My Life With Comic Books Part # 187

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 46
Mal Howley: age 47
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 187

At the end of Cassandra’s Junior year of high school we presented the first “Adam Dean Howley Memorial Performing Arts Scholarship” at Laconia Christian School. Since the fund that we had started hadn’t earned enough interest in the account to make a significant monetary scholarship, Mal and I decided to donate the money ourselves. The school had distributed applications to any students who had interest in performing arts including singing, acting, dancing, or music. The interested students were required to write a short essay explaining why they enjoyed performing. After the applications were reviewed it was determined that the scholarships would be awarded to Andrew Hare, Natalie Robinson and Ian Jameson. All three of these students had been very active in the school’s drama program. The school allowed me to present the awards at the Awards Ceremony held in the gymnasium on an evening in June. I remembered the emotional presentation given by another parent a few years earlier who had started a school scholarship in memory of the son they had lost. Now I think I understood what they were going through. I had a tough time getting through my brief presentation.

During the summer of 2001 we decided to go to Disney World again. We allowed Cassy to invite some of her friends to come with us so she invited Katie Sanborn, Micah Tulley (and his football) and Danielle LeLeivre. We had rented a beautiful five-bedroom, fully furnished home with a pool, very close to Disney World, for only $850 for the whole week. I asked our friend, Mike Verhoeks, if we could borrow his new van so we could all fit comfortably for our long trip and he allowed us to take it. The 1500 mile trip down to Florida went smoothly (as did the trip home) and the sunny weather was great, although it was hot. We all got along nicely and Mal and I enjoyed watching Cassy and her friends having fun at Disney World. Mal and I knew Cassandra was planning to go to college in Florida when she graduated from high school and we started thinking that we might possibly move to Florida too.

Once we were back home in New Hampshire, we contacted Cassandra’s classmates to remind them that we had planned a fundraising car wash to raise money for those who couldn’t afford the upcoming senior class trip cruise. I had worked out most of the details for the trip already and the cost per student was quite inexpensive but it was still important for the class to work together to pay for this trip. While most of her classmates came and worked all day washing cars, we were kind of disappointed that some of the students who needed the most financial help didn’t bother to come.

Next chapter: Cassandra begins her last year of high school.

Pictures: Cassandra and her friends in Disney World.

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 186

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 47
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17
The Monkees: Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 186

In late June of 2001, I learned that The Monkees were scheduled to perform at the Meadowbrook outdoor pavilion in Gilford, New Hampshire on July 20th. We lived about a mile away from Meadowbrook and it was a nice, family-run concert arena. I met with one of the owners of Meadowbrook and suggested that they advertise the concert as a fundraising event with a portion of each ticket price going to benefit The Adam Dean Howley Memorial Performing Arts Scholarship. The owner offered to donate between 50 cents and $1.00 for each ticket sold and I offered to help them promote the concert through the local media. The owner also suggested that I ask The Monkees to match the donation. I thought I had a good shot at getting them to agree to this because I had a good working-relationship with Davy Jones going back to the time he was a guest at our Worcester store.

I knew I’d be able to get some good local publicity since we lived right there in town! I was excited about the possibility of raising $8000 to $12,000 for the scholarship fund. The only “catch” was that the owner of Meadowbrook needed the approval of The Monkees so we could advertise the concert as a benefit concert. I called Davy Jones’ home (I still had his phone number from years ago) but his answering machine message told me that he was “on the road, touring with The Monkees.” I did not have any contact information for Peter Tork or Micky Dolenz but the staff at Meadowbrook told me they’d contact the management office of The Monkees to request their permission.

Meadowbrook staff left a few messages but The Monkees’ managers didn’t return the calls. This frustrated me because I knew I could help promote this concert enough to sell out every seat. I had valuable experience getting publicity for our stores and since this was for a very good charity I was sure the local and the surrounding area media would work with me on this important fundraising concert. But as the weeks flew by, it was clear that for some reason (completely out of my control) the management of Meadowbrook could not connect with the Monkees’ management.

A week before the concert performance, I asked Meadowbrook management to arrange to get me and some of my friends some back-stage passes to meet the members of The Monkees. At first, they declined. But when I explained how disappointing this failed promotion was to me, they rewarded me with the passes. My wife decided that seeing The Monkees would be too sad for her so I invited Barbara Foote, Deb Monell and her daughter Aimee, Natalie Watson, and my sister Sharon to go back-stage with me after the concert ended.

