Good Bye Alice, Petey, and Grandma's Giant Dog Shirley

I just found out that the writer and artist of the comic strip Cul De Sac, Richard Thompson, has succumbed to his Parkinson's Disease.

I've been a lover of comic books and newspaper comic strips for the great majority of my 62+ years and was looking at them long before I learned to read. Richard's The Complete Cul De Sac books were the first I bought in almost 20 years and will probably be the last ever. Another book that features, nay, praises, him and his drawings is The Art of Richard Thompson, put together by his friends not long after he got his diagnosis. That one showcases his other artwork, including newspaper editorial cartoons and his other comic about life in Washington, D.C. Richard's Poor Almanac.

Another very important book out there is Team Cul De Sac: Artists Draw the Line at Parkinson's. All proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

I was so much like Alice (and Ruthy from One Big Happy) while growing up, and my son, especially when it came to picky eating, could pass for her brother Petey. And while my grandmother never threw eggs at passing cars, she did have a big scary dog for the longest time. We grew up in an urban setting, not a suburban cul se sac like all of these kids, but kids will be kids in any setting.

We'll miss you, Richard, but you can't tie down a banjo man. When you have to go, you go in peace.