Hibou

It took a few phone calls but I was ultimately able to secure the book for $100. We had to drive back out there a week later to pick it up but it was so worth it to me. When I went to pick it up, the bookshop owner told me that he had glued the spine as it was loose prior to my purchase. To me, this was a bonus as that was exactly what I was planning to do with this copy. After this one purchase, however, I now felt the need to secure the entire 3 volume set... of course, right? And so I did. I found the second and third book at a discounted price on Mycomicshop.com and was very happy with that... I was now set with the whole 3 volume set of Shadow books by Street & Smith.

Ripples never come back.

The Shadow Knows!

Anyways, this pass on this book purchase ate at me so much that on the next day, I informed my wife that I was going to call that bookshop, purchase the book and hopefully have my daughter pick it up for me when she returned from Spring Break. Oh yeah, it was that serious. So what was the book? Well, I happened to take a few pictures that day and here it is...

I was somewhat annoyed on the drive back home despite enjoying a wonderful cigar... Hello, St. Michael. I see we'll have a mutual understanding going forward...

My friends, those are the worst words one can mutter when contemplating a life changing deal! Ok, maybe "life changing" is a bit too dramatic...

About a month ago, my wife and I took a trip west to Rochester, NY. Our daughter was on spring break in Florida with her roommate... they went to Disney World in Florida. She was on a mission to find Geppetto and give him a hug but apparently she was unsuccessful in this world quest. So on this weekend, my wife and I took a drive and we ended up there, in Rochester, NY. We stopped at a local used bookstore that we like, where I found the signed Vincent Lopez & Sonny Skyler piece. The bookstore is called Small World Books and it's a great little shop. If you should ever stop in there, you have to meet Rex, their wonderful mascot / house cat! So we spent some time in there and bought a few items but as we were about to leave, we looked in this room that was sort of an 'oddball' room where there were more children's books and foreign language books. We took a quick walk around and were about to leave when I saw this book sitting on a shelf next to a few random tools. I picked it up and said to my wife, "Holy Sh!+"! Inside the cover, the price listed was $200. I was so dejected! I ran into the owner of the shop one last time as we were about to leave and I had to spark a conversation in which I told him that I had never seen a copy of this book in person and was thrilled to have seen it in his shop. Of course he asked me where the book was and I told him that it was sitting on a shelf by itself next to some tools. It was then that he remembered the book and said to me that it had 'some issues'... he mentioned the spine being partially detached, which it was. Are you surprised that awesome bookshop owners know exactly what condition their books are in?! Anyways, he asked me if I would take it at 50% off - $100!!! I should've jumped, right?! But no, I was with my wife and so I had to demonstrate restraint .

Happy Easter CGC world. I never saw myself as a religious person but things change so quickly these days, don't they? No, I don't subscribe to one religion but I thought this was very charming...

I dove headfirst into the CGC Pulp grading waters and I'm anxiously waiting for the results. That being said, I can't believe the turn around times on these (positively!) and I'll certainly be posting on that soon enough.

I should have a promising update soon regarding my latest CGC submission.

And now here is the comedy of the night. My wife and I took a drive south tonight to seek some 'Antique Shops'. We found one and about 40 miles south and then some. I found some more modern comics I had been looking for (Wonder Man and Midnight Sons) and was able to these 4 books for under $15... that was a win! I'm going to have to make a phone call to this antique store because the booth that had these comics, had them in this awesome vintage comic rack and I need to see if the owner would be willing to sell it. Anyways, on the way back home, this song came on and I said to her, "I keep forgetting how much I like this song"... At which point she replied that I hadn't forgotten because I apparently I say this every time this song comes on. But it's revealing isn't it? Ripples. "It's like life..." Bluegirls come in every size Some are wise and some otherwise They got pretty blue eyes For an hour a man may change For an hour her face looks strange Looks strange, looks strange Marching to the promised land Where the honey flows and takes you by the hand Pulls you down on your knees While you're down a pool appears The face in the water looks up And she shakes her head as if to say That it's the last time you'll look like today Sail away, away Ripples never come back Gone to the other side Sail away, away The face that launched a thousand ships Is sinking fast, that happens you know The water gets below Seems not very long ago Lovelier she was than any that I know Angels never know it's time To close the book and gracefully decline The song has found a tale My, what a jealous pool is she The face in the water looks up She shakes her head as if to say That the bluegirls have all gone away Sail away, away Ripples never come back They've gone to the other side Look into the pool Ripples never come back Dive to the bottom and go to the top To see where they have gone Oh, they've gone to the other side Sail away, away Ripples never come back Gone to the other side Look into the pool The ripples never come back, come back Dive to the bottom and go to the top To see where they have gone They've gone to the other side Ripples never come back Sail away, away...

... Dedicated to my dear wife. I believe we were on our way to somewhere in Canada, or on our way back, when we found out about the album (CD) where that song appeared on. That was 30 years ago!