The concert was excellent! Even though I had heard that Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork weren’t really getting along very well, they did a great job of hiding their feelings. They performed nicely together. It actually looked like they were having fun! Unfortunately, less than half of the tickets were sold so the audience was only about 2500 people. When the concert ended we were brought into a fenced-in area next to the stage and we waited to meet The Monkees along with about ten other fans. Peter Tork came out first and although I had met him back in the 1980s I knew he’d never remember me. Peter walked from person to person shaking hands and thanking us all for coming to the concert. A few minutes later, Micky Dolenz came out and did the same. I had never spoken to Micky before so I was glad to have this opportunity to thank him for the many years of enjoyment he had given me. Then Barbara Foote saw Davy Jones meeting some of the other people in front of us. Barbara shouted (as she pointed to me), “Davy! Do you remember this guy?”

Now, I had told my friends about my experience from when Davy Jones had been a guest at my store back in 1993. I always told them how nice Davy was to me and to the crowd of fans who had come to see him. But I hadn’t seen Davy in person since 1993 and I looked different now (I had a beard). Davy Jones probably meets thousands of people every year and there was a good chance he wouldn’t remember me at all. If he didn’t recognize me my friends wouldn’t believe my story anymore! Davy looked at me and after a few seconds he said, “Hey Paul! How’s your store doing?” He remembered me. He’s THAT kind of guy!

UPDATE: On February 29, 2012, Davy Jones died of a heart attack at the age of 66.

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 185

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 47
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 185

“The Gifts.”

One day, several months after Adam's death, we got a phone call from a woman we'd never met. She got our unlisted phone number from the Friendly's restaurant where Adam worked at the time of his accident. She was unsure that she should call us but as time passed she felt strongly that she needed to share this with us.

She has two very young, unruly children who do not know how to behave in a restaurant so they rarely went out to eat. This one night, though, they went to Friendly's and Adam was their waiter. She explained that Adam quickly realized that these two young girls were "out of control." He decided to pretend that he was an English butler and the two girls were princesses that he was serving. He draped a cloth over his arm, bowed to the princesses, and speaking in an English accent, took their orders.

His act continued as he hovered around their table while the girls ate, and they were quiet and well behaved in their "roles" as princesses. When the dinner was done, the woman asked Adam to introduce himself (the real Adam) and she said to her girls, "Remember this man, because someday we'll see him on TV!"

A few weeks later, the woman saw Adam's obituary in the paper. She was stunned. That night she sat her two little girls down and explained what had happened to the fun and talented waiter from Friendly's. They all cried together.

We really appreciated that this stranger took the time and effort to tell us this story of our son.

Ken Carson, the manager of our comic book-pop culture stores, enabled us to receive another gift. After Adam’s accident, many of our customers wanted to send us sympathy cards but Ken thought it would be even nicer to have customers share their thoughts by writing messages to us in a book. He put this out in the Worcester store and when it was full, he mailed it to us. We were surprised by the messages. We had opened our store with the intention of earning a living but the stores had become much more than that. Our customers had become friends. Many of our customers wrote about their memories of the times when our whole family worked at the special events we held at the store. They shared lots of memories about Adam, especially seeing him grow from a toddler to a teenager. Several customers told us how important the store was to them; thanking us for providing a positive, friendly place to come to, where collectors could gather and feel comfortable. I really treasure this book.

It was around this time that I received another gift. Somehow, word had gotten around the high school that Adam had attended that I had missed seeing Adam perform in his senior musical play, “Working.” (I had been very sick on the one night the full play was performed.) Pamela Griffin, the mother of one of the younger students in the play made a duplicate copy of her videotaping of the full show and she sent this to me! Watching this video of Adam certainly showed how much he loved to perform. What a wonderful and thoughtful gift for us to have!

I also got a small gift from my friend, Wendy Pendleton. Wendy was battling brain cancer but she packaged up this gift for me. It was a cassette tape of music by contemporary Christian singer, Steven Curtis Chapman. Wendy enclosed a short note saying, “I thought you might like this.”

Wendy married Ken Pendleton the same year Mal and I got married and even though we weren’t always good about staying in touch, we remained friends. Ken was a friendly and brilliant man who spent much of his adult life writing technical manuals. He also did some work for me writing role-playing game modules when I organized a big game convention in Worcester, Massachusetts. Wendy was a quiet, kind, and thoughtful woman who loved God and loved her family. Ken and Wendy had four children together.

