Navied Mahdavian

For you to see your grandmother or a parent in the curved lines of my grandmother's beautiful hands,

and to communicate without words, because words were never the point anyway.

Thank you.

My wife Emily and I, we were on our land for the first time, and we were trying to figure out where our tiny house would soon go, which was more difficult than we had anticipated because looking around, there weren't any reference points. It's just land for miles, sagebrush and dust for as far as we could see. It was the first time I'd ever been able to say, my land.

My wife Emily and I, we were on our land for the first time, and we were trying to figure out where our tiny house would soon go, which was more difficult than we had anticipated because looking around, there weren't any reference points. It's just land for miles, sagebrush and dust for as far as we could see. It was the first time I'd ever been able to say, my land.

My wife Emily and I, we were on our land for the first time, and we were trying to figure out where our tiny house would soon go, which was more difficult than we had anticipated because looking around, there weren't any reference points. It's just land for miles, sagebrush and dust for as far as we could see. It was the first time I'd ever been able to say, my land.

And I remember that day, saying it over and over and over and over again. And as I'd say it, I focused on the way it sounded. I exaggerated the motion of my lips and my mouth. My land. Emily said, stop doing that. It's 2016, and Trump has just been elected. And so I did what any reasonable Middle Eastern American could do at the time.

And I remember that day, saying it over and over and over and over again. And as I'd say it, I focused on the way it sounded. I exaggerated the motion of my lips and my mouth. My land. Emily said, stop doing that. It's 2016, and Trump has just been elected. And so I did what any reasonable Middle Eastern American could do at the time.

And I remember that day, saying it over and over and over and over again. And as I'd say it, I focused on the way it sounded. I exaggerated the motion of my lips and my mouth. My land. Emily said, stop doing that. It's 2016, and Trump has just been elected. And so I did what any reasonable Middle Eastern American could do at the time.

I moved to the middle of nowhere America, and not just anywhere, cowboy country. We had visited the state of Idaho the summer before on a whim. And immediately, we had fallen in love with its mountains, its landscape, its real estate prices,

I moved to the middle of nowhere America, and not just anywhere, cowboy country. We had visited the state of Idaho the summer before on a whim. And immediately, we had fallen in love with its mountains, its landscape, its real estate prices,

I moved to the middle of nowhere America, and not just anywhere, cowboy country. We had visited the state of Idaho the summer before on a whim. And immediately, we had fallen in love with its mountains, its landscape, its real estate prices,

And so we bought six acres in one of its most remote areas, sight unseen, and we made the decision to move from San Francisco, epicenter of American liberalism, to Mackie, Idaho, population 500 cowboys. But we could own a tiny house, we could maybe start a family, and most importantly, we could both pursue our dreams of becoming artists.

And so we bought six acres in one of its most remote areas, sight unseen, and we made the decision to move from San Francisco, epicenter of American liberalism, to Mackie, Idaho, population 500 cowboys. But we could own a tiny house, we could maybe start a family, and most importantly, we could both pursue our dreams of becoming artists.

And so we bought six acres in one of its most remote areas, sight unseen, and we made the decision to move from San Francisco, epicenter of American liberalism, to Mackie, Idaho, population 500 cowboys. But we could own a tiny house, we could maybe start a family, and most importantly, we could both pursue our dreams of becoming artists.

Before moving, I had been a fifth-grade teacher, but what I really wanted to do was to be a New Yorker cartoonist. And I know what you're thinking. If you want to become a New Yorker cartoonist, move as far away from New York as possible. Makes sense. But what I've learned about being a cartoonist is you have to see the world kind of askew.

Before moving, I had been a fifth-grade teacher, but what I really wanted to do was to be a New Yorker cartoonist. And I know what you're thinking. If you want to become a New Yorker cartoonist, move as far away from New York as possible. Makes sense. But what I've learned about being a cartoonist is you have to see the world kind of askew.

Before moving, I had been a fifth-grade teacher, but what I really wanted to do was to be a New Yorker cartoonist. And I know what you're thinking. If you want to become a New Yorker cartoonist, move as far away from New York as possible. Makes sense. But what I've learned about being a cartoonist is you have to see the world kind of askew.

You have to, in order to poke fun at things, to make connections other people can't see. And Mackie, Idaho was perfect for this because everything felt slightly askew, particularly for a city boy like me who knew nothing about farming or ranching. For example, it took me two years to realize that all chaps are in fact assless.

You have to, in order to poke fun at things, to make connections other people can't see. And Mackie, Idaho was perfect for this because everything felt slightly askew, particularly for a city boy like me who knew nothing about farming or ranching. For example, it took me two years to realize that all chaps are in fact assless.