So, why Wonder Woman and that Toto song?

Well, before we left his apartment to go the 33 steps to this new TVA-proof establishment, Rob had me try this drink he came up with, which consisted of Black Currant Liqueur, Gin, Lemon Seltzer with fresh Black Berries and a Lemon slice.  It was very tasty and refreshing to say the least...

Additionally, to help me along with this night, Issac Hayes made an appearance as Rob showed me some of his latest vinyl acquisitions. 

Not only that, but he pulled this out of the bin which was something he bought for me and is just awesome. 

Lynda Carter's Portrait album and a promo copy nonetheless!

So that's the story behind the Wonder Woman video...

It was now time to head over to this "TVA-proof" bar and this was this first image I grabbed, just mere seconds before stepping past the time threshold...

This moment was strangely reminiscent of the when I first opened up "The Book", a few years ago...

Once I opened the door and walked in, it took me exactly 6 seconds to say "I'm home", as I took in the complete, unfiltered ambiance of the mid 70's. 

As Rob said, it's every bar you ever went to with your parents and / or grandparents.  He was right... complete with Christmas lights (in July), carpeted floor and tin tile ceiling!  We pulled up seats at one end of the bar and I sat directly across from the local shrine that was set up behind the bar of friends that had passed.

Basically their beer selection was just domestics but as Rob explained, very cheap.  For instance the PBR (which I hadn't had in many, many years) were $2.50 each, which in today's economy,  that's like .75 cents .

 For entertainment, they had a pool table, dart board, corn-hole and a jukebox which I was fascinated with.  Rob explained it to me how it works and it's part of a network which allows you to download an app and play songs in the establishment you're at (or any other establishment in the network for that matter)... the catalog of songs is impressive and spans many genres.  I ended up playing 6 songs - I believe you get 8 song credits for $5 or something close to that.  So to fully invoke the spirit of the mid 1970's, the first song I played was Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon and based on the exuberant reaction from this guy sitting a few seats away, it was an appropriate choice.  Some other songs I chose were from Genesis, Journey and of course Robbie Robertson.

We spent a considerable amount of time there and it was just a pleasant experience all the way around.  We left on Rob's advice based on the news that a couple of people were on their way and it was probably for the better.  I think I wanted to see what this was all about, but that's how I get sometimes.  Anyways, we went back to Rob's apartment where he had to show me the contents of that Knight Rider lunchbox that was shown in one of the pictures, I previously posted, along with these mystery boxes that I have yet to talk about in this journal, but I do have it in the queue.

So inside of that lunch box were these cards and of course I loved seeing these as they immediately reminded me of David's collection.  Rob told me that they had probably been in there for over 20 years - just a random assembly of awesome non-sports cards from all sorts of different series and subjects.

That was fun to see and I'm sure some of those 1990 / 1991 Impel cards are still worth something, just not like the crazy prices we were seeing for those things a few years ago.  Like I said, the last thing Rob showed me was one of these crates that he still had from this company : https://mysteriouspackage.com/collections/occult-crates

These things are very cool... very well researched and sourced but kind of pricey. 

He got one for me a number of years ago and I'll have to get that story soon.

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So yes, this was a fabulous weekend to go back in time a little and kind of feel that atmosphere again. 

It's kind of funny but so appropriate, as it was exactly near one year ago when I was allowed to go back in time and touch history, although that one wasn't set in the 70's as this experience was. 

We've been stuck in this 'heat bubble' for what feels like a month now, here in the north-east section of the U.S. in Central New York.

I should probably do a welfare check on my poor friend Rob as I'm sure he now resembles this scene...

Whew!

My worries have been dispelled.

It was just a mere week ago when he gave me the chance to revisit 1976 in all of it's glory.  I did forget to mention that we were both in agreement that what this Westworld recreation lacked was this simple addition...

The obligatory 70's netted candle...

Now of course, I described these to Rob as 'Fishnet Candles' but that's because I'm from the 30's & 40's...  

Regardless, he understood what I meant!

