Corpus Christi Chronicle #3

riving into Corpus Christi on May 1st I put the fate of Hooey in the hands of a friend of a friend from college. Driving out of Corpus on May 14th, the friend of a friend and his wife had become my friends and the fate of Hooey looked sound.

I left Corpus Christi yesterday morning and while it's good to be back in familiar environs and not grabbing lunch from a hotel vending machine any more, I have to admit I already miss Corpus. I had just started to make friends, to make in-roads in the elementary school community and a couple restaurants already knew me by name.

A couple nights before leaving, a pair of cards from Houston living in Corpus asked me what it was like coming from NYC to Corpus and how I'd been received. It took twelve days for someone to ask me that. While it did surprise people that someone would come from NYC to Corpus intentionally, I was always treated well. I attribute that to the project.

I spent little time talking about myself and a vast majority of the time talking about Hooey. Time and again I got positive feedback and constructive criticism from locals. What I did not leave Corpus with is a green light to bring Hooey to a Corpus elementary school classroom in the fall. That being said, I'm merely sitting at the intersection waiting for the lights to change, not pulled over, four way flashers on, a dated road map sprawled out over the driver's wheel.

As always, there's more work to do, but the way forward is clear.

Project Update: First and foremost, big thanks to Bro Krift, Elaine Marsilio Krift and Nancy Vera in Corpus for their hospitality, their local expertise and their pick-up-the-phone-and-get-'er-done ways. Thanks also to Michael Kruse for putting me in touch with Bro. Unfortunately, the search for an illustrator continues. This remains the biggest roadblock to advancing the project to its next big stage: Kickstarter. With renewed focus, I'm talking to a handful of illustrators, but if they're to have Hooey ready by the fall school year, shit's gotta start very soon. If I have to start drawing stick figures I'll do it.