Good morning came early with Sketch and Coffee, and today’s random draw turned out to be a battleship.
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Not just any battleship, but one of those toys that mixes timelines, with satellite dishes and long radio towers sitting right beside old two-gun turrets. I laughed at how it looked like a mash-up, not meant to be precise, just meant to feel powerful.
We talked about how ships have been part of war since the age of sail, when paddles and oars carried men into battle. Once sails arrived, cannons followed, and wooden sides gave way to steel fortresses. Guns kept getting bigger, engines stronger, and before long these giants floated around like moving cities, bakeries and machine shops on board with hundreds of men.
The movies loved battleships, showing them as symbols of power in classics like Tora! Tora! Tora! or Sink the Bismarck. They appeared in recruiting posters across the world, meant to pull kids in with pride and promise. The game Battleship carried that torch too, turning the name into a household word, even if playing it sometimes felt more like “hurry up and wait.”
Technology moved faster than the ships. Missiles, defense systems, and carriers replaced them, and most battleships retired into quiet service as museums. Down here in Texas, the USS Texas still stands, and folks can even spend the night on board. It is a reminder to draw what you see, even when what you see is a toy ship propped up on a piece of plastic lettuce.
Click here to watch this episode of Sketch and Coffee
Also, if you, or a teacher friend, would like a 20-30 minute lesson plan about battleships, feel free to download and share this one:
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