Promises, Promises

Once upon a time this reporter went to work for The York Dispatch in Pennsylvania. I was only a kid then and working the night shift. Other than a freelance photographer, and a sports reporter or two, none of whom I almost ever saw, I had only two comrades with whom I shared those lonely evenings. The late Charley Schlusser, was night city editor. To my 21 year old eyes, he appeared to have been in his 60s, 70s or maybe even older. But he was a wonderful, gentle friend and could be a harsh taskmaster when the young hack screwed up. The late Courtney Dunkel, was the paper's political columnist. Also an old git, I could never tell which of the two of them was older. He had a rather British sense of irony and sarcasm and his humour and wit often saved my sanity in the boredom of those long nights. After about a year at The Dispatch, I took a reporting position on the late, lamented Hartford Times, Connecticut. Both men advised me to rethink my decision to take the post. They were unanimous in their view it was better to be a big fish in the small pond in York than the opposite in Hartford. And both spoke from experience, having come to York from larger papers years earlier. But I was young and recently married and the thrill of a bigger paper, more money, a bigger city, closer to New York, won out. The night I left Courtney gave me a going away present I've cherished all these years. It's a six-panel set of political cartoons. The proof of a political commentator's craft and talent is how timeless his output, how relevant his work even decades later. Dunkel's work meets those criteria. And since the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, we'll be publishing each of the panels, one at a time in this space over the course of time. Earlier today, someone on an E-mail list asked "what happened to the promise that the high jobless rate will be the focus of attention of European policy?" My rather cynical response was, Same thing that happened to promises such as a bill of rights and a freedom of information act here in the UK. The politicians got elected. Once elected they can do what they want, not necessarily what they promise." In light of that comment, I happily present the first in a series of cartoons by the late, Courtney Dunkel. Copyright © 1999 T Bruce Tober Copyright © 1968 Courtney Dunkel

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