Friends, I’ll be honest. 2025 has not been the easiest ride for me so far.
It doesn’t help that, while yes, I’m sorta known in my inner circle to be a moody, misanthropic crank…I do happen to possess a great and powerful empathetic side that isn’t merely reserved for animals, birds, and the natural wonders. This is hard to publicly admit…but humankind-wise, I DO feel the dread of the many. I absorb the suffering of the marginalized. In other words, the current political landscape doesn’t exactly suit my folksy sensibilities or the kind manner in which my mother and grandmother raised me.
I have been full of angst and woe. The chest pains alone! Doom-scrolling has only prematurely aged me evermore. I thought I was past all this. Evidently I’m not.
And so I thought to myself, “what is the point of screaming into the void? What am I getting out of reposting bad news on my Instagram? How does it benefit me to internally rage over others who see the world differently than I do? How could I ever make them see another side, or try to change their minds?”
I couldn’t. I can’t. It’s all busted now.
My stepfather encouraged me to revisit an old friend. A bath puppet with a weird, northeastern-esque accent. His name? Chuck Duck.
If you’ve followed my content over the years, I can guarantee you’ve come across this feathery little freak at some point. What I love about Chuck Duck is his innocence. He never curses. He’s always curious. But mainly, he’s always confused. Which I find so endearing about him.
So my stepdad thought TikTok would be a good home for Chuck Duck craziness. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been nagged to join TikTok. “You should do Tony Soprano on TikTok.” “You should post your rants on TikTok.” “You should get on TikTok and show off your cartooning skills.” (I actually can’t believe how many Tony Soprano impersonators ARE on TikTok nowadays. And BELIEVE ME, a few of them I’ve checked out are using bits of my dialogue from my early YouTube days of channeling Tony. But whatever. As I get older, I realize it’s just not worth getting bent out of shape over such things. Let ’em have their fun and success.)
So I am officially re-directing my current, debilitating angst into Chuck Duck content. I think it will be good for my mental health. I mean, so FAR it feels like that. And others already seem to be discovering his antics as well, which brings me – are you ready for it? – JOY!!!
So check out Chuck Duck World here on TikTok! If you don’t, he’ll crrryyy.