♪ ♪ >> WITH A BIT F SHOCK, I'VE OFFICIALLY BEEN DRAWING CARTOONS FOR "ALMANAC" FOR 20 YEARS.

20 YEARS, MAKING ILLUSTRATED ESSAYS.

THIS LED ME TO WONDER, WHAT IF I TOOK EVERY LINE I'VE EVER DRAWN, EVERY SQUIGGLE AND EVERY ZIGZAG AND I STRAIGHTENED THEM OUT AND PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER, HOW LONG A LINE WOULD THAT BE?

SOMETHING IMPRESSIVE TO THE MOON AND BACK.

LET'S DO SOME QUICK MATH, THREE FEET PER DRAWING, WORKS OUT TO ABOUT FOUR MILES.

THAT IS NOT THE ANSWER I WAS HOPING FOR.

ANYWAY, THE REAL QUESTION I FOUND MYSELF ASKING IS, WHY HAVE I STAYED WITH "ALMANAC?"

I MEAN, YES, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN TV WAS THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, BUT TODAY EVERYONE KNOWS THERE'S YouTube.

THERE'S A GLOBAL AUDIENCE JUST A FEW CLICKS AWAY.

WHY HAVE I SPENT 20 YEARS ON A BROADCAST TOWER IN THE TWIN CITIES METRO?

ITCHING THE ANSWER IS THAT -- I THINK THE ANSWER, IS THAT MORE THAN VIEWS, MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN MONEY, I JUST LIKE FRAMING, I LIKE CONTEXT, AND I LIKE MINNESOTA'S CIVIC CULTURE.

IT'S SOMEHOW REASSURING TO ME THAT MY CARTOONS, WHATEVER THESE THINGS ARE, ARE PART OF A SHOW THAT ELEVATES POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND RATIONAL DEBATE.

YOU SEE, I MAY BE A GOOFBALL PERSONALITY MYSELF, BUT THE PLANET I WANT TO LIVE ON IS A PLANET THAT'S THOUGHTFUL, CURIOUS, AND PREDICTABLE.

I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IF YOU'RE OING TO DRAW A LINE THAT'S FOUR MILES LONG, YOU'RE GOING TO BUNDLE IT UP AND SHOVE IT SOMEWHERE, THERE ARE WORSE PLACES TO SHOVE IT THAN A SHOW LIKE "ALMANAC."

AND I'M NOTHING BUT GRATEFUL FOR THE 20 YEARS YOU'VE ALL GIVEN ME.