This card is epic. As in epic fail. It’s not the drawing that’s the problem. It’s what I do when the drawing is done.

When I finish a drawing, I write the website, the card number and the date on the back. Last night, after I scanned today’s card, I realized I had written #164 on the back. November is a funny month for COVID cards. The numbers correspond a bit with the date. So, if a date ends in 4, so should the card number. It was after midnight when I saw my error. So, my computer told me it was 11/15/20. I crossed out 164 and replaced it with 195, and I changed the date to 11/15/20. Half a second later, realizing my mistake, I had to cross the info out again and write the correct info: #194, 11/14/20.

I’m sorry about those two paragraphs (which probably should have been one). You didn’t need to know that and now I’ve stolen time from you. I am a thief.

And now…on with the card:

Tom Lea was a pretty prolific artist and the web has a lot of his work for you to see (be sure to check out the gallery page on the Tom Lea Institute’s website). He made three post office murals: Stampede (Odessa, Texas), Comanches (Seymour, Texas), and The Nesters (Washington DC).

In 2014, Lea’s murals were the focus of a symposium surrounding the topic of WPA art preservation. The Ellen Noel Art Museum website describes how Stampede was rescued, moved, and restored. The Nesters is lost to history.

Lea may have been best known in his day for his shockingly honest World War II coverage. He did not try to sugarcoat or glorify what he saw with his own eyes and the result. If you’ve seen World Ward II paintings in Life Magazine, you may have seen his war work.