Although I enjoyed a few of his songs that I’d heard, I was not really a “fan” of Steven Curtis Chapman. Wendy must have thought I needed to hear something on this tape. The songs included: Dive, Speechless, The Change, Great Expectations, Next Five Minutes, Fingerprints of God, The Invitation, Whatever, I Do Believe, What I Really Want to Say, With Hope, The Journey, and Be Still And Know.

I needed to do a few errands so I unwrapped the cassette tape and planned to listen to it in my car while I was driving to the store. It wouldn’t play. I tried fast-forwarding it but it still wouldn’t play. When I got home, I tried it in my stereo cassette player, but it still didn’t play. I tried forwarding it all of the way to the end and back but it wouldn’t work. I probably should have thrown it away but I left it on my desk to remind me to contact Wendy to thank her for the gift. (I’m mentioning this cassette tape for a reason that I’ll disclose later)

Next chapter: Hey, Hey…they’re still The Monkees!

Picture: Ken and Wendy Pendleton

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 184

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 47
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 184

During the summer of 2001, Dona Lynn Curry, the founder and director of “One Voice,” asked me if I’d be interested in getting involved in the multi-church choir. They were going to be performing soon at a local school auditorium. When I explained that I was not a good singer, Dona Lynn asked if I’d be interested in sharing about Adam during the program. I’m very uncomfortable singing or acting in public and I know I’d be terrified to speak in front of a large crowd of people. But, given the opportunity to tell people about my son, I knew I’d need to overcome this fear.

Now, those of you who’ve actually been reading my overly-long story already know I’m not a good writer. But in this instance, I had a desire to communicate something that meant a lot to me to people who may need the message of comfort. I figured that there might be someone listening who has also experienced loss, pain and tragedy. I began writing and after a few hours it was done.

I told Dona Lynn that it was finished and she asked me to come to a rehearsal and read it as though this was an actual performance. I didn’t understand why she wanted me to sit there for an hour, while the other people were singing, waiting for my time to talk. When it was my turn to come up onstage, I faced front as if there was an audience, with my back to the group of singers. I was quite nervous even though there was no one watching me and I read my message too quickly. When I was finished, I turned to face the people in the choir and I was surprised that many of them were crying! That’s when Dona Lynn explained to me that the choir members needed to be familiar with my message so that they wouldn’t be too emotional and unable to sing after I was done speaking. Dona Lynn is one of the most well-prepared and professional people I’ve ever known.

We had some time before the scheduled concert at the Gilford High School and Dona Lynn and I discussed the possibility of bringing the group to other venues. I called some friends who attended the Trinity Church in my old hometown of Bolton, Massachusetts and they got us permission for the choir to sing (and me to give my message) at their church. This would be my “real” first time in front of an audience.

The choir sang beautifully and when it was time for me to get up to speak I spotted several of my old friends in the audience. I had a tough time, struggling with my emotions while I read my message because I could see my friends feeling my pain; but I got through it. After the service was done the church provided a cook-out for us and their church members. At the cook-out, I was approached by my old friend, Wendy Pendleton. She thanked me for coming and asked how Mal and I were doing. I was more interested in how she was feeling because she was in the midst of battling brain cancer but Wendy kept saying, “Oh…I’m okay. But how are YOU?” After a brief conversation Wendy asked me for my mailing address because she had a “gift” she wanted to send me.

From there, we all went to a church in Quincy, Massachusetts to give another concert. I don’t remember much about it other than my repeated attempts to contact my friend George, who owns a chain of comic book stores headquartered in Quincy. I really wanted him to hear the concert and my message but he couldn’t be located by his staff.

When the time came for our big concert at Gilford High School I wasn’t quite as nervous, but with a full house of over 800 people I was still a little shaky.

Here’s a link to the actual message I gave at Gilford High School back in 2001:

http://youtu.be/kVLhDqsz62c


For those of you with a slow Internet connection, here’s the written version:


“This is not just my testimony of God’s love for me...it’s also my son’s
testimony. 2Corinthians chapter 1 says “ Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts
us in ALL of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

About 22 years ago, my wife gave birth to our son Adam. He was born almost 7
weeks early we almost lost him twice when he stopped breathing. Thankfully, he
made it through, and he grew up quickly. He went to Christian schools for grades
1-12 and learned a lot of academic knowledge...but most importantly, his faith
and knowledge of God was constantly growing and reinforced . Adam loved
performing in plays, acting, singing and dancing and he decided to go to
college at The Boston Conservatory of Music to major in musical theater. His
appearance began to change on a regular basis...blue hair, yellow hair, green
hair, and flaming red hair. The world was his stage and every day was another
play.

