Andy called me this morning to tell me Ovid Adams had passed away on Monday. I worked with Ovid at the Excalibur drawing caricature from 1998 through 2oo1. When I was still a rookie artist I drew a caricature of Busta Rymes and I remember Ovid taking offence to it. At the time I just wrote it of as Ovid being a crochety old man. I didn't understand why it would bother him I drew exaggerated pictures of people no matter what race they where, but I wasn't raising a family in the 60s at the height of the civil rights movement, Ovid was. After a year or so Ovid warmed up to me and I relay enjoyed working with him. One day he had a package from his ex- wife , some of his old drawings she had fond and sent to him. There was a Black Panthers comic he had drawn about Some white guy who had done something horrible to some black people and they hunted him down and shot him. Ovid was kind of embarrassed to show it to me but it relay put into perspective for me where he had been and seen in his life. He told me about the time a soldier pointed a rifle at him during a demonstration, he was holding his infant son at the time. There is no way, NO WAY I could ever truly understand his point of view, but I never thought of him negatively after that, I only ever had respect for him. He was a big ol softy now but he had to pass though rough stuff to get there.The last time I saw him was at first Friday in January at the caricature show , We said the standard hellos and how's the familys and shook hands. He had a great hand shake. I will always remember Ovid he did things in the caricature booth I only dream of, like ripping up a picture of a kid he was drawing in front of the parents face because the kid was jumping around so much that he fell off the bench and started crying, well Ovid had had enough and rriiip. People loved his drawings, If you've worked with Ovid the you know what its like to have people lined up behind him while you sit and pick your nose. They would rather wait for Ovid and wait they would because he was never in a rush. I was thinking that Ovid probably worked last week and some one got the last drawing he ever did, they will probably keep it forever. So Ovid if your on the internet in heaven hear is the first and only drawing I did of you. Respect.