Captain Kent, Super Dave

As I withdraw my hand from the grip of a man wearing a blue Warner Brothers polo, he asks me if he may shake my hand. I pause in confusion and extend my hand again, not wanting to seem rude. He grasps my wrist and pumps it up and down, causing my hand to shake. His laughter fills the diner, making a girl in a tiara one table over glance at us reproachfully. This will be an interesting night.
On my right sits "Captain" Kent, a stop-motion animator who put an astounding amount of saltine crackers into his bowl of chili. On my left is "Super" Dave, a young animator from St. Louis who is trying to get a cartoon up and running for Cartoon Network. Dave was incredibly good to have around. He seemed to take pity on me when I was obviously feeling out of my league and took it upon himself to explain certain things or to bring the conversation back to something about which I could contribute. On his left is my boss Steve, head of ASIFA-Hollywood and former Ren and Stimpy producer. Between Kent and Steve is the blue-shirted man whose name, I must embarrassingly admit, I do not recall. But I can tell you that he went to William & Mary, works for WB, and had a piece of pumpkin pie with a generous serving of whipped cream.
Last night I realized the full implications of my internship. Yes, there will be quite a bit of sitting about until I can work on the database, but I feel that very often I will also be sitting in awe. I may know more about animation than your average bundled up person in Hanover, yet I know very little compared to everyone I will meet through this job. My table at the diner dropped names of animators and old TV shows like it was their job. In fact, this is their job. I have met real live animators (who aren't my professors) making a living in the real live world. Or at least they are trying to. I sat silently as Dave described Cartoon Network's antics to get him to work an entire week of 10 hour days for no pay. My eyes widened as Kent complained about a company that still hadn't paid him for a job he did 2 months previously. "Are you sure you want to get into this business?" Kent jokes. I can only laugh in return and respond that I may have to rethink my options.
Finally my two passions have joined. History and animation. Now, history of animation may not be the most studied of histories, but I like to think of this term as a sort of art history course. Though the art in Popeye or Bugs bunny is not very easily seen by many people, I have found many of the animations I have come across so far to be simply marvelous. Because it may be difficult for some to discern the art in a Mighty Mouse episode, I pride myself on being one of those who can.
So next time you see a cartoon, do not write it off as simply something to keep the kids amused for a half hour at a time. If done well, it is a piece of art. For anyone who has tried their hand at animating, a cartoon always has the potential to hold that beautiful squash and stretch, that perfectly timed pause, or that impressive use of overlapping action.