Adam decided not to return to the Conservatory for his sophomore year. He wanted
to take some time to enjoy life in Newport Rhode Island and work on his poetry.
Mal and I weren’t too thrilled with this choice. We had hoped that Adam would
either finish college or find a job so he could “settle down” to a normal life.
Instead, he became involved in the lives of lots of young people that many in
the world would consider lost. You know the types...lots of dyed hair, tattoos,
piercings, baggy jeans...
Adam would call us from Rhode Island, all excited saying "Dad, you won’t believe
it...there’s this kid named Mike who’s been a heroin addict for five years, and
I got him to quit drugs and go to a rehab program!” On one hand I’d be happy for
him...on the other hand, as a parent, I would say, "Get out of there! I want you
to come back home to live with us in New Hampshire." I explained to him how
dangerous it was to be associated with that type of lifestyle and that even a
strongwilled person could be sucked into an unhealthy situation. But Adam
insisted that he needed to be there. After about 6 months, he realized that his
Mom and I were right and he agreed to come live with us for a while to find a
job and save some money to get his college bills paid off, buy a car, and pay
off his credit card. He worked at a couple of different jobs, but he ended up
working at Friendly’s as a waiter. When he moved back in with us, he drove me
crazy with a lot of the typical kid stuff...always being late, strange clothes,
messy room, and his inability to pick up after himself. But through it all, my
wife kept reminding me that Adam’s life is in God’s hands. Adam stayed with us
for a little over a year and then he decided to finish college by transferring to
the University of Rhode Island. In early January, Adam went down to Rhode
Island to register for his classes, secure housing on campus, and straighten
out his student loans situation. He called me at 8:00 o’clock on Tuesday morning
and said “ Dad, I’m up and dressed and I’m on my way home right now...I’ll be
home in time for my car inspection at noon. Adam drove a little over 3 hours and
about 6 miles from our house in New Hampshire, he fell asleep and his car
collided with a truck and he was killed. This is where God’s comfort comes in...

We had a memorial service for Adam a few days later and about 650 people came.
mostly people that had been impacted by Adam’s short but unique life. Some of
our relatives spoke about Adam...some sang songs, and read poems they had
written about him.

My daughter sang a beautiful song and somehow God gave me the strength to give
the eulogy. But the most powerful words spoken that day were from the kids from
the park in Rhode Island! They told us all about how their lives were changed by
Adam...how Adam convinced some of them that suicide was not the answer...a life
of crime was not the answer and that drugs were not the answer. But most of
all, their lives were changed because of the love and compassion Adam had for
them. Adam understood his place in God’s kingdom. He seemed to know that it was
his job to love and support these people who were struggling. He seemed to use
love as a lifeboat for his friends, hoping that they would get strong enough to
find some value in themselves, and eventually find God.

About a month after Adam’s death, we decided to go to the Rhode Island Park and
explain to these sad, grieving kids, what Adam meant to us and what gave Adam the
ability to love them so unconditionally. So on a freezing cold day in February,
Mal, Cassandra, myself and a bunch of our friends went down to the park. We
called some of the kids in advance and told them to spread the word that we were
coming and that we wanted to meet with them. About 60 kids showed up. We shared
with them that although Adam still did some things that he knew he shouldn’t,
he had a deep and authentic love and relationship with Jesus.

A group of our friends performed a short evangelical drama. Many of our friends
made bracelets for the kids that could be used to explain the steps to salvation.
The black bead represents our sin, the red bead is the blood of Jesus shed in our place,the white bead is us as new creatures white as snow in the eyes of God.

We explained to the kids, that God loved them and has a plan for their lives if
they would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Out of 60 kids...42 of them
gave their lives to the Lord that day.

