Lynda Barry has been one of my favorite artists for a long, long time (since I was in high school!) and she has never let me down. She often sells her work on eBay and is currently donating the proceeds to hurricane relief.
Read this decription of a bag she has decorated and I think you will see why I adore her so and why Matt Groening calls her Funk Queen of the Galaxy. (Emphasis and line breaks added.)
100% of proceeds will go to aid for NOLA. Black Marlys! Hey You NEVER saw this before, man! Because it never even WAS before, but NOW IT IS! Yes! LOOK! Actual! Hand! Decorated! Bag! by Lynda Barry! Signed! This Black bag has a picture of black Marlys, We will never know what would have happened if it was all white people in the superdome, at the convention center! We will never know because it will never happen. Or will it? Homeland Security! OK! You Jazz Fest Lover, give some $$$! We will pass it right on to the people who need it. This bag of low class dollar store style, of the most simple polyester cloth, one pocket, one adjustable strap velcro closure kind of thing,very plain. Yet! They are strong! Couple of bottles of water and some MREs and a white flag for your grandmama to wave out the window of her house at the passing national guard boats. It can hold medical supplies, a shortwave radio, and a “Don’t Shoot! I Am NOT Looting” body sash…
And the rain will bounce away for a little while for it is water resistant, and it is a bag that will still look good when it is beat up, but it will not survive being left on a rooftop in 96 degree weather for seven days. Black Marlys on a Bag! Black Marlys on a Rooftop! We are ALL on that rooftop. (Yes, Lynda says she’s been drinking.) BLACK MARLYS painted in BLUE on a bag Lynda scored (SCORED!) when she found a stack of them at a salvage store and just lost her mind decorating them. Sized about 12x14x3inches. Sorry she can’t do any personalized inscriptions on the bags but they are all signed and all gift-wrapped and packed and labeled and ready to send!
Our BAGS are this Season’s Disaster Preparedness Must Have! None of the money will go to any sort of faith-based organisation. Hello Hello, no government organization either Lynda will get the money to two med students in Louisiana who have been working round the clock to save people in New Orleans.
Here’s what Lynda has to say about it, and also an email from the mother of Jean and Francois:
I’m listing a bunch stuff on ebay to make money for two med students I’ve known since they were little kids who are bold brave and full of soul—they’ve been out in the waters of New Orleans round the clock in a flat bottomed boat pulling people out. They and other med students just said #$@% IT and went in around the blockades and started rescuing people. The hell with waiting for the government to give permission. They were not coming. I’m sending the monkey money directly to THEM. These two brothers who I am so proud to know. -Jean and Francois this is for you– What you are doing has me in awe. The least I can do is help you foot the bill for everything are doing for our people. Check out the Monkeys and Please visit my eBay store It’s called Shop Super Marlys.
From an email sent by the mother of Jean and Francois:
Wednesday Aug 31: Francois left yesterday (Tuesday) to take his flat-bottom boat to join the search and rescue crew. There is no way to get in touch with him–no phones–and it’s pouring here again. I heard they were sending back the flotilla because of rising waters, no place to dock–but Francois hasn’t come home. The tv stations here have lost all contact with NO. Just pray. I can’t believe it, but I think New Orleans is just gone.
Thursday Sept2 Jean has been working the ambulance, came in late last night, left early this morning. Francois came home very late last night, having spent the night and day pulling 400 people (live ones) from the waters. He took a shower and headed to the CajunDome to help with triage. There are 10,000 people there.
The med school students who were staying with us were relieved to find out their ancient grandmother and their parents were among the survivors in the Superdome who were shipped last night to the Astrodome. I guess they’ll try to go get them. I had been miserable for those boys since Monday
Saturday Sept3 Francois was furious because once “the professionals” arrived, they sent home all the real Louisiana boatmen–crawfishermen and others with fast, big,flat-bottomed boats that were pulling so many people out so fast–Francois was driving one boat and pulling another,and at one time had 18 people in them. These professionals have little boats and they’re pulling people out one at a time. 600 boats had gone to NO from Lafayette, and they turned them back. All those people at the Superdome would be evacuated by now if they’d allowed them to stay.
Here’s her stuff on Amazon. And here’s Marlys Magazine where you can get her comics and see her latest eBay listings.
Lynda Barry is awesome – that is so perfectly *her* and generous, as well.
Lynda Barry’s off-kilter view of the world has always been wonderful to read. But i don’t understand this one. The vast majority of people in NO with no way to leave the city are black. But so are the majority of people in power in the city. African Americans run the political machine there and have since the 70’s.
What does color have to do with it? Mississippi’s evacuees are largely black, too, but so what? Mississippi is dirt poor and those at the bottom have no more resources than those in NO. The difference was that local authorities did not refuse to let the Red Cross go in with supplies and water, which is what happened in NO.
Why not feature items like the story from the Baltimore Sun about strong communities of black folks running off the thugs and taking care of their own?
I still like Barry, but now I admire her thinking less than I did. This is sad.
Being “in power” in New Orleans doesn’t mean much outside the city, and it’s sure not enough authority to solve the kinds of problems they are having now.
It wasn’t black folks that underfunded the levees for years. And it wasn’t black folks that failed to send troops and aid for days after the disaster. It’s not black folks that have already handed Halliburtion $500 million to repair naval facilities, while the actual city and the actual people continue to suffer.