Normally, having your artwork defaced by liquified rice is not a good thing. Except in this case…

Bring on the peas and yams.

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With the pending release of my new book, Escape Adulthood: 8 Secrets from Childhood for the Streessed-Out Grown-Up, I’ve been working on developing some new talks for “grown-ups” based on the content of the book. There are five:

•Be Mine: Winning The Hearts of Your Customers
•The Wisdom of Curious George: Improving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Company
•Recess is Mandatory: Building Teams by Having Fun
•Making Pigs Fly: Accomplishing Big Things in Life and Work
•Amscray: Telling Stress to Get Lost

These topics can be delivered as 30-90 minute keynote presentations as well as 2-3 hour seminars. I promise that they’ll be chock full of fun and useful ideas you can use to improve your life and Escape Adulthood. If you’re interested in booking info, contact Kim for details.

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We only have 16 t-shirts left from our recently concluded second annual Kim & Jason Benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They are sure to be a collectible phenomenon destined to command thousands on eBay. Or they will just be cool t-shirts commemorating a fun event. If you weren’t there and want to pretend like you were, pick one up before they disappear.

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How cool is this: The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Wisconsin has a wish child with an extraordinary wish. He wishes to train and participate in a large charitable bike ride to raise money for cancer research so other children do not have to go through what he has.

David will be raising funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and riding in its Ride for the Roses in October. In preparation for his participation in the event, he is participating in two training rides.

The first is on Saturday, May 7 at Sheedan Park, Sun Prairie. Please join us at 9:30 a.m. (ride begins at 10:30) to support, cheer and encourage David as he participates in the 2005 Trek Spring into Wisconsin bike ride.

Ride organizer, Todd McLaughlin, is helping the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin with David’s wish request. Proceeds from the Trek Spring into Wisconsin and the Tour de Villes, the second of David’s two training rides, will allow David to participate in the Ride for the Roses in Houston, Texas with Lance Armstrong.

How can YOU help?

–>Stop by Sheedan park to show David your support.
–>Pledge David by going to www.springintowisconsin.com and click on “Help Make David’s Wish Come True”
–>Ride in the 2005 Trek Spring into Wisconsin with David
–>Volunteer to help at the ride

(If you can join us or help, please RSVP to David Groszczyk at the Make-A-Wish office at 800.236.9474 or 262.781.4445)

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Earlier this year, I had the distinct privilege of putting on a 3-day cartooning workshop for the fourth and fifth graders at Huegel Elementary here in Madison. I had fun, the kids had fun, and I’m pretty sure the teachers did, too. One of the coolest things that happened after my visit is that the kids ended up doing a letter writing campaign to the Wisconsin State Journal on my behalf. As far as I know, every single student in both grade levels wrote a letter requesting that Kim & Jason be added to the comics page. Who knows if it will make a difference in the eyes of the editor, but it sure made an impact on me. I just had to share some exceprts from a few of the letters:

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Dear Mr. Milfred,
I am writing you to suggest that the Wisconsin State Journal put in cartoons from jason Kotecki. His comic is called Kim & Jason. I love making comics. I never knew it was so much fun. Jason taught me that whatever you put your mind to, you can do it. He is a very good comic artist and writer. People in Wisconsin would enjoy his work. I showed my mom a Kim & Jason comic and she laughed. She said she loved it. So put Jason Kotecki’s comic in the newspaper and put a smile on people’s faces.
Sincerely,
Javonae

Dear Mr. Milfred,
I am writing to suggest Wis. State Journal put in comics from Jason Kotecki. He is a local artist and you can see his work on KimandJason.com. He is a very talented cartoonist, and he inspires many people to make their own comics, including me. He works very hard, and all that hard work should be able to pay off. My class knows how much Jason wants his comics in WSJ, and we want to help him with that.
Sincerely,
Alana

Dear Mr. Milfred,
I think Jason Kotecki (the cartoonist for “Kim & Jason”) deserves to have his cartoon in the Wisconsin State Journal. One reason I believe that Jason should have his cartoon published in the Wisconsin State Journal is because people who would read it would be entertained and you would have happy customers. Another reason I think this is because he worked with my class and did an excellent job. He also worked with other classes at my school, and all the kids that worked with Jason were able to create there own cartoon. The third reason is because I know a lot of kids who get a laugh when they read a “Kim & Jason” cartoon. Jason is a local cartoonist and has worked very hard. Jason has a website (www.kimandjason.com) and I think people would like to read it in the Wisconsin State Journal, not just online. I appreciate you listening to my opinion. I hope to read “Kim & Jason” in the Wisconsin State Journal soon!
Gabriela
—

Convincing arguments, no?

