Instead of a pencil sketch of Oscar, Mrs. Meyer discovered she had paid for a drawing of one of West Virginia's mythological creatures. The elusive Opossum Man.
Thinking it was a joke, Meyer laughed and asked artist, Skp Parsons for her real drawing, "I was sure he was pulling my leg. I saw The Opossum Man on TheDiggerer.com, but that's fake, right?"
Parsons was offended by her accusation, "I take my art seriously and I didn't appreciate her laughing at my work". When he realized Meyer wasn't going to let it go he asked her to leave his tent or he'd call the police. WV State Trooper, Stan Down was called in to settle the dispute.
"I pulled both of them aside to get their stories," Trooper Down told us. "Mrs. Meyer was pretty put out. She paid for a pic of her pooch, not a possum. Let me tell you, she loves that dog, the thing had a pacifier around it's neck.
"Skip Parsons is a well known artist in the area. Everyone knows him as the fastest sketch artist in the state -- he's just a little cross-eyed.
"The best I can figure is Opossum Man was walking through the tent at the exact time Mrs. Meyer and Oscar sat down for their sketch. If Parsons glanced up and saw The Opossum Man -- and The Opossum Man was startled... Well, we all know opossums freeze when they are startled. I guess he drew the critter that fast without thinking about it."
TheDiggerer.com reported Webster Springs eye-witnesses [LINK] claimed the Opossum Man was seven-foot tall. Those reports seem to have been exaggerated by moonshine. Skip Parsons claimed the animal / man he drew was no more than three feet tall. "It looked like a dog to me," said the cross-eyed illustrator in his own defence.
Asked what she plans to do with the sketch, Mrs. Meyer said she might sell it on eBay. "Oscar's day was ruined by that nasty Opossum Man. Maybe with the money, I can make it up to him by taking him to Walmart and getting his picture taken at their Photo Studio. I just hope the Opossum Man doesn't shop at Walmart."
