Cartoon - BM Peel

When I lived in Petaluma, right after I graduated from SF State, I discovered a creepy Victorian house a few blocks from where I was staying. Hulking and ominous, it hadn't been painted for at least 20 years, the yard was completely overgrown, and on the second story, one of the bay windows had broken and the owner never repaired it. When it rained and the wind howled, you could see blanched tattered drapes fluttering in and out of the window. As I walked by the house frequently, I expected a strangler or insane recluse to be in residence, but it turned out to be a slight harmless tiny old man with thick glasses. He looked reasonably neat, wore brown corduroy trousers and a jacket with patches on the elbows, and he collected cans. A few years later I returned to Petaluma, and I saw the Victorian being restored. The old guy who owned it had died. No more ghostly drapes fluttering in the window. CM Evans Cartoons