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So tonight, I'll try to pick up where I left off last weekend.  Unfortunately, it won't get into that Disney post that I had mentioned.

Thinking back to that last weekend, another reason what made it so wonderful is that it provided me with an escape which I know I'll need from time to time.  I mention this only because I know Rob truly understands this... sometimes you need to depart from the current timeline in order to deal with the current timeline.

Hey, screw you TVA!

I'm only speculating here, but I think Rob got to witness the "live action" representation of my journal... and in real time. 

What I mean is, that as we're talking (as I'm typing), a song will appear in my head (I'll hit up YouTube) and then once that happens, I need to hear that song ASAP!

I think that's what happened a few times in which I took full advantage of the networked jukebox that I discovered. 

That being said, as Rob explained to me that this network was tapped into numerous bars across the county, he reminded me to be mindful of the power that we possess. 

I love that. 

So no, I did not play or dedicate Rapper's Delight to Rob's Townie Bar, despite my desires...

But what did I do... as I sank into my weekly sorrows?

Well, I played this song in the bar and grill that David worked at that will forever remind me of him.

So, thanks so much to my dear friend Rob, as (in my head), I lay waste to that establishment...

I'm sorry, but I have to start here...

Summer Madness - 2024.

Or are we at 1968?

No... my friends, this is indeed 2024.

Summer Madness.

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Let's time travel once again, shall we?

Do you remember when I was counting down the hours?  When it felt like my entire existence was blown up in a nuclear attack?

(Do you remember Jericho, the TV series?  I really liked that show.)

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It was almost a year ago when my family and I spent a short time and a few dollars in Butler, Pennsylvania on our way home from Pittsburgh.

It was a good time. 

This is what I wrote last year about that memory...

Summer Madness has set in, almost as it did back in 1968... I hope that it doesn't get any closer to that time in this country and I hate that the memory I have of Butler, PA has now forever been replaced by this image taken from the horrible incident that occurred last Saturday afternoon.

I need a distraction or a time jump and here it comes...

Edit:

The religious picture that I purchased in Butler, PA is this one shown here.  It's from the 1930's and I've had it for sale at our antique booth but I've now decided to keep it. 

I'm not an overly religious person but there's now another story behind it and I certainly love my stories. 

That was certainly a bit dramatic - sorry about that.

These next few weeks are going to be pretty tough for me and my family as we head into the date of a year ago. 

It was so surreal to hear about the events from last weekend as I was listening to it live on the radio - I was driving over to my parents house to visit with them. 

Anyways, I have this fascination with the track of time, as I've written about that detail numerous times.  And so with that, as I finished last night's post, it is time to travel back in time again as I'm very excited about how my project turned out that I mentioned previously.  The way that this happened to coincide with what happened to me one year ago this week is certainly note worthy, to say the least.  It was last year on this day that my wife and I left to go pick up our daughter in New Jersey as she returned home from Japan. On the way home, I decided to take an impromptu detour to visit the site of the old 'blue coal' breaker in Ashley, Pennsylvania.

This moment here... where I managed to slip in and stole time.

It appears that the gatekeepers of time have allowed me another heist.

Just over a month ago, I won an item off of eBay that I never thought I'd see but there was a catch... it was half of a whole. 

Does that make any sense?!

I was thrilled to have won the item and even more so when it arrived intact and not broken which I thought for sure, would happen.  I was amazed that this very delicate item survived the past 75 years or so and here I was, now in possession of it!  As I stated, this was half of it and now I would have to marry it with another... would this garner a green label from CGC?!

Perhaps.

Regardless, nothing was going to prevent me from making this happen and a few weeks after I purchased this item form eBay, I found the perfect compliment or host device and this was where I became slightly conflicted.  I had been searching all sorts of online venues from Mercari to eBay and even other auction sites but could not find an affordable piece.

These things can go for upwards of $1000 and there was no way I was paying anything close to that for this project.

Ultimately, my research and diligence paid off as I found an online antique store based out of Lubbock, Texas.

