Ewwwwwwww

The story behind this one, from 2011, the year I started this series of word pun illos, is that Rob Krier, my colleague at the Union-Tribune who has contributed a few ideas for cartoons, suggested an idea to play off the Erie Canal. I didn't think I could do justice to the concept he relayed to me, but I kicked it around in my head and came up with this image, instead, which I obviously drew but which I still didn't care for much. Plus, it has an ick factor that probably should have prompted me, if I had had any sense at all, to omit it from my posted collection. But no, there it is, and in the interest of making this blog a comprehensive collection, I'm holding my nose as I post this here. Of course, I should also advise that the Q tip people are the first to tell you to never do this. I think the common expression, in fact, is that you should never stick anything smaller than your elbow into your ear canal. So consider yourself warned.