Because of the frozen ground in New Hampshire, we weren’t able to bury Adam
until June. At the burial service, we handed out little cards with the word “WHY”
on it. It was explained that the question for us as Christians shouldn’t be WHY
Adam died. It should be what are we going to do with this event...how can God
use Adam’s death to change our lives and the lives of others. Losing a child is
the worst thing possible for any parent...the sadness is almost unbearable. We
miss him so much and still find it hard to believe that he’s really gone! But
God is GOOD . At the crash site, we found a note written by a man that worked
with Adam and it says:

“Adam, They gave us cards at the cemetery in case we were still wondering why. We
may all have different answers to that question because you did so much for
everyone. But as for me, I’m on my way to heaven because of you, and I wouldn’t
have been without knowing you. My only regret is that you’re not sitting beside
me blowing bubbles. I could never be grateful enough for what you inspired
within me. I love you for it and I’ll meet you in Heaven to prove it.”

I am now steadfast in my belief that God gives us our children and they are
ultimately always His. I have had to reconcile myself to the fact that He can
call them back whenever He wants. I trust that God’s plans for Adam’s future are
better than our hopes and dreams were for him here on earth.”

Next chapter: My gift from Wendy Pendleton.

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 183

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 46
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 183

The winter of 2001 was now gone and the ground was no longer frozen. It was time to bury our son, Adam. We had picked out a burial lot on a small hill in Union Cemetery. It was an awful feeling, knowing that this would mark the last place that Adam’s earthly body would occupy.

The day of the burial started at our home, with our friend, Meridith, practicing a song written by Dar Williams that she would sing at the cemetery with Cassandra. It was a meaningful song that pointed out that we are all “family” in many ways. Here are the lyrics:

Can you fix this? It's a broken heart.
It was fine, but it just fell apart.
It was mine, but now I give it to you,
Cause you can fix it, you know what to do.

Let your love cover me,
Like a pair of angel wings,
You are my family,
You are my family.

We stood outside in the summer rain,
Different people with a common pain.
A simple box in that hard red clay,
Where we left him to always remain.

Let your love cover me,
Like a pair of angel wings,
You are my family,
You are my family.

The child who played with the moon and stars,
Waves a snatch of hay in a common barn,
In the lonely house of Adam's fall
Lies a child, it's just a child that's all, crying

Let your love cover me,
Like a pair of angel wings,
You are my family,
You are my family.


My brother-in-law Greg picked us up at our house and drove Mal, Cassandra and I to the funeral home so that we could see the casket. Five months before, at the memorial service, we handed out permanent markers and had encouraged friends and family members to write their “good-byes” to Adam on the casket. This was our private time to get to read what was written by the people who knew and loved Adam. After we were done, Greg drove us to the cemetery and I noticed that Laconia Monument Company had delivered the headstone to the gravesite.

When we arrived I was glad to see that the funeral home had put up a large tent over the open grave because it was pouring rain. The funeral director gave out black umbrellas to the hundred or so friends and relatives who came to the service. It reminded me of the burial scenes that were frequently in movies…dark, somber skies with a heavy downpour of rain and a “sea” of black umbrellas. I remember thinking that Adam would have appreciated the image.

After I got out of the car, Cassandra broke down in tears, sobbing for the first time in our presence since her brother’s death.

My memory isn’t very clear about the burial service anymore, but I do remember Cassy and Meridith singing at the front of the group of people. I also remember giving out over a hundred orange roses to the attendees. Then, our friend, Eric Robinson, conveyed an important message to everyone after someone handed out small white cards with the word “Why” on it. He explained that we shouldn’t ask why Adam died. The more important question is “what will we do now that Adam has died?” Will we be angry? Or depressed? Or will we learn to love people more while they are here with us? Eric asked everyone to drop the white cards into the open grave as a symbol of our decision to not ask why.

After the service we invited everyone to the home of my sister Sharon and my brother-in-law Greg. There were well over a hundred people there and while they ate food and shared more memories of Adam, I passed out copies of a videotape I had made that included clips from Adam’s short life. I included bits that had significant meaning to Mal and I…segments from birthday celebrations, holiday gatherings and from his many performances in plays. It had taken me several weeks to put these together and some of the relatives and friends appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Adam through the tapes.

By the time everyone had gone home, the realization had set-in that this was, most likely, the last gathering that would be about our son Adam.

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 182

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 46
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 182


I met my daughter Cassandra at her voice lesson one day during her junior year of high school. Her voice teacher, Dona Lynn Curry, was an experienced singer who travelled around the world in various singing groups for several years. For some reason, she felt the urge to move from south Florida to the “Lakes Region” area of New Hampshire and she began teaching voice lessons. My daughter learned quite a lot from Dona Lynn including vocal control and vocal performance techniques. Dona Lynn had put together a group of singers from several area churches and she called it “One Voice.” This group put on a fun Christmas program each year at a local school auditorium.