This one here...  https://www.facebook.com/antiqueologylbk/

This is where I became very conflicted because, as it's my nature to dig and dig and dig, I ultimately found out that this piece that I had purchased came from a community museum from Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g796987-d2457854-Reviews-or45-Horseless_Carriage_Museum-Fenelon_Falls_Kawartha_Lakes_Ontario.html

The owner of the museum had decided to dissolve the museum and liquidate their assets from which this piece came from.

It was transferred somehow to this antique store in Texas and given that history, I felt obligated to respect that history and preserve it.

However...

There's one thing that will supersede respect to history and that would be love for my wife and my honor to my true friends.

Rob is a true friend of mine and when I showed him a picture of this item that I had just purchased, as he took me back to 1976 in his 'Townie Bar', I could tell that he really liked the graphic representation of this item.

It was then that I decided that this was not going to be preserved to history, but in fact, it would be 'distributed'... that's a nice word, isn't it?

Rob will get half of this but he has no idea so please don't spill the beans!

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Ok...

What the hell am I talking about here?!

Well, it's this item here...

A vintage Telechron Advertising Clock!

You're probably thinking to yourself... I don't get it?!

Yup.

How did I steal time here?

Yup.

Let me pour this time stolen Manhattan and I'll tell you.

So, what did I find here?

Well obviously it was related to the Telechron Advertising Clock...

To be continued...

Before I started on this project of mine, I needed to do some research because, 'clock work' was never a feather in my cap and as important as this project was going to be, I didn't want to mess anything up.  So between the traditional internet forums and social media, I was able to come up with a game plan on how I would accomplish this project that I set up for myself.  I found a forum which had a thread that was started 14 years ago where someone was looking to do almost exactly what I was intending.  I found a lot of useful tips from there and actually, had it not been for the useful information contained within that thread, I probably would've ruined my clock.

In addition to that, I found a group on Facebook, of all places, and within one certain post... that led me to a contact who sold these parts.

What is shown here is an original hour split hand along with a reproduction minute and second hand. 

This contact that I found from Facebook was the one that was selling the reproduction parts as a set and so for $20, I ordered one from him.  He's located in New Jersey so I didn't have to wait long for this to arrive.  Anyways, when I disassembled the clock, I could see that it been previously worked on, based on the condition of the hands.  The hour hand, which was difficult to remove, looked like the last person to service or disassemble the clock bent it a bit so I was very happy that I ordered the repro set.  I kept the original second hand (I corrected the arrow orientation) and minute hand on the clock but used the repro hour hand it it looks great.

The only thing I forgot to do before I put it back together was to look for a date on the motor but based on what I know, this clock was probably from the late 40's to early 50's.  The antique store I got the clock from put in new LED lights so it looks great when it's on.  One of the reasons I thought that this clock would be an excellent host (or rather the back can or shell) was because it had a pull chain to turn the lights on and off.  The motor runs very smoothly and is quiet as well which is a good sign too.

So...

After this long build up, it's so appropriate that it I can post this today - another time heist!

The Monarch Finer Foods (established in 1853) Telechron Advertising Clock has served its time well.

Pun intended.

It has now been reborn and I think it looks pretty awesome.

Here is the 'Blue Coal' Telechron Advertising Clock ...

I did some research to try and find examples that had sold in the past and I could only find one from 14 years ago.

Additionally, I saw a picture that Dwight ( @detective35 ) posted of his Shadow memorabilia room and he also had one of these so I feel like I'm in excellent company here with this purchase.

And so here we are...

I'm not counting down the days, nor the minutes, anymore.

The day has arrived.

It was just about a year and a half ago when I heard the news about this movie...

I texted my son and then I purchased this book off of eBay.

There's one thing now missing from that last statement and it's not the book that I bought. 

But, you know, when it is all said and done... nevermind. 

I got to that place sooner than I thought and I think it's where Alioth dwells.

Skip it.

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You know... as I was going through David's belongings, I came across this book. 

