I’ve been doing a lot of thanking lately.

Andrew Paul, Nathan Sutton, and the Edmonton Community Foundation. These three were integral in the start of the UnDad Podcast. Then, ATB, Karen Unland, and the Alberta Podcast Network. These thanks are still affiliated with the podcast but have recently come on board as supporting role. Also, all the awesome people I’ve interviewed and have chimed in with their thoughts and suggestions. This list is too long to write out, so it is a blanket thanks.

But one name, actually a series of images, keeps coming up: Breakfast Jones.

She has been there from the beginning of this website, for what feels like a million years ago. From the initial ‘Canadian Gothic’ image that is the icon of the site to several other pieces that adorn the walls of my home (and my social media), Breakfast has basically branded The UnDad.

Her illustrations have a strength of character that skirts the line between boldness and whimsy. Her work has a sense of a constant need to create that borderlines on manic mastery. While she would most likely cast off that type of praise, it is her humility that embodies a true trait of lifelong curator of ideas: the personal drive to make each work better than the one before. Watching her work evolve is a pleasure.

For this, I want to say a hearty thank you. Thank you for not sucking.