Thanks Huegel!

(Another girl named Sydney wrote her letter in the form of a comic strip, with the text: “I think you should put comic strips by Jason Kotecki in the newspaper. He inspired me…Look how good I can do cartooning now!”)

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I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I switched the background of Kimandjason.com several weeks ago from a “lunch bag brown” kraft color to a vibrant red. I did this because in a recent poll we conducted involving new visitors to the web site, many of them mentioned that the background was too drab. Eventually, the comments got to me and I made the change to red.

I picked red because it matched our logo, and because I know red to be the most vibrant and attention-grabbing color (that’s why stop signs and brake lights and Target uniforms are red). I was not about to have anyone call my web site drab.

Several weeks of staring at the bright red background drove me to the brink. I hated it. Even though we conducted another survey that showed a large margin of people actually preferring the red, I just couldn’t stand looking at it anymore. I found it too distracting, and it seemed to clash with a lot of the artwork. And that led me to remember the reason I chose the original color in the first place: I wanted something neutral, something that would allow the artwork itself to stand out.

After many days of agonizing whether or not to change it back (and getting increasingly more angry that something so stupid as a website background should dominate my thoughts) I brought back the old “lunch bag brown”. I added some Kim & Jason sketches to liven it up.

I don’t know if the sketches make it less drab, but at least I’m more happy.

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“Life is made up of little things. It is very rarely that an occasion is offered for doing a great deal at once. True greatness consists in being great in the little things.”
- Charles Simmons

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The other day, a little girl in Kim’s kindergarten class commented to one of the teacher’s aides, “You look really pretty today.”

Then she added, “But I did just get done spinning around and I am pretty dizzy.”

Although not always tactful, the honesty of children is always a breath of fresh air.

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But then I’ll need bigger pants.

Just got back from a meeting at Veridian Homes. They are the ones responsible for the cruise part of our "Crusin’ For Wishes" Benefit for Make-A-Wish. I got to take part in my fist "BIG check" presentation (That’s me in the middle, and Jaimie, the Publicity Princess, is in pink on my left). Because of the generosity of Veridian, some lucky couple will win an all-expenses-paid cruise for two, and Make-A-Wish will be able to make even more wishes come true for kids with life-threatening medical conditions. If you’re in the Madison area next Thursday, April 21, be sure to come to our cruise party. You can win cool stuff, play fun games, and eat the best kind of food – free.

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Well, it’s official. A few days ago, Kim met with her boss to tell her she wouldn’t be returning to teach next year. Gulp.

That’s right. After five years of busting our butts working at Kim & Jason, we’re making the jump we’ve been we’ve been dreaming about – working full time at, and being completely supported by, these cartoon characters known as Kim and Jason. And Stinky.

We’ve really wrestled with this decision for several months. It has been exciting to see how things have developed, and the difference we’re making in people’s lives. Kim & Jason has steadily grown in readership and revenue. My speaking gigs have increased. And my book is slated for release in the very near future. A lot of things are going in the right direction, and it seems like if we don’t make this jump now, we’ll only stunt our growth.

That’s not to say it’s easy. It surely isn’t how I imagined. I figured I’d already be making a very comfortable salary by the time Kim “retired”, making the decision elementary, so to speak. Walking away from a guaranteed salary and decent benefits in order to chase potential makes me a little uneasy. Pepto-Bismol uneasy. But at the same time, somehow, I am very confident in this decision.

We’ve spent a lot of time in prayer and in discussion with close friends and family. Everyone has been so supportive. Eerily supportive, in fact. Another fact is that, sometimes, in order to succeed, you have to completely burn the bridges behind you. Otherwise, when the going gets tough, you’re likely to panic and take the easy out you’ve left for yourself. When Kim closes her classroom door and the paychecks stop coming, it’s sink or swim. That’s some pretty good motivation.