\

I remembered buying this book for him for Christmas one year.  When I flipped through it, I could see that he had read half of it. Now, how could I discern that? 

He left a bookmark. 

Of course I laughed because it actually tricked me for a minute...

Well played, David. 

Well played.

Now tomorrow, I'm meeting up with Rob and I'll see it again with him. There are numerous scenes that I want to revisit and in time, those will make their way here. 

But as for now...no spoilers.

Well - except for Dogpool.

I just renamed our dog Dogpool but she doesn't know it yet.

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I would highly recommend seeing this movie.

You would've loved this movie, David.

it was everything I (we) thought it would be...

Goodnight...

What a weekend full of new material to talk about...

Rob and I saw Deadpool and Wolverine yesterday and for me, it was nice to simply enjoy this second viewing without waiting for the next big reveal and to also try and catch the subtle extras that I missed the first time around. 

Earlier this year, the only real 'spec book' that I purchased based off of confirmed reports (not the rumored pickup of X-Men 130 ) was this one here...

This book has to be worth around $750 now, right?

I bought this one cheap, from Mercari and I'm really pleased with this copy.  It looks great and what a cover by Greg Land as a homage to Johnny Craig's Crime SuspenStories 22 from 1954. 

Speaking of Johnny...

Nevermind.

So yes, there's so much to talk about related to the Deadpool and Wolverine movie but again, I'll hold off for now. 

I'm trying very hard not to talk about a few spoilers that I'd really love to discuss right now!

And yes, this a very cheap way to once again post this picture of Alex Kingston. 

In addition to the release of the movie this week, we saw a trailer for Captain America : New World Order which I think looks pretty good.  Of course the big news there is Harrison Ford and what ultimately becomes of his character.  I think that's going to be a welcomed addition to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as the 'Mark Ruffalo Hulk' seems to be dying out at this point. 

Fun fact - we were both born on the same day but he's 2 years older.

Anyways, aside from that, Robert Downey Jr., had to stir things up at SDCC (San Diego Comic Con), this weekend which got me all hyped up but not for the reason you're thinking.  I immediately hit up eBay and found a copy of this book that I had been putting off buying for some time.  I think I'm trying to 'Zig' here as everyone else is 'Zagging'...

I'll get to that one soon enough as well.

So yes - quite the weekend.

We all enjoyed Deadpool and Wolverine and even Rob, who tends to be somewhat critical, seemed to really enjoy this movie. 

You know, I think that's the equivalent of getting a 'thumbs up' from Siskel or Ebert.

And finally, here's something totally unrelated to the movie...

The Los Angeles Rams.

I wasn't sure how to tie this in to any recent post, but I just had to share this.  I purchased this a few months ago and I absolutely love it.  It's a vintage Rams helmet signed by Frank Ryan who was the quarterback for the Rams from 1958-1961.  He was traded to the Cleveland Browns where he won them their last Championship in 1964 (prior to the NFL/AFL merger).

He was an underrated and excellent quarterback but possibly more known for his achievements in mathematics.

Yeah, Frank Ryan was awesome and he certainly lived a full and fulfilling life. 

I'm so happy to have found this item and it was authenticated by JSA (James Spence Authentication), CGC's new acqusition...

House Cleaning (Part XXI)

What a weekend.

Despite these distractions, I know what's coming up.  I have this week off from work and next week as well.

I know what's coming and it's starting to creep in slowly - like a clock ticking away the seconds... the minutes... and the hours.

This is precisely the reason why I took this time off from work.

I pray that no one reading this has to ever experience something so horrible.

You know...

I think the hardest thing in life is keeping things from your family - keeping important details hidden.

That's precisely what I've done and we've done. 

It weighs heavily on one's mind and on one's soul.  It's a deteriorating effect as are a lot of things on this plane of existence.

Especially when politics are (seemingly) involved.

Rob knows everything... he's always known everything.

Thank you, my friend.

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Damn. I just wanted to get to Dark Wing Duck but that now seems to be delayed.

