In case you hadn’t heard, I needed the sewer line to my home replaced yesterday.

In case you hadn’t heard, replacing a sewer line is expensive.

In case you hadn’t heard, you usually don’t know you have to replace a sewer line until it’s too late to budget for it.  In many ways, it’s an emergency.

In case you hadn’t heard, yesterday was also my birthday.

Yesterday started out with the potential to be one of the worst birthdays ever.  It ended up being one of the best days of my life.

You may be asking yourself, “Really Frank?”  Really.

I needed this problem to help me clearly see a few things…not only about myself, but about the world.

I would like to preface this by saying, in the grand scheme of things, my problem is not a huge problem.  My home and possessions were not destroyed by a hurricane or earthquake.  My health was not (really) put in any immediate danger.  I do not want to convey that my problem was bigger than anyone else’s problem.  It’s a big problem for me though… so there’s that.

After we got the estimate, I panicked.  The amount was way up there.  How was I going to pay this?  I had some savings, but A. it wouldn’t cover it all and B. if I drained my savings, I’d have no savings at all. If another emergency happened, I’d be in a bad spot.  What does a cartoonist do?

He has a cartoon sale.

And that’s what I did.  I put together a SEWER SIEGE ART SALE.  I figured, what could it hurt.  I may not make the entire cost, but I’d make it hurt a little less.  I never even considered asking for donations…I needed to give people something for their money.  I was taught at a VERY early age that earning a buck is not easy.

The next day the machines rolled in and the work began.  What if there were issues once they got to the pipe?  What if these issues were more expensive?  As I watched my front yard move, something else was moving…fans of Bob were buying art left and right.  I didn’t expect to sell like that.  It made me feel good.  Real good.  To think that someone out there would be willing to send me money for art, not because I asked for it (I kinda did) but because my work has always been there for them…every single day.

By mid afternoon, the new line was in and covered.  I paid the plumber in full.  That’s a really good feeling.  A confident feeling…my scribbles helped avoid a nasty problem from becoming any bigger.  My fans helped me out when I needed them.

I will never take a flush for granted ever again.