My Life With Comic Books Part 204

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester, Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores have been around for over thirty years and it’s been a long and interesting combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.

 

 

The current cast of characters:

Paul Howley: age 48

Mal Howley: age 48

Adam Howley: my son, age 21

Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 18

 

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP:  Part #204

 

   In June of 2002 we had a lot going on. We sold our home in Gilford, New Hampshire, rebuilt our cottage in Alton Bay, and we decided to move to Florida while Cassy attended Palm Beach Atlantic University. But at this moment, the most important thing was Cassy’s high school graduation from Laconia Christian School.

   Although we could only invite a few people to the actual graduation ceremony, we invited many relatives and friends to Cassy’s graduation party. Uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, classmates, and friends were coming... some from very far away! We were especially honored that our good friends, Gary and Peggy Walker, were coming all the way from Nashville, Tennessee to the party!

   We hadn’t seen Gary and Peggy for a few years but they’d always been special friends. We’ve known them since we worked for them in the mid-1970s and we kept in touch as often as possible.

   Mal and my sister Sharon had all of the details for the party finished and my brother-in-law Greg took care of setting up the chairs and other stuff outside for the party. It all seemed to go together very smoothly.

   The actual graduation ceremony was quite nice. The principal of the school, David Borchers, cared very much about the students and he made the graduation very relevant and personal. This particular senior class meant a lot to me too, and not just because my daughter was in it. These past four years saw significant changes in these young people as they matured and I was fortunate to be around to see it.

   During the ceremony the school choir sang some songs and Cassy was featured. Seamus O’Brien, Dwayne Currier, and Cassy each gave a “message” to their classmates while I sat in the audience nervously awaiting my turn to speak.

   Here’s a video clip of Cassy and the choir singing one of the songs:

 

   Shortly after this song, Cassy gave me a nice introduction. But she threw me for a loop as she introduced me as Dr. Paul Howley! Most of the people in the audience didn't know me at all so I would need to let them know I was not a doctor.
Next chapter: My message to the graduates.

My Life With Comic Books Part # 203

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester, Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores have been around for over thirty years and it’s been a long and interesting combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.

 

 

The current cast of characters:

Paul Howley: age 48

Mal Howley: age 48

Adam Howley: my son, age 21

Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 18

 

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP:  Part #203

 

   We had decided to try to sell our Gilford, NH home. Cassandra was headed off to Florida in the fall to attend Palm Beach Atlantic University and we thought it might be good to try a new start; somewhere we weren’t reminded of Adam every waking moment. After interviewing five different real estate companies, only Judy McShane seemed interested in our offer of a one-day exclusive listing if they had a customer who might be interested in buying it. Judy called one of her clients and after a very brief conversation, she wrote up the one-day listing agreement.

 

   About fifteen minutes later, a woman drove a Mercedes down our driveway, left her kids in the idling car, and after a brief introduction, began to look around the inside of our house. She spent about ten minutes looking around the house but she never looked at the finished basement and she didn’t look around the backyard. As she was headed out to leave, she asked Mal if we could be out of the house within fourteen days. We didn’t take her very seriously but we said, “Sure.”

 

   Within a half-hour, she called us with an offer. I declined her offer. She asked what the lowest price I’d sell the house for would be and when I told her, she agreed to buy the house. The next morning she arranged to come to our house to measure for drapes. While she was there I asked if she’d be interested in buying my beautiful carved-oak pool table and without a moment’s thought, she agreed to pay the full price I was asking.

 

   This was all great news for us since we really wanted to sell the house quickly, but there was a significant problem. We had no place to move into! We had torn out the bathrooms in our Alton Bay cottage and we still couldn’t find a carpenter to rebuild them. My sister Sharon and her husband Greg offered to let us stay with them at their home in Laconia, New Hampshire until we could find someone to rebuild our cottage bathrooms. Meanwhile, we had to empty all of our stuff out of our home and we brought it into a nearby storage facility. Greg let me use his truck and trailer and he helped me move the heavy furniture while several other friends helped pack and move boxes. It was a lot of work but we were able to empty the house in time for the sale date. The entire process of selling the house took about two weeks!

 

   After we had been living with Greg and Sharon for a couple of weeks, Greg suggested that HE could possibly rebuild our bathrooms at the cottage. (Hmmm….did he really just want to get rid of us?) Greg is a man of many talents so this seemed like a good idea. He worked hard and within a short time, the cottage bathroom was finished. But, in an effort to “help” him, I ended up getting hurt. I was kneeling on the floor moving some building supplies when I heard a loud pop. It was my kneecap! The pain was intense and within a minute my kneecap swelled up.

