I was the one who first brought the Bacon Family to life. This was many, many years ago. Now and then they resurface – the entire family a dysfunctional bunch, always cognizant of the fact that the frying pan is always nearby. Sammy Sausage has continued to court Meagan Bacon, and Little Rototiller Bacon has continued to get too close to the edge of the page.

I thought that someday I’d find a publisher for the Bacon Family cartoons – at least this was always in the back of my mind. I realized the other day that I should have acted sooner because someone stole, yes stole, my idea and came out with a book that was published by Simon and Shuster. It is entitled Everyone Loves Bacon, and the author is Kelly DiPucchio.

The central character in this book is at first humble and has many friends. Then when he gets a whiff of the big time, he loses sight of his friends. In the end, he finds that, yes, he’s loved, as is evidenced by the fact that the final illustration is of an empty plate (with Bacon’s moustache) and a fork.

The difference between this book and my illustrations is that the book is a continuous story while my cartoons are rather disjointed. This is because I did not ever come up with a story line.

I guess I did not believe enough in my work to bring it into fruition and more into the public eye. That’s what it takes, belief. Quite obviously, DiPucchio had considerable belief, and this is why he linked up with Eric Wight who is the illustrator of this book.

In answer to the question that many have, that is, do I feel remorse about having had my idea usurped by someone else? Yes, I do. I can’t say for sure if DiPucchio saw one of my cartoons someplace and took my idea and ran with it. It is very likely particularly if he or she (I don’t know if Kelly is male or female) lived in the Pacific Northwest.

I suppose that I could still come up with a series of Bacon Family cartoons and publish them in book form. After all, not a whole lot of people will be familiar with Everyone Loves Bacon.

Right now, all that’s keeping me from doing this is time. The BLBP is taking up all my free time and then some. I keep thinking that soon, I’ll have more time but then another aspect of the project materializes.

Today, for example, I had to move books off shelves so that Pete and Milena can put more substantial shelves in. I also had to distribute books and as well go to Friday Fling. And tomorrow I have to put the books on the new shelves. This will in time save time because the books will end up being more accessible.

So I’m not sure what the fate of the Bacon Family might be. Time will tell, but she’s keeping her lips sealed.

Next: 206. 7/30/22: The Symbionese Liberation Army