The Peace
Two inspiring talks and one helpful brother.
Hi everyone!
I wasn’t sure what I should share this week, but when I was looking through the old drawing books, I found this: it’s a page I drew in 2000 while waiting to see Mikhail Gorbachev speak at the University of Calgary.
Talk #1: Gorbachev
I was interested to attend the talk, but the person who really wanted to see him was my brother (in the orange sweater), a big fan of Gorbachev, and a big fan of peace.
Of course, I had to get Bob Dylan into the story somehow! Today’s post isn’t really about Bob Dylan, but if you are here for Bob Dylan comics, you can find them here. For example, there’s one comic that mentions going to see Bob Dylan in Japan that same year, with that same brother (who was wearing the same orange sweater!! I got that sweater for him in Ireland. That’s another story!)
Back then, I sure spent a lot of time with that brother! In an earlier Drawing Book post, I wrote about how much I missed him when he was away on a trip…
Anyway, that University of Calgary talk in 2000 was my brother’s fourth time hearing Gorbachev speak! It wasn’t just a passing interest for him. He went on to do a BA in Peace Studies and a Master’s in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford, UK, many years later. And he is still the most peaceful person I know.
Talk #2: Dallaire
It’s funny I found that old Gorbachev drawing now, because just recently, I had the occasion to attend another talk in Calgary, by another person famous for their efforts at promoting peace… retired Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire.
Sandstone Asset Management in Calgary invited General Dallaire to speak at an event twenty years ago, and now he was returning to speak to their community again. I was invited to take some notes while he spoke. (Graphic recording is my “day job,” in case you didn’t know!) This time, I needed to bring along someone to help me, and so of course I asked the perfect person… my brother. (In his volunteer work on peace-related initiatives, he’s crossed paths with General Dallaire on a couple of previous occasions.)
I don’t usually share my client work in this newsletter (partly because my graphic recording notes are text-heavy and hard to see on a small screen)… but in this case, the client has published my graphic recording on their website page about the event, so it’s ok to post it here too.
The General is a passionate thinker and talker. His talk sure didn’t follow a linear path, as you can see from my notes… he went all over the place, from the Renaissance, to the war in Ukraine, to the rights of women, to the future of peace. I just tried to keep up!
General Dallaire’s recent book, The Peace: A Warrior’s Journey, is a weighty and thought-provoking read - I recommend it!
In this newsletter, I usually stick to posting old comics, but since I ended up here today, I might as well say that we need stories like The Peace these days, just as we need experts who study, practice, and teach about peace. And we need people to be interested… to be motivated to wait in line to hear those experts share their wisdom. Listen up, everybody! And maybe even take some notes!