 

   As each day passed, the pain seemed to get worse. I could barely walk and I had too much going on to be incapacitated. We had Cassandra’s high school graduation coming up soon and we were planning to have a pretty big graduation party for her. The party was going to be held at my sister’s home because they had plenty of room inside the house and they also had a beautiful backyard. I called my doctor on a Saturday and he allowed me to come to his home to get a shot of cortisone in my knee to relieve the pain. Thankfully it worked great!

 

   While my wife and sister planned the graduation party, I began to work on preparing the message that I was going to give at the school’s graduation ceremony. I’m not a good writer so I was struggling with this. I knew a few of the ideas I wanted to express but putting it all together wasn’t easy for me. For several days, I’d make little notes as ideas came to me, hoping that when it was all combined, it might make some sense. With only a few days before the graduation, it was time for me to get serious about putting the message together.  I laid out all of the scraps of paper on my sister’s coffee table and just as I got ready to start writing the first draft, my wife asked me to go to the grocery store to get some of the food for the party. While I was gone, my sister’s dog, Bailey, ate all of the notes!

 

Next chapter: Cassandra’s graduation from high school.

 

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 202

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester, Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores have been around for over thirty years and it’s been a long and interesting combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.

 

 

The current cast of characters:

Paul Howley: age 48

Mal Howley: age 48

Adam Howley: my son, age 21

Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 18

 

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP:  Part #202

 

   My daughter’s eighteenth birthday was coming up soon and she wanted to do something special for this “milestone.” We rented a banquet hall in a nearby town and hired our nephew, Jesse, to be the DJ for the event. Cassy invited over fifty of her friends from her high school and almost all of them confirmed that they’d attend. While it was mostly going to be a “dance party” we’d also provide food and beverages.

 

   While the planning for her birthday bash was ongoing, we were still working on the high school musical play that was coming up near the end of the month. “The Truth About Cinderella” was a comedy musical that would feature over thirty-five students as actors and about a dozen students and adults involved in the backstage areas including set design, costuming, choreography, makeup, and vocal preparation. The play would be directed by Brenda Carney, a talented volunteer and the school’s drama teacher. I wasn’t very involved this year but I did coordinate the ticket sales at our new performance location at the Newfound Regional High School in Bristol, New Hampshire.

 

   The play was a success and it was nice to see several “new” actors take on larger roles than they had previously done in the past four years of the drama program.

 

   As Cassy’s last year of high school was nearing the end, our lives were pretty busy. We had lots of details to take care of to wrap up the school year. In late May, the senior students put on the “Senior Banquet.” At this banquet, parents and friends are invited to a dinner prepared and served by the junior class and entertainment including students from both the senior and junior classes. My parents drove up from Massachusetts to be there. I remember it being a nice evening but at the end of the night, representatives of the senior class asked me to be the speaker at their high school graduation ceremony! They must have been crazy! I accepted the invitation but then I was told that I’d have to wear a suit and tie! YIKES! For the past four years, I’ve pretty much worn a white t-shirt and blue jeans every single day.

 

   Cassy had been accepted into the Musical Theatre program of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida for the fall. Mal and I discussed the idea of moving to Florida to be near her, just in case she needed us (or, more likely, we needed her!) We had recently bought a cottage in Alton Bay, New Hampshire that we were renovating and we had a large home in Gilford, New Hampshire. We’d need to try to sell the Gilford home before we could move. We had torn out the main bathroom in the Alton Bay cottage and we were having trouble finding a good carpenter to rebuild it. Everyone we knew in the building business was very busy on other projects and couldn’t help us.

 

   We called several real estate companies and set up appointments with them so they could pitch us their marketing ideas on our home in Gilford. After each representative gave us their plan for selling and marketing our house, we’d say, “Well, while we’re considering all of the potential realtors, if you know of anyone seriously looking for a house like ours, we’d be happy to give you a one-day exclusive right-to-sell agreement.” One realtor snorted, “Oh, we don’t do business like that!” Another pretended that they’d consider it but it was pretty clear that they were not really interested. The fifth realtor, Judy McShane, said, “Hmmm. Let me think for a minute. I might have someone who’d be interested.”

 

Next Chapter: The craziness begins!

 

  

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 201

 

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester, Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores have been around for over thirty years and it’s been a long and interesting combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.

 

 

The current cast of characters:

Paul Howley: age 48

Mal Howley: age 48

Adam Howley: my son, age 21

Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

 

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP:  Part #201

 

   After Adam’s accident, we began to receive bills from the local community hospital where the paramedics had brought Adam’s body. Adam had died in the car, but at that time, paramedics could not “pronounce” someone dead without a doctor being involved. So, about a month after his death, the hospital began sending the bill to our address. It was upsetting to see Adam’s name on the envelope. I called the hospital billing department and I explained that Adam was an adult so I shouldn’t be responsible for the bills. He had insurance that covered eighty percent and the final balance would not be paid. They apologized and told me to ignore the bill.