I guess I'm hitting up You Tube once again tonight before I go through that door and start with some House Cleaning.

I'll start here.  This is another new artist that I've been drawn to...

Okay.

Speaking of Rob, he had to show me this offering from Mondo and of course I had to get it.  

It was a little pricey but now that I have the final product in hand - yeah, it's that good and I'm really glad to have it.

This is the Attack Peter, Creature From The Black Lagoon piece from Mondo...

Here is more from Peter Santa-Maria...

Yes, it's a product website but I feel that he's proud of his work being featured on such a prominent art tool's website.

https://www.speedballart.com/pro-artist-network/peter-santa-maria/

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You know, now that I've found proof that 'blue coal' was also involved with water heating, I may need to adjust, or rather add to, the time damper in Rob's Moscow apartment... funny story - I think it was right around this date last year when I met Rob and told him about my super adventurous journey to the Ashley, PA coal breaker and to inform him that I was actually going to Pulp Fest.  If I remember correctly, I had to drive home with the heat on in the Jeep because it was that cold out.

Meanwhile, we're now melting here for yet another week!

I just picked up this extra large transfer sticker off of eBay...

Funny.

I was going to ask him if he would have any interest in going to it this year, but the more that I thought about it... the more that I realized that I just can't. 

Everything is too damn connected in my head and it's a real problem.

A serious problem that I think I'm doing a good job at covering up.

Anyways...

Did you know that Tucker Carlson got his start in TV by playing Spider-Man. 

I just watched the pilot again for probably the first time in years and I thought it was actually pretty good for the time period.

A few weeks ago I did a solo trip out to an antique shop about 20 miles north of here and I ended up with these interesting candles.  The shop owner informed me that these came from a collection of candles where most of them came from The Buffalo Candle Company which may have become Gurley Candles. 

That's going to take a bit more to research but I couldn't pass these up for $8 each!

My first impression was that these were from the 60's or possibly earlier.

I may have posted these earlier but here are a few more of my recent pick ups...

Ok, I think that's sufficient House Cleaning for tonight,

I'll have more to add later this week, as the hurricane approaches...

 House Cleaning (Part XXII)

What have I been doing on these days off from work during my 'vacation'? 

Sadly, there's no prep for PulpFest or anything else exciting for that matter this year. 

As I alluded to on that last post... this year is about survival and an attempt at healing from a nuclear bomb. 

No, that isn't political foreshadowing even if it seems that the world is actually on fire...

Sometimes I forget how much I love Sarah McLachlan's music.

So, yeah... no vacation... no trips, no nothing.

Our daughter is gearing up for graduate school this year and she found an apartment nearby to the local campus here.  It should be a criminal charge for rental rates to be jacked up so much around a university.  That's just so wrong.  I mean in this area, we're talking about almost a 100% increase in rental rates based on proximity to the university.

BS.

So...

In case you haven't noticed, Money's Too Tight (To Mention)...

Over the course of all of these years writing through these journal pages... how many times have I posted that video?

Three, Four, Five times?

It's a struggle.

Anyways, I decided to part ways with a certain 'prized' collection of mine because I've quickly realized that it's becoming a collection that's collecting dust and would never see the light of day ever again. 

Like I said - I'm a different person now.

My mind works differently and it's so annoying!

I'll get to that later but here is a first for me.

An admission of what's going on with me...

So, yes, as I try to keep my family going, mentally... I'm not only dealing with David's passing, but mine as well. 

You see, we were so tightly connected that when he ceased to exist, well... a part of me did too. 

And that's the line that I can't cross even though I know it's there for the taking. 

Death is wacked, my friends.

It truly is.

Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to get something to eat at Woolworth's...

As a final thought for tonight...

This song is dedicated to my dear wife - it was always our song... her song.

And yes, I'm posting this because I want to hear it, but what else is new?

We first heard this song as we traveled through the countryside of the UK on our honeymoon and that's what it will ALWAYS remind me of.

Goodnight David.

I went to my favorite LCS today and was able to facilitate a sale that I mentioned in my last post. 

