Things are not okay. We all know it. We see it. We hear it. We’re bombarded and we can’t avoid the onslaught. All of which means it’s a good time to ask people, “are you okay?”

There’s a short story going on in this small piece. The look of concern, the flat mouth line, the slouching eyebrow, the sad eyes as one looks away and one looks on. The illustration style reminds me of old Pink Panther cartoons or the Little Ceasers mascot both of which come with fond nostalgia and sit in contrast with the emotion in this brief sketch. I like to think of these two as “D” on the left and “T” on the right. Two characters, close, concerned and unsure.

And so, even if the answer is “no”, even if you don’t have a good reply, now is the time to ask the question. RUOK?

Lower East Side, Manhattan.