 

   The next month we received another bill for the same amount. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt…perhaps this bill was already processed before I had communicated with the billing department. I called them and they told me (again) to disregard the bill and they’d be sure to stop sending the bill to me.

 

   The next month, when I received the bill again, I went down to the hospital to speak to someone “in charge” to settle this. The people I spoke with seemed interested in getting this straightened out and by the time I left the hospital I felt confident that this was settled. But, of course, it wasn’t.

 

   The next month, not only did I get another bill for the exact same amount, I now got a “demand notice” with the threat of the bill being turned over to a collection agency if I didn’t pay the bill right away. I made another trip to the billing department at the hospital and explained that if they didn’t stop billing me, I’d start looking into their outrageously expensive charges, including the charges for two sets of chest x-rays and the charges for TWO doctors to examine the x-rays of my already-dead son. I also made sure to remind them that I have no legal obligation to pay this bill. The head of the department assured me that he understood and he’d personally see to it that I would no longer be billed for these expenses.

 

   Amazingly, I did not get another bill the next month! But I did get a phone call from a lawyer claiming to be representing the hospital and the collection agency. She was demanding that I take care of this bill right away. I explained to her that I have NO legal responsibility for this bill because Adam was an independent adult. She threatened to put a lien against Adam’s estate. I sarcastically laughed at her and told her that Adam’s “estate” consisted of some used music CDs and about six pairs of baggy-jeans. I told her, “If the hospital is that desperate for money, you’re welcome to come over and pick out some things you’re interested in.”

 

   Instantly, her attitude changed. She said, “Would you like me to represent you in a lawsuit against the truck driver and the trucking company who collided with your son’s car?”

  

   I replied, “Why would I sue them? My son collided with them. It wasn’t the truck driver’s fault!”

  

   The lawyer explained, “Very few trucking companies properly maintain their vehicles so they COULD be found liable.”

  

   “You’re a disgusting weasel,” I exclaimed. “How do you live with yourself?!”

 

   That was the last I heard from the hospital and their legal representatives. Now, I’m sure that there are a few nice, competent people working at that hospital. I personally know two doctors and a few nurses who work there and they seem professional and courteous. But for me, after three terrible experiences with incompetent and rude employees, I’m DONE with this local hospital.

 

   Since Adam had no legal will prepared, I needed to hire a lawyer to “settle” his estate. Adam had no money and he didn’t own any property but it still took nearly a year to go through probate court. It was a relief to have that unpleasant part of this over.

 

 

My Life With Comic Books Part # 200

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector’s store known as “That’s Entertainment” in Worcester, Massachusetts and a second store in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the “luckiest man in the comic book business.” (I’m not) My stores have been around for over thirty years and it’s been a long and interesting combination of events and people that have brought these stores to this current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life. I just want to tell you my story. In many instances, my wife remembers things a little differently, but this is the truth as I remember it.

The current cast of characters:

Paul Howley: age 48

Mal Howley: age 48

Adam Howley: my son, age 21

Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP:  Part #200

   I’ve never had a dream that I believed to be any more than just a dream. I know that many cultures and religions believe that some dreams are inspired by God and I’m certainly not disputing that belief. It’s just that, for me, most of my dreams seem to be the result of thoughts that have been going through my head before I fall asleep. But I did have one time that my dream seemed very real.

   I feel the need to explain something first. When Adam went off to college, there were times when I would barely think about him for several days. I knew he had started his new life away from us and our lives were quite busy. But after his accident, I really haven’t had ten minutes in a row without thinking of Adam. It’s not an obsession. I’m not haunted by the memories of him. It’s just that so many things remind me of Adam. Television, clothing, music, foods…the list seems endless. Anyway, I had this dream about a year after Adam’s accident.

   It was a very cold winter day and Adam and I were on a long wooden toboggan getting ready to slide down a huge hilly road ( to be specific, it was Kent Drive in Hudson, Massachusetts). Even though, in reality, the steep part of Kent Drive is only about a mile long, in my dream it seemed as if it was several miles long. I was holding on tightly to the edges of the toboggan and Adam was holding onto my shoulders. For some reason, Adam wasn’t the twenty-one year old Adam... he was twelve years-old and I could hear his typical stuffed-up nose while he said to me, “Dad, don’t worry, there’s no reason to cry…I’m fine.”

   We spent the rest of our ride together laughing and enjoying the thrill of the steep hill. When I woke up, I knew it was just a dream. Even though it wasn’t real, I felt relieved….Adam was safe and happy.