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Show Park Record's pithiest commentator takes the cake - and the icing, too W-fJI I YD k 1; V-T'V ' Cm vf. t- y x . i '': '",' 'A ) j f - if by NAN CHALAT Record staff writer Sherman is one of Park City's most controversial characters so it is understandable that he doesn't like to make public appearances. But he did stop in at the Park Record this week to accept heartfelt birthday wishes from the newspaper staff. Sherman told the assembled group of admirers that it had been a tough but rewarding year what with being run over twice once by a wild shopping cart at Alpha Beta and once by a cyclist on the belt route and then only narrowly surviving the Main Street trench. He said he was glad to still be around to tell about it all. And we are glad he is, too. Sherman, created by cartoonist J. P. Max, appears every week on page A3 of the Park Record. He has taught us a lot and we admit that is not an easy job. Fortunately, Sherman has a sense of humor and has been able, over the last year, to make us look at some of our foibles, and our follies without ruffling too many feathers. He has poked fun at business magnate Randy Fields, high school principal Jack Dozier, the city council, realtors, tourists and "the locals." He has guided detour tours of Old Town, been caught sunbathing in a snow storm, waterskiing down the mountain during spring runoff and flying a balloon (upside down) at Autumn Aloft. ' Through it all he has made us laugh and perhaps has also inspired us, and our readers, to take a closer look at some of the issues facing Park City. Happily, Sherman's creator, J.P. (as in Just Plain) Max has assured us he and his faithful potgut aren't planning to leave town. "Sherman will stay as long as the Park Record will have him," J.P. Max said. In fact Sherman is planning to appear in a book in the near future, he said. The book will contain a collection of Sherman cartoons which appeared appear-ed in the Park Record and some which didn't. "There have been several weeks when I had a lot of ideas and the paper only used one," Max said. "Sherman figures he fits in on the Park Record staff because he's just about as crazy as the rest of 'em," Max said. And Max ought to know. He sits in on the staff's weekly editorial meetings to glean ideas for the upcoming edition. The meetings sometimes drone on and on without coming to any clear consensus. But through it all J.P.'s pencil is busy. "The fact that he has been willing to sit through those meetings which sometimes include in-clude an hour and a half of not necessarily intelligent conversation conversa-tion shows he has been willing to work hard to be relevant. He always makes an effort to represent what is important to the community that week," said former Park Record editor David Hampshire. "He is a talented cartoonist and has a delightful sense of humor. He has come up with some classics and although he works closely with us on some of the ideas, the best ones are his own," Hampshire said. Everyone on the staff agrees that Max has a way of picturing things we find hard to put into words. In addition to his weekly cartoons, he has been commissioned commis-sioned to create a number of personalized invitations, birthday cards, caricatures and advertisements. advertise-ments. "He has really added a lot to the paper," said Park Record publisher Jan Wilking. So here's to Sherman, to J.P. Max and to the potgut. We are looking forward to another year, at least. Nan Chalat Sherman and his potgut pal take a break from political philosophizing with creator J.P. Max. |