” Vanessa appears serious again and down, head turned to the side slightly. She says, “I am bad at endings! I don’t know how things end. It’s not the point.” 12. Vanessa’s boyfriend looks forward seriously and says, “You know, some of the most gifted filmmakers struggle over stuff that should be, like, Film 101! Like, I think it was Fellini who had a hard time with endings—I gotta look it up.” Vanessa listens quietly. He continues, “But anyway, like Spielberg’s not struggling cuz he’s following a formula.” Vanessa looks at him as she listens. There is a little heart by her face meant for him. 13. “I loved being at the lake—drawing, cooking, swimming with my friends.” Four people, including Vanessa and her boyfriend, stand around a kitchen island. There is music playing. Her boyfriend pours them cocktail glasses. A woman, whose hair is pulled back in a bun and who wears a blue tank top, is rolling out pastry dough with a roller. Vanessa is working on something in a big bowl. Next to her is a woman in a red short-sleeved shirt, who chops a cucumber on a wooden cutting board. This woman looks at Vanessa and says, “You and your platitudes!” Vanessa responds with an exclamation point and a look of (playfully?) offended disbelief. 14. “But even there I couldn’t always fit in.” Vanessa wears a floppy hat and a swimsuit. Someone off panel says, “We’re hiking to the ranch, do you wanna come?” Vanessa thinks to herself, “No.” She looks sadder, a bit guilty, and thinks, “But I should be with the group.” Vanessa now looks distressed and confused over the decision, surrounded by little question marks and exclamation points. 15. “I didn’t want to go on the hike!” Vanessa runs excitedly toward the lake wearing her floppy hat and two-piece swimsuit. She is heading down a green grassy hill, and there are evergreen trees lining the lake in the background. There is a little pier with a green umbrella and two docked kayaks, and lily pads at the edge of the water. 16. “I wanted to kayak. (My new thing is kayaking.)” Vanessa carefully steps backward from the dock down into a red kayak. There is a two-ended paddle in front of her.

17. Vanessa now kayaks in the lake. The dock becomes small in the background. She looks down and thinks, “I’m a kayaker!” She wears a serious expression. 18. Paddle tucked away, Vanessa looks down at a clump of lily pads and holds one in her hand. She thinks, “Ha, slimy!” 19. Vanessa now sits straight up in her kayak, which is surrounded by a bed of green reed plants. Her floppy hat covers her eyes. She looks tense as she thinks, “Uh-oh. I’m in the sides. It’s fine!” 20. Vanessa is back in motion, paddling confidently and smiling as she puts distance between herself and the marshy sides of the lake. She thinks, “Look at me, paddlin’” 21. Vanessa, still paddling, smiles and thinks, “Cliches are true!!” 22. Vanessa is in a beautiful lake scene, with the evergreen trees, dock, and little houses in the background. She lies back in her kayak, floppy hat covering her eyes and paddle resting on the kayak. She dips her hand in the water and smiles contentedly.

Tags: Diary, Humor, memoir, non-fiction, slice of life

Published On: November 25, 2023

Adam as a boy throws several rounds of punches in quick succession. They are drawn as disembodied fists circling out of spiral motion lines. He bares his teeth and scowls, shouting, "Punching machine!"

In big block letters, the title: "Milk." Derek skips exuberantly while holding a leaking trash bag over his shoulder, on his way to the dumpster. Both of his feet are off the ground. Flies circle around the trash bag. He wears an apron over a t-shirt, pants, and loafers. His head is back, facing up towards the sky, and he smiles widely.

Enzo stands in the kitchen, working over a bowl in the sink. He is shirtless but wears an apron and joggers. There is a carton of eggs on the counter.

1. Someone with dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail climbs a tree. They are up in the branches, surrounded by rounded leaves. “May 27. Thursday. Forest class - we learned some irrigation, some pruning. Felt a little weird later, sickish.”

Lynn's brother Adam, as a boy, wears a red vest and black bowtie over a white button-down and black pants. He has on his signature thick, square glasses. He is attempting to tap dance. He looks off balance and awkward. He grimaces.

Sunny, Derek's acquaintance smiles while ringing a doorbell, "DING-DONG." The onomatopoeia is drawn in big block letters. Sunny wears a sweater over a turtleneck. His hair flows effortlessly.

