The Batshit backstory

Twenty-five years ago, while riding the "L" home from Downtown Chicago, I was paging through the Chicago Reader . After reading The Straight Dope, the music listings and checking out the weekend festivals, I opened Section 4, "The Classifieds". As an indy publication, it carried free
want-ads and other Craigslist type underground stuff. Notices were always fun. Missed Connections. Plus Zippy the Pinhead, News of the Weird and P.S. Mueller were interspersed among the free ads (25 words or less).

On this Thursday evening, when I hit P.S. Mueller's page, it hit me back. There, in a three column inch (1/8th page?) box, was a rendering
of a stressed out, psycho, demented,
ME!. Sitting behind a desk with the caption "Full-blown batshit crazy and still holding down a productive job".

I lost it. Giggling, laughing to tears while a trainload of commuters tried (in that commuter way) not to acknowledge my outburst. I wanted to jump up and scream "IT'S ME!!!!" and show everyone what had set me off. However, that would have breached "L" train decorum and clearly put me into the loony set who lived on the L's by day and slept under bridges at night. A subset of kindred, but one which I was battling to escape.

One of the first two fer posts on this blog was a nod to Mr. Mueller's genius. Well evidently, I'm not alone in thinking the cartoon was auto-biographical (or close to someone in the office).

Batshit backstory

The artist explains the history and acknowledges the special place this piece holds in his portfolio.

Hmmm, maybe my autographed enlargement will be Southeby's worthy someday?