July 29, 2008
Most Accidents Occur In The Home

   Y'know, We're a little more than a month away from the five-year anniversary of the Crossgen Collapse when employees either quit or were laid off. Damn, how time flies! Despite my nefarious habit of griping about Crossgen (specifically the name of the comic titles AND the company. Dark Horse? cool. Devil's Due? Cool. Idea & Design Works? Very cool, indeed! But if you have to explain the name of your company, which was short for Crossgeneration comics, you're already fighting an uphill battle as a newcomer in the rough industry of publishing), I actually was a believer for the first year, until the cracks in the armor quickly became flame-filled chasms.

   You know how they say most accidents occur in the home? Mine almost cost me an eye!

   If you've ever owned an inground pool, you know that you have to keep the chlorine content consistent, or the water turns green and then you have to add a whole lotta other chemicals to keep you from getting sick when you take a dip. We have a small floating container that hold hockey puck-size chlorine tablets. These aren't quite the same tablets you see at the men's public urinals, because the pool tabs are more potent. Contact with H20 + Pool Chlorine tabs= burning of skin and pretty much the rest of your body. That's why you don't usually hear men running and screaming in pain from use of the urinals. We're talking sensitive mucus membranes there!

   I generally have my eyeglasses on during all waking hours, but one unfortunate day last week, I had taken them off during lunch. I had a bowl of my favorite soup (For those of you taking notes at home, Progresso's Chickenarina - basically Italian Wedding Soup w/out the greens) which steams up my glasses while I'm watching TV. I lay the glasses down and forgot about them while doing the dishes. Out the kitchen window, I see the chlorine floater (with cheerful plastic Aligator cap) bobbing sideways. This means it's time to refill. So I go out and do so, but carelessly keep the floater semi-underwater, where the pool stairs are. I should've taken it out of the water, but I'm fearful that our dogs may get chlorine on their paws or something. Looking back, I should've taken the floater out, then hose off that section of the pool surface. But I was being lazy about it. Never again.

   The chlorine tabs' container tells you not to use your bare hands on it, so I gingerly pop the individual wrapping off each tab, and stack them slowly inside the floater. The last tab slips out of my fingers, and plops down into the water-soaked floater, shooting a drop of concentrated chlorine-water directly in my left eye! Immediately, I felt the burning sensation, so I dunk my head in the pool while keeping my eyes open. Ten seconds or so later, I somehow had the presense of mind to race my sopping head into the house to get emergency help on the phone. The chlorine tab container had a poison control phone number that I dialed. The soft-spoken gentleman on the other end told me to run water over the affected eye for 20 minutes then call back. First thing I did then was grab an egg-timer, now set for 20 minutes, and then my boombox to bring outside and plug in. If I was going to spend twenty minutes preventing permanent eye damage, I needed some distraction to keep my sanity. I didn't want to obsessively watch my career flash before my good eye

   So there I lay flat on my back on the concrete, feeling as helpless as an upturned turtle. I covered the good eye to make sure I always kept my bad eye open while running the hose over it. 20 long minutes went by surprisingly quick, thanks to Beck, Interpol and The Hives. When I called poison control back, I was instructed to close the eyes for 30 minutes. If the stinging and swelling remained, I was to go to the emergency room.

   You may wonder: "Where is Drew's lovely wife Karen during all this?" Well, after I stated that I had deadlines that would occupy my whole day, she planned a daytrip with some friends. I had her cell phone number, but knowing there was nothing she could do at the time, being several hours away, I took care of things myself for a change. To call would serve no purpose but to upset her. Better to call when the ordeal is over.

   One blurry drive to the nearby ER later, I was "fast-tracked" for treatment, once I explained that I was a commercial artist and chlorine was eating away at my eye as we spoke. Usually a calm, collected patient, this was the one time I made noise to nudge my way for quick service. Frankly, the potential of losing an eye was a very time-sensitive issue. The doctor did a pressure test and a ph test (as in ph balance, for which water is often checked for impurities). All good, thankfully. I was given antibiotic eyedrops and after-care instructions to take home, such as "avoiding bright light" which meant wearing shades indoors and NO READING! I think the toughest thing was avoiding reading, whether it's a cereal box or words on the television.

   As it turned out, my drama ended before Karen came home, so I could calmly relate the events of the day. I was unable to work for 48 hours, so much for shipping off the wife to get deadlines accomplished, Brainiac that I am...

   I am grateful that everything was back to normal, so affirmed by a follow-up visit to my optholmologist. *whew*

   Other than that crisis, I've been occupying myself by inking up a storm, on Green Lantern Corps, as well as an upcoming 4-issue arc of The Flash. During the summer months, blogging doesn't seem to be as high a priority as it once was. Went to Wizard's Chicago Con to meet some old friends and new fans, but I was just at the end of a killer deadline the day before the show, and instead of hobnobbing at the bars, I went to bed early Friday night. Maybe lack of sleep made me susceptible to germs on the plane ride to Chi-town. However...

   NEXT MONTH, I'll be doing my first convention appearance in TORONTO! As in CANADA! I'll be able to hang with native artist/writer Jason Armstrong (Ferro City, Lobster Johnson and most recently, The Spirit) who used to work with me on Legion of Super-Heroes and The Ray a hundred years ago! Also in attendance will not only be major movie & TV stars, but BUZZ ALDRIN! The man who went on the friggin' MOON!!!! Plus Kate Mulgrew, Edward James Olmos and too many to list- For more details, check out http://www.hobbystar.com/fanexpo2008/index.html
 
 
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