Kim pets her dog on the back. The dog smiles widely at the viewer. "May 21. Did bills, homework in the morning. Worked, then picked mom up at the airport."

Lynn's mom Lorraine uses a handheld vintage film camera: "WRRRRRR."

In block letters, the title sits at the top of the page: "Priority." Derek sits on a stump outside. His knees are tucked close to his chest. He hunches over slightly. He holds his phone to his ear and hides part of his face with his other hand. He looks nervous as he talks to someone on a phone call.

From above, we see spread of fruits and vegetables - pomegranates, pea pods, a mango, a pepper, etc.

Adult Vanessa sits across from her therapist, a woman with a brown bob and bangs, glasses, and a blue suit. The therapist asks, "Is that a FEELING or a THOUGHT?" Vanessa crosses her arms and scowls. "Both!" she replies.

Young Vanessa, with short hair and glasses and a pink one piece swim suit, floats in a tube along a marshy spring. She is drifting into the marsh despite trying to steer with her hands flapping in the water. In a panic, she shouts out to her peers who have floated much farther past her, “Guys!! Wait!”

Outside on a winding sidewalk path, a man with floppy hair and a dark parted pencil mustache approaches Derek. The man wears a shirt with a large collar and three large buttons, and pinstriped pants. He snaps he fingers with one hand and holds his other up with a limp wrist. He shouts out, "There he is! [in big block letters:] World's Greatest Dad!" Derek looks over at the man, smiles, and replies, "Haha, Sunny!" He looks relaxed, shoulders back and hands in his jean pockets. He wears a tight-fitting t-shirt with a large number one in the center.

A hand firmly holds a bunch of lemongrass. There are trees and a fence in the background.

The episode's title is drawn in large block letters: "Modern! Cartoonist" Derek sits on the ground with his legs criss-crossed before some sort of stone altar letting off a thin stream of smoke. Derek appears to be meditating. He wears glasses and a jacket with a large decorative collar and other stylish elements. Text, ranging from speech bubbles to onomatopoeia, surround Derek.

Kim looks at her reflection in the mirror. She has pulled the her shirt sleeve off of her shoulder to examine it. She looks tense. "May 3. Monday. Pulled out a bunch of dead Areca balm branches. Came inside and about 20 minutes later noticed a big bug on my shoulder. Put it in a big jar with water, watched SAW workshop video and started sketching ideas. Sent picture of bug to Tony. He texted back, 'Yikes, it's a bot fly!' I looked it up and panicked, was I bitten? Made an appointment with dermatologist for tomorrow."

An older man, with grey hair that's balded on top, wears dark shades and a green collared shirt. He looks straight ahead as he drives a car. There is a girl in the back and a woman in the passenger seat. The woman says, "To the mall, Jeeves!"

A guy in a blue snow suit races the Iditarod with standard poodles.

Lynn as a young girl wears a pink dance dress, with spaghetti straps and decorative bows, and white tights with the black tap shoes from before. Her hair is tied up in a pony tail with a white ribbon. Her hands are on her hips. She thinks to herself, "shuffle, ball change," "whoops," "step, ball change, step, ball change." An arrow points out that she is "mostly copying the other girls."

Enzo sits on the floor of his room shirtless, back turned to the reader. In front of him is a wall of floating shelves holding books and trinkets. Next to him is a clothes hamper. He is holding a book open. "April 27. Worked. Had an early work meeting. After work, chopped a bunch of Mexican sunflower to feed some plants in need. Enzo dug through his comic collection."

Lynn's brother Adam reaches into a crib and touches baby Lynn's eyes with his "grubby mitts." He says, "Open your eyes, baby sister!"

Enzo waits in a park for Kim to pick him up, on a strip of sidewalk surrounded by grass. He wears a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, all black or simply silhouetted. There are lamp posts and palm trees in the background. "April 20. Worked. Enz left school early, coughing a lot. Went to Mom's while Enz did mock trial. Picked him up from the park."

Vanessa sits on a couch hugging her knees to her chest. A man sits next to her. They both look solemn, and are colored entirely in blue, except for their brown hair.

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