The lawyer sitting across the table from Floyd had a greasy look. “It appears your brother Errol Barnes, esquire, has left you a hotel, ” he said.
“Son, I haven’t spoke to Errol in fifty years. Why in hell would he do that?”
He opened his briefcase and took out a stained letter. “This may explain, Mr. Barnes.”
Dear Floyd,
I bet you wonder why I am giving you the Hotel Charro. I bought it in 1970 as an investment and it has been the death of me. I hope it has the same effect on you.
Yours in hell everlasting, Errol
This story comes from my early attempt as a syndicated cartoonist in which the central character, Floyd Barnes, inherits a crumbling hotel full of elderly cranks. It was not picked up, but I had fun drawing it. Here’s a sample Sunday panel introducing Mrs. Krebster, an old woman who thinks that Floyd is his late brother Errol. She still talks to him even though she knows Errol is dead.
What a great idea! I don’t understand why it wasn’t picked up. I guess wrinklies didn’t have as much cachet back then
Dear Josh,
I’ve always thought there’d be a lot of pressure on a syndicated cartoonist to keep up the momentum. I don’t now why you didn’t get picked up. Delightful. I get it, though. I was turned down by Hallmark twice and decided they’re not worthy. ;)
Your story gave me a chuckle. It reminded me of an old joke about the man who was shocked to find he was included in his a relative’s will. When it was read, the final line to him was something like, “To Heime who never thought I’d give him the time of day, ‘Hello Heime.’
Aside from my long winded comment…Good story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
It’s three-fifteen, Heime! ;-)
Love the story and the cartoon. For some reason the thought of old people getting revenge makes me smile. Ha. Very well done.
…A heart-warming, feel-good tale!
Wills can cause all kinds of trouble!
Torch the place. Make it look like an accident. Then collect the insurance money and call it good.
What a nice pair of brothers! Sibling rivalry beyond the grave. Nice imagining, Josh, and, as always, excellently crafted. I love the mirroring “Why in hell?”…”Yours in hell” That’s a lovely touch.
Very crisp story, loved it. And I’m impressed by your talent for cartoons. Wow.
Thanks!
Ha ha – very cleverly done! Thanks for making me smile.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Love it… and the comic… makes me think of the line:
“You can check in anytime you want but you can never leave”
Ha! Ha! Loved it! Maybe you should have a blog just for Barnes.
Haha! That’s just brilliant. This takes sibling rivalry to a new level.
Ha ha ha ha. A befitting gift indeed.
What a great story! Love that last line in the letter. And your cartoon is great Josh – perhaps a carton strip about elderly people would be more popular now as there are so many of them! :)
Haha! Revenge from beyond the grave…
The love between brothers… I never get how these things happen and yet they do.
And lookit you! Wonderful cartoon!
The cartoon drawings are great. I would have loved to be able to illustrate cartoons,
Revenge can certainly be sweet.
Haha! He’ll have to sort out a remedy soon otherwise both the brothers will meet in the grave where they could be in talking terms… who knows.
Your story made me chuckle. Nice cartoon.
Ah, this is clever. I loved it! And I loved the cartoon!