A float-away farewell

This is my final cartoon for The Post and Courier.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has participated in one of our weekly contests. I did a count of the previous 12 months back in July and figured out that more than 400 people had contributed captions in that period alone. Each week produced dozens of entries, and over the 18 months that I managed this project I've had the joy of getting to know lots of people by nothing more than their unique senses of humor.

I worked in newspapers for 20 years, 14 of them here in Charleston. I've been everything from a science reporter to the city editor (for five years here, just across this newsroom) to the paper's original blogger/multimedia journalist. I've met a lot of people and learned a lot of stuff, but nothing I've ever done professionally gave me as much pure pleasure as drawing these cartoons and looking forward to the jokes that you would make out of them.

You're wonderful, funny people. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

--Dan

To enter this week's contest, e-mail your entries to Alan Seim (with the words "CAPTION CONTEST" in the subject line) by 5 p.m. on Friday. Alan will pick five finalists on Monday and tally the votes on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

For those of you who haven't yet figured out that that hyperlink contains the e-mail address (and yes, there are people who are still figuring that out... be nice), here's that address: aseim@postandcourier.com.

Comments

[Alan Seim]

Hello everyone. Here's the entries we have so far.

This is your last shot at it, folks. Ready, fire, aim ... let's go!

*****

"Rats - I have to leaf - at least I'm going up the river WITH a paddle."
-- Kim Payne, Mt. Pleasant

*****

"Will you stop singing 'It's a small world, after all?' "
-- Bob Tilidetzke, Summerville

*****

"Rat, as part of my singing the entire libretto of 'HMS Pinafore' while we're paddling down the river to Toad Hall, I'll now entertain you with 'I'm Called Little Buttercup.' "
-- Rhame Nelson

*****

1) "I swear I never called you a rat."
2) "Are you sure you never heard of Bryce Donavan? I 'll make this ride my column next Thursday."
-- Ernie Berger, Seabrook Island

*****

1) "What FLOOD Insurance?"
2) "Remember, I told you about Gobal Warming and THE POLAR ICE MELTING!"
-- Fran Taylor

*****

"I really can't stay for dinner."
-- Rhona Bartram, Goose Creek

*****

"Boy, I sure wish Hanna hadn't made Ike mad."
-- Kathryn Reese

*****

"So which of those weirdos is Dan and which is Alan?"
-- Jan Beaujon, West Ashley

*****

"Okay. It isn't the class 5 rapids. It isn't the flimsy canoe. It isn't even that my guide is a rodent. But the dueling banjos in the background is freaking me out."
-- Marian Chamberlain

*****

1) "No, no, turn around! I've worked too hard to go downstream!"
2) "Stuart, Stuart, turn around ... we're going the wrong way!"
3) "Upstream, we're supposed to head upstream!
4) "Turn us around - I've been downstream!"
5) "Did Garth Williams set up this kidnapping? Truly, I haven't done anything wrong!"
6) "Trust me, I don't know how I got caught up in your story!"
7) "Don't be upset, Stuart - there'll be good memories in the Fall and Winter, too!"
8) "I'll miss the Fun and Games Blog also, but don't get so upset about my decision!"
9) "How can I explain to you and everyone else that I had to head in a new direction!"
10) "Let's make a deal, Stuart - you take me back home and I won't copy cartoons any more!"
11) "Hey, I'll miss you too, buddy, but we'll see one another again!"
12) "If this a hostage situation, trut me, there's no one willing to pay!"
-- Annette Bonin, West Ashley

*****

1) "... and the cheese on the main land is this big."
2) "No I'm not the Pied Piper."
3) "We have long forgiven you for the plague."
4) "There was a chicken a fox and a bag of corn."
5) "We can sue the pants off of Disney."
6) "We've got some corn field maze that you would love."
-- Joseph McGill, Jr., Charleston

[Alan Seim]

"Please, don't do this, I promise I'll swirch back to the real stuff - no more soy!"
-- Bruno Stranges, Niagara Falls, ON

*****

"What can I say? It was row vs. wade!"
-- Susan Murray