Dona Lynn asked me if I’d be willing to donate some money to the One Voice group so that they could purchase some costumes for the next Christmas program. I was happy to help her out with this. Shortly, she would help me.

As the snow began to melt and the ground thawed in New Hampshire, we realized we needed to make some decisions for Adam’s upcoming burial. We talked with the management at several local cemeteries to find out which place seemed best for us. We settled on Union Cemetery, the one that allowed plantings by the gravesite. Mal and I picked out a cemetery plot and ordered a black marble headstone from Laconia Memorial to be engraved with Adam’s “information.” We decided to have the happy and sad “theatre masks” engraved on the stone so that future generations could know how much Adam loved theatre. The engraver wanted thirty days to complete the headstone but I really wanted the headstone to be at the gravesite in time for the June 2nd burial ceremony so he agreed to get this done for us.

We asked our friend, Eric Robinson, if he’d be willing to speak at the burial and he accepted the task. We knew he’d communicate a meaningful message to anyone who would come.

As the school year came to an end we were surprised and honored that the senior class of Laconia Christian School dedicated their yearbook to us! It read:

“Dedication to Paul and Mal Howley:
Since they came to this area two and a half years ago, the Howleys have proved themselves true friends of Laconia Christian School.
Their constant help with fundraising activities, attendance at nearly every sporting event, help with the drama productions, Mr. Howley’s leadership on the school board, and countless other instances of behind-the-scenes aid have improved this school immeasurably.

Therefore, in memory of their son Adam, a good friend and brother who went to the Lord on January 9, 2001, the senior class would like to dedicate this yearbook to Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Mal Howley.”

As the date of the burial got closer, as we expected, it saddened us even more because we knew this would be the final “chapter” of Adam’s earthly life.

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 181

A brief introduction:

My name is Paul Howley. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business" but that all changed as of January 9th 2001, when our son, Adam Howley, died.

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 46
Mal Howley: age 46
Adam Howley: my son, age 21
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 17

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 181

Shortly after Adam’s fatal car accident we decided to buy a safer car for Cassandra to drive. It was time to replace our old Dodge Caravan anyway, so Mal and I went to shop for new car for Cassandra. We went to the local Toyota-Ford dealership and picked out a 2001 Ford Escape. It was a cute-looking, small SUV that we thought Cassy would enjoy driving. We called Cassy and asked her to meet us at the Irwin Zone dealership on her way home from school. By the time we had arrived there, Cassy had already decided that she didn’t like the Ford Escape at all. She had been talking with the salesman and he had just gone to bring up a new Toyota Highlander SUV. When it pulled up, Cassy loved it. It was much larger than the Ford Escape and it had lots of nice features. The only problem was that it was priced nearly $10,000 more than the Ford.

While Cassy enthusiastically urged us to buy the Toyota Highlander, I negotiated with the salesman, Noah. I had recently bought a new Toyota Camry from Noah and he was willing reduce the price but we were pretty far apart price-wise. Noah explained that this was the first year for the Highlander and these cars were in high demand with very few available. After a short time, it became clear that we were not able to put this deal together. When I made my final offer of $27,500 Noah checked with the sales manager and they declined my offer. I told Noah to consider my offer if anything changed because I’d really like to buy the car. Cassy was very disappointed, but she realized the car was far more expensive than the Ford Escape so we’d have to keep looking for a new car.

A few days later, during breakfast, Cassy and I were talking about the Highlander. She said, “Dad, you should reconsider your offer for the Toyota. You didn’t make the offer based on anything other than a made-up price. Can’t you call them back and make a deal?” I realized she was probably right so I agreed to call the dealership later that day. Cassy went off to school hoping that she’d get this new car.

About an hour later, Noah called me to see if I was still interested in buying the Highlander at the price I had offered. He explained that another dealership had requested that his dealership trade the car to them because they had someone interested in it. Rather than lose the sale to me, they decided to accept my offer. I went down that same day and bought the car. I was lucky. My patience paid off and now we’d feel more comfortable with Cassy driving this safer car.

A few days later, Mal remembered Adam’s “prediction” that we would buy Cassy a new car.



Within a year, the Ford Escape had over a dozen factory recalls. The Toyota Highlander was recognized by Consumer Reports as the “best” mid-sized SUV.

Next chapter: One Voice.