I’m not sure what it means that only days after the decision was announced, our car needed $500 worth of work done. I’m pretty sure it’s like one of those radio alerts – only a test. When you step out in faith and demand big things from life, life will reward your boldness, but before it can do that, it has to see how serious you are. So, we’ll see. Just like St. Peter, who walked on the water, we’ll either sink or swim. I know that as long as we keep our eyes on the Lord, we’ll be just fine.

But if any of you feel called by a higher power to send us a token of encouragement, like, say, a check, we won’t turn it down. We could use it to buy more Pepto-Bismol.

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When I think of what a professional is, I naturally think of people with high degrees and important jobs. Jobs that, if done poorly, lead to serious consequences. Brain surgeons, accountants, and major league pitchers, to name a few.

It’s hard for me to think of exactly what it means to be a professional cartoonist. When it comes to cartooning, all of my typical associations with the concept of professionalism goes right out the window. First of all, most cartoonists I know of don’t typically wear a suit and tie when they sit down at the ol’ drawing table. In fact, my daily wardrobe could consistently be considered “unprofessional” by even the most lenient definitions.

Secondly, since art and humor tend to be fairly subjective, it’s hard to gauge what makes one cartoonist’s work any more professional than another’s. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has confessed to being a fairly weak artist. Lots of people can draw better than him, but does that make him any less of a professional?

Another benchmark that one could use to distinguish professional status is being paid for one’s work. Well, I got paid for some cartoons I drew when I was in grade school - was I a professional way back then? Or does it have to be a full-time job? Does one have to be making a living at it? If a doctor takes a year sabbatical to donate her services in the mission field, is she still considered a professional?

All that being said, I think I have finally figured out what being a professional means to me. I have been battling a persistent cold for the past thirteen days. I thought I was approaching some sort of a world record, until my doctor told me yesterday that this type of cold could last for up to four or five weeks. Four or five weeks? (Now that’s a professional cold.) I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time in a horizontal position, sleeping, sweating, aching, and coughing up pieces of what I’m sure were vital organs. I’ve had to postpone a handful of speaking engagements and meetings. Needless to say, I haven’t been able to get much done. And I’ve discovered that the most annoying thing about being sick is that the world doesn’t shut down with you. The phone keeps ringing, e-mail keeps piling up, and people keep demanding things from you.

I am starting to feel a bit better now, but it’s hard to tell how much the prescribed narcotics have to do with my current state of well-being. Even though I have abandoned many things on my to-do list the last two weeks, I have continued the daily responsibilities associated with Kim & Jason. I have updated the site while in a near-comatose state and inked comic strips in between naps. I have even kept up my writing schedule, which has been the most difficult accomplishment. It’s hard enough trying to muster up an appetite, let alone be funny enough to pull usable material out of thin air. But I muscled through, and to the outside world that reads Kim & Jason, there will be no signs that I’ve been pretty much MIA the last two weeks. (Although I cannot guarantee the strips that will run the last week of April will win any humor awards.)

I imagine myself as Cal Ripken, Jr., the baseball player who set the major league record for most consecutive games played. Now I think that’s an appropriate comparison because drawing comic strips and playing baseball games seem like equally unimportant things in the grand scheme of things. Certainly, the world would not end if Kim & Jason went on hiatus for a few weeks. Actually, most people probably wouldn’t notice. But if someone were to ask me why I bothered to keep up on Kim & Jason while I’ve been under the weather, the only real answer I can come up with is, “Because I’m a professional.”

Whatever that means.

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I LOVE this photo. It’s my Goddaughter Belle, and it was part of an e-mail campaign sent out by her mom, the Publicity Princess. The e-mail reads: “This little star has a wish for YOU - buy raffle tickets for the Kim & Jason Benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Very happy to have her health, she wants to help sick kids. For just $5 a ticket (or 5 for $20) you could win a cruise for two worth $2,000, a dining out package worth over $250, a “pamper yourself package” or a “family adventure” package. You can buy tickets online at http://www.kimandjason.com/makeawish”

I can’t think of a better spokesbaby.

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