Ultimately, I'm really happy on how this turned out as these books that I had been thinking about moving, ended up with the person that should've had them from the start.  I like how things work out that way and as I alluded to last night - my way of thinking has changed quite a bit.  Filling your life with 'filler' is just that... filler.  But the things that you're passionate about are the things worth chasing as those are substantive and do more to fill your soul than the filler.

I hope that makes some kind of sense because for this moment, as I typed those words... it did to me.

Anyways, this worked out very well for me and hopefully some time next week, I'll be able to fully tell this story.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice something good to get something good and sometimes, you realize that you can't always get what you want, but you'll get what... waitaminute. 

Did I just seriously step into these Rolling Stones lyrics?!

Hey George.

I remember when this album came out... I was working at a music store in a mall. 

The franchised store no longer exists and the mall no longer exists, as this was 34 years ago.  The manager of this music store was a huge Barry Gibb and George Michael fan and we had many discussions on this release.  I guess one of the benefits of working at a music store back then was that whoever was working, got to be in control of the in store music and this manager played a lot of Bee Gees, Barry Gibb, Wham and George Michael.

It was a fun time.

Anyways, it's kind of funny how things are lining up this month... from the Blue Coal time theft and now to another purchase that I didn't expect.  Last year around this time, I lifted some history from the Blue Coal Breaker in Ashley, Pennsylvania and then experienced a thrilling purchase at Pulp Fest.

This year...

I pieced together my Blue Coal Telechron clock and now, I was able to purchase another remarkable book, albeit a second choice.

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.

These lyrics, from that video that I posted, have been with me for many years. 

Sometimes you'll have no idea why...  until they fully reveal themselves.

 On this day, one year ago, my family arrived in Uniontown, PA for what was the start of an amazing vacation in Pittsburgh (Cranberry), PA.  I've told the story in painstaking detail but as I was going through pictures tonight, I found one that slipped my memory and perhaps there was something behind the memory lapse.  It you remember, while we were in Uniontown, PA... my younger daughter visited with her college room mate as my wife and I went to a few stores in the area and ultimately to their local mall where we spent a considerable amount of time at the antique store within the mall.  I was feeling kind of sick at the prospect of learning that my financial situation would change drastically as the result of new language introduced into the new contract that our union voted on and agreed to.  So as I was walking around this antique store within the mall, that was obviously weighing heavily upon me and so I passed by numerous items that I may have purchased had I been in a more secure state of mind.  As I was looking through my pictures tonight, I remembered this one item that maybe I should've purchased although would it have mattered?  I probably should have bought it and perhaps I'll now try to find another somewhere online. 

Anyways, this pewter piece depicting David and Goliath was only $10 and I was drawn to it.

This pewter statue reminded me of a drawing I did many, many years ago... I think it was around 34 years ago. 

As much as I don't really like a lot of the work I've done, this one stands out for me and is one of my favorites... I can't believe I actually wrote that.

David and Goliath c. 1990.

So yeah, one year ago today - I was in this picturesque hollow of a town.  Uniontown, PA.

Tomorrow I get to go to PulpFest and have such an amazing time.

I guess that's the irony as I alluded to last night.  I sold off a relatively big recent purchase but there was indeed a big payout to that decision and I'll be very excited to talk about this purchase at some point next week, just as I made a pretty amazing purchase last year.  I know, I'm repeating myself here. 

So as I know the abyss that I'm about to head into, I went back to my favorite LCS today to give the store owner a bottle of whiskey that he really likes.  I did this because he helped to facilitate the sale and transfer of these books that I'll talk about later.  Now I haven't tried this one before but he really likes it.  It's called Silver Cross from Journeyman Distillery...

This has been one of my favorite YouTube channels - Daniel and Rex are great together! 

Their review of the Silver Cross is at 5:57...

So as I bought this bottle for Mike (the LCS owner), I also wanted to find something new and interesting for myself which was at another location but I'm so glad I stopped there.

This is what I bought for myself and it was just too good (visually) to pass up.

