What is more romantic than a sun-dappled trip on a kayak for two? Sparkling water, just the two of you paddling in harmony, as you drift through the calm currents on your way to who knows where? My wife, Joanie, and I experienced this tranquility during a trip to Thailand a few years back. Somehow the harmonious part didn’t work out as planned. When I pitched this idea to John, he then went on to explain, the person in the back is just the rudder. All she or he has to do is steer the kayak. The person in the front does all the paddling. And you don’t have to switch sides everytime you paddle. A few strokes on your left side, then gently switch over to your right. In the words of Homer Simpson, “Doh!” Now you tell me. But because John had no trouble figuring out the action and dialogue, I knew he went through the same experience I did, not that he’d readily admit it. Sorry John. What follows is an amalgamation of what happened. Easiest comic we’ve ever done. And to add insult to injury, Joanie and I witnessed another couple on the Thai kayak excursion, paddling in perfect harmony, not a care in the world. Which stood in sharp contrast to our thinking, “When is this f*@^ing thing over already?” Oh and one more thing, those HK’s (harmonious kayakers) were even older than we were, which made our lack of skill even more infuriating. Maybe we’ll get out there on the Hudson River and give it another try. Maybe not.

The second comic strip comes in the aftermath of one of those wonderful field trips at work. You know, the kind that encourage “bonding” or, my favorite expression, “team-building”? Why is it that people who have no knowledge or interest in sports persist in using sports analogies in business. Case in point, I had someone tell me just days ago, that an almost-completed project was “on the 98th-yard line.” I had to correct him and tell him, “No, that would be the two-yard line,” the numbers go up to 50 and then down to 0. And there was another colleague I am very friendly with who used to say, “That’s a straight ball down the middle” (as opposed to a fastball for the non-sporting among you). Do you think I was bigger than the moment and didn’t correct her? Think again.

Anyway, I digress. When John and I put our heads together, we wondered, would we be able to hide our true feelings during a team-building exercise or would we give away what was really going on inside (some form of “Just get me the hell out of here”)? And John came up with the idea of a participation trophy, which seemed to hit the proverbial nail on the head. Or to use another sports analogy, he really hit a touchdown with that one.

Have a good weekend as the summer rips along towards its eventual conclusion. Soon it will be back to school and back to work. Oh, wait a minute…

Andy and John