I have a problem, my friends... (You don't say?!) Yes. As I work through my grief, sorrow and turmoil, I fill those gaps, those moments with items that hearken back to another time - another memory - another life. As I've mentioned here, I've purchased a lot of books recently all in the hopes of keeping the flame glowing in the name of my son. I'm starting to realize that this ambition might eventually become futile. I've used this hobby in the past, to reconnect to my soul - to help me identify who I am, what I am, and what is most important to me. To quote the dearly departed Robbie Robertson, "With a breath of kindness, blow the rest away." (Robbie Robertson, "Golden Feather", 1994). There's one problem here... That was a line written around 135 years earlier by a woman by the name of Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. She was an English novelist and poet. The research here becomes muddy but it's there. I would say "Google it" ... but "Google" is not your friend here. Anyways, here is the context of that lovely line...

... I missed out by 5 minutes getting a really nice copy of this at my local flea market last year. This dealer had a box of Railroad Magazine and Railroad Stories for $3.00 each and I saw someone grabbed it right before I got to the table. I bought the whole box but yeah, missing that great deal, certainly stung a bit.

One of the last songs you listened to on this plane... Yes, I dug into everything... Only as The Shadow would.

Well... I finally started to document these dreams that I've had since last August of David. These dreams that have made me question reality as I know it. It's been something I had been putting off but this weekend was when I felt I needed to preserve these dream-state moments. This is how those thoughts started... Good evening, David… how are you are? Nevermind. I'm sure I'll have a difficult time with that. Anyways, I have a few dreams that I need to get to that directly involve you and so I'll start with those here. Regardless, I miss you incredibly and as you would always say - I have so much to talk to you about. Quick question, David… will we ever get that chance?! I'm sorry. It's snowing outside and this sucks. Anyways, I have to get these dreams down before I forget them… not that I think they'll ever go for whatever reason. We've been connected for all of these years and I'm finding it very difficult to go forward without you right here beside me. In case I haven't told you before, you were always supposed to be here right beside me as we battled the forces of darkness. Apparently they got to you before I could arrive. So… Dream #1:

This weekend started with this... Please try to help Raccoons when you can. My daughter got this plush at the Marvel store in Disney World for my wife and I. There's certainly a story behind it but I'll save that for a little later. She's a senior in college this year and so her and her roommate decided to go there for spring break. She said it was a lot of fun but very expensive. Anyways, this was the perfect gift for us... a little sad though. Guardians 3 was such a good movie! It's been a crazy busy past few weeks but I certainly have a lot of good purchases to talk about soon enough. I had a rather long update all typed up last weekend but lost it all with another pc crash. That's kind of why I may do these disjointed posts going forward until I can get things stabilized a bit with this wretched antique of a computer.

As St Patrick's Day weekend approaches, I'll pay a toast to my dear friend from Ireland who is by far... from Ireland. (That's a long story!) Cheers to you Rob... \

Now I think I understand what 6's and 7's mean but give me a second to make sure...

Intermission... This was always David's song for me and as I later found out, it was one of the last songs he listened to on this plane. I think he did that for a reason.

This weekend was a good one. I helped my older daughter with her cell phone plan and then my wife and I picked up our younger daughter from college to bring her home to apply to our local university for graduate school. We told her that the only thing we asked was that if she accepted their offer, she wouldn't end up at the bookstore. If she did, she'd end up working with Rob and that would be terrible... (Just kidding...) Anyways, before we picked up our daughter, my wife and I stopped at this local used bookstore and I found a few interesting items, but it was what I found as we were leaving the establishment that had me in circles for the rest of the day! Before I get to that, I'll start with what I found that piqued my interest on this day... The first, was a set of Alien Legion (#1-#8) from 1984... I loved this title back then and I had a good friend in high school that shared my passion of this title so it was really nice to find this set which set me back by $16.00. ... ... The second item was this advertisement from 1882 featuring two owls enjoying an adult beverage (I think)... And the last item was this original signed promotional piece. I'm guessing it was from the 1930's as it features the image and signature of Vincent Lopez (Big Band Orchestra) and Sonny "Skyler"... You'll all recognize this song from a famous 1939 movie performed by the duo. For $10.00, how could anyone pass up this great piece of Americana Big Band Era History?! ... ... ... But it was this one book that was simply sitting on a window shelf that had me in knots... the price was steep but after talking to the bookshop owner about it, he offered it to me at a 50% off reduction. I passed. It ate at me the rest of the day as it started to drastically affect my mood. I knew in my soul that I shouldn't have passed on it, but with my other weekly financial obligations, it just wasn't the right time. Additionally, I think I wanted to do some research first. Well... I did the research and hopefully in a couple of days, I will be able to complete this possibly wonderful story!

It's interesting to see actual graded examples and the wide range between a 3.0 and a 7.0.

She was one of my favorite artists that I got to interact with at a show. Very saddened by this news.