This is a young whiskey (3-4 years) but it's distilled from barley so as a Japanese whiskey, it's very familiar to the taste buds... I've been sipping on this one since I started this entry and I think it's pretty good.

Now before I get too far off topic, I have to say that my LCS owner showed me where he kept some of the more 'interesting' forms of payments he's received over the years for comics.  Hidden deep within the Bat-Cave, he has quite the impressive collection of blended scotch dating back to the 60's - 80's.  I was very impressed... especially when I saw the vintage bottle of Cutty Sark, which is one of my all time favorites!

Apparently he received all of these (over 15 bottles) from one customer as trade for comics.

So that was my excitement for the day at my LCS today.  The rest of the day was spent moving my younger daughter into her apartment near the University here.  She'll be here for another couple of weeks before she officially relocates and yes, this is a sad moment for my wife and I... on top of everything else we're about to go through this week.

I'm so glad I took these two weeks off from work.

This was a very, (I don't know)... weird, off, surreal... day for me and my family. 

You see, one year ago (today), we just got back from Pittsburgh to attend our niece's theatrical performance (through a community outreach drama program) of 'Rock of Ages'  It was a great performance and I'm glad we went last year.  This year, it was again... another performance on the same day as last year, but this year's performance was 'Mean Girls Jr.'  So yeah, we did almost the identical thing we did last year at this time. 

My wife told me that she couldn't help but to think of the connected time of this event... and... I couldn't tell her that that's all I was thinking of all day today and was actually dreading going to this because all I could do was to retrace every step I took from this moment to the horrible and tragic events that lie in wait for us in just hours...

Yes, I hate this feeling.as I'm hanging by a rope.

Here's a cool video from John Constantine...

It was a very good performance and we all enjoyed it - I'm glad we went.

But now I know that in a few short hours, Sunday will be here (on the east coast it is Sunday now) and that is the most pivotal day for me. 

On this day, maybe I could've changed this tragic history with the sending of one text which I failed to send.

Maybe not...

Today (Monday), was a very quiet day for my family and myself.

Yesterday was a bit tumultuous for me as I felt the incredible 'need' to do a few things while synchronizing time. 

I know... I can't help myself though.

On Sunday, at just the right moment, I called David's phone to hear his recorded voice one last time.  You see, I was paying his cell phone plan and for this entire year, I kept his phone service active so his family and I could retain access to this one simple, heartbreaking act. 

Why did I call his cell, late in the afternoon, yesterday. 

Well...

Because it's what I should have done one year ago as I was so excited to tell him about my experience at PulpFest and to ask if he would like a Silver Surfer Tumbler glass, but held off for some unknown reason.

And so, I didn't do any of that last year but as I reconstructed the timeline... I'm convinced that I absolutely should have.

I failed.

I'm so sorry David - I don't know if it would have made a difference but knowing you as well as I know myself... I think it would've.

And so...

My new reality has been born into existence based upon this failure.

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Today was a quiet day as it marked the anniversary of the day.

The Anniversary.

One of my favorite Robert Plant songs for all the wrong reasons...

So as today was the anniversary 'day' of David's untimely death, tomorrow is the 'date' and so yes, this has been an incredibly hard weekend.

I do have to mention that on Sunday, as that was going to be my most difficult day to work through, as that was the day I should've 'disturbed the waters', but didn't... I found a temporary distraction and then ended the night as I had best deemed appropriate,

In the afternoon, before I called his number, I went to a LCS that I don't go to often but I've made the decision to frequent this one more as a subtle recommendation from my friend, Rob.  I had heard that they had acquired a new collection and went in there and spent almost 45 minutes browsing through their new books.

I ended up with more new issues than old but there was a crazy revelation that occurred here and I'll get to that later. 

Anyways, these were the books I picked up on Sunday as my 'Day of distraction'...

A bunch of new titles, indeed...  but there was one book in this group that proved to be an epiphany!

Blood Hunt 5 and the first appearance of Sc...

Just kidding.

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