Tell Me a Tale - For Those Who Love Comics 7 7

[Hudson]

Please excuse the long introduction…

Recently I was PMing (or perhaps DMing; as I don’t know what terms people today are using) with another board member about the boards and what would make the boards a more enjoyable experience.  I know for everyone this is different, so I am not pretentious enough to speak for everyone, however, I would like to speak for myself.

In my PM/DM I talked about how I wish there was another “section” of the boards; for sake of argument, we will call it “Collector’s Corner”.  In this section there would be no sales threads and no arguing (except perhaps a heated discussion over whose favorite superhero would win in an imaginary fight).  What there would be are threads dedicated to the love of collecting.  It would be a section where people could gather not to flip books or chase the $, but to share in the love of collecting and talk about their experiences; their memories.

The other board member (who has been here a lot longer than me – as I only joined in 2014), said the boards used to be like that.  They encouraged me to start one thread and assured me that people would take an interest.  This belief, that if I started such a thread, that others would take interest, reminded me of the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” when Ray hears a mysterious voice saying, “If you build it, he will come”.   For those who have seen the movie, Ray does build it and in fact they do come.  So, I decided to take a shot and see if anyone was interested in my first attempt to bring the love of collecting back to the boards.

So for this first thread I am going to suggest people write in stories (long or short, as they deem appropriate) about their collecting experiences.  These can be stories of days long ago or about that dream find you made last week; that treasure you had long looked for and at last had found; that pearl.  The story can be of anything that brought you joy as a collector.  Please share your stories and allow others to vicariously live through your experiences as well as living through their own.

For me, I have chosen to speak of days gone by.   I may later share other stories (as my head is filled with such things), however, for now I will reach back to the beginning and tell the tale of one young boy and his love of comics….

The tale begins decades ago in a somewhat small town in New England, where I grew up.  Back then the new comics would arrive at the newsstand on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Those two days were special; I looked forwarded to them more than I looked forward to Saturday and having no school.  That is to say, I looked forward to them when I was fortunate enough to have a little money in my pocket.

You see, back in those days, children were not given everything they asked for (at least not in the frugal world of New England families – or at least not in the one in which I grew up).  I was told at an early age that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.  I fear this concept is not often cherished as it once was, those many years ago. 

So, I would do chores and work to try and earn the money I “needed”.   I would go around collecting old newspapers, wrap them in string, and sell them to the “junk man”.  If I remember correctly I think I would receive something like $1.00 or $1.25 for a hundred pounds of paper (the prices changed regularly).  If I found things like a weight from a tire that had fallen off onto the street, I would pick it up.   I would save those up and sell those to the junk man for something like 17 cents a pound; as they were made from lead.  So I learned the value of a dollar early in life and I worked hard to acquire the things I desired; the bright colored comics that filled the newsstand.

Perhaps it was because I worked so hard to earn them, that I cherished those books so much.  Perhaps there is a lesson in all that somewhere, but this is not about lessons in life, but about the love of comics and of days gone by.

Thus on those days, when I had some money in my pocket, I would pick up the old, heavy, black, rotary phone and call my best friend, who lived up the street from me, and ask him if he wanted to go to the newsstand.  The answer was always the same; the answer was always, “yes”.  He would then walk to my house and we in turn would walk to the newsstand.

I feel compelled to stop here for a minute and say that the world was a different place back then.  Two young children walking a half mile or maybe a mile to the local newsstand of a small New England town was considered relatively safe.  My parents did not worry or concern themselves that anything bad would ever befall me.  I am not sure the world is still as safe as it was back then; back when neighbors watched out for one another and many people never locked their homes.

And so my friend and I would walk down to the newsstand, look through all the colorful treasures and pick out as many as we could afford (which often was not many at all).  After that we would often walk a few doors down to the local CVS, where they had soda and candy.   My family did not have soda in the house, so if I had enough change left in my pocket to buy a coke and maybe a box of candy then I was as close to heaven as I was going to get.

After that we would begin the walk home, sometimes stopping in front of the Town Hall to play on what we referred to as “The Cannon”.  In fact, the object was most likely an anti-aircraft gun off an old battleship.  I don’t really know exactly what is was, but I know the town removed it many years later, probably determining that having a large weapon in front of the Town Hall was offensive to some.  As children, however, it was the “coolest thing ever” and fun to climb all over (at least on days when the New England weather was not too cold).

After playing on “The Cannon” and drinking our Cokes (that rare treat indeed), we would return to my house where we would sit and read the books we had purchased.  My friend read faster than I did (as I liked to fully envelope myself in each story), and so often he would finish his comics and ask to read the ones I had acquired.

So those days were filled with friendship and joy.  They were filled with a shared love of comics.  They were filled with two young children who talked to each other and dreamed of how they could make the world a better place; just like the superheroes in their comics had done.

As I age, I find time slipping by faster.   I find that time is the most precious commodity I have and I shutter to think of how much of it I have wasted on useless pursuits. 

Then I think of the time I spent with my friend; reading comics and dreaming.  I think of those memories with great fondness and it makes me understand why decades later, I still have a passion for comics.  Is it a passion for comics or a passion for those days when life was so much simpler?  Is it a passion for a stack of paper pages or for the bond of friendship that still stands to this day?   Yes, he and I are still friends and even though we no longer walk to the local newsstand together, occasionally we still talk comics and remember those days with joy.

And so this tales ends, or perhaps it only pauses.  I think this depends on you.  I was told that if I started a thread about collecting that there would be interest.  Let’s see if that is true.  Please share your stories.  I look forward to reading each and every one.

I sincerely thank each of you for taking the time to read this.

[Ken Aldred]

I’m quite happy to be a total comic book appreciation nerd here, joining in with discussions about the artists, writers, characters and stories, and trying my best not to get too irreverent, but often failing miserably to contain that habit.

[CAHokie]

As I watched all of my friends in school show off their new comic books, I immediately wanted one. One of the guys said he would sell me the latest Spider-Man comic for $5.00.

I could plainly see that the price on the cover was only a $1.50 so I was sure I was being cheated. He assured me that someday it would be worth something so I handed over the money.

I carried that comic in my backpack every day. Despite it being battered, I was excited 25 years later to meet Stan Lee for the first time and have him sign that old beat up comic. The value didn’t matter, just that I would finally meet him and he would sign my first comic… 

Edited March 1, 2023 by CAHokie

[skypinkblu]

Nice idea, Rich

I think long, long ago, before the software changed as well as the forum, we had some threads about how people started. 

My post would not have been that long, I started collecting when I was about 4 years old, my Dad would bring me home a comic book, about 1x a week on his way home from work. I think the first ones were Donald Duck and Mickey...and they were OK...but after a few, he brought me something amazing, a comic with a Man who flew...and I fell in love... I suppose my father liked reading Superman himself, because those were the ones he'd bring home.

I was fascinated, and I learned how to read from those books...special picture books! not that silly Run someone Run thingy. 

I had an older cousin who gave me some other books, and an uncle who was a pretty well known engineer who used to buy me comics as long as HE could read them first. Green Lantern was another special one, not only could he FLY, but he had special Jewelry...then there was Supergirl and a Horse and on and on. 

I lived not far from a Public Housing project and my friend Melanie and I would take our books and bring them over to the projects, where a whole bunch of kids, would sit on the curb and trade...or if you didn't see something to trade for, you could sell them for a HUGE 2 cents;)  We did that one whole summer, maybe 2, I was barely old enough to count...Melanie (who I am still close friends with) reminded me of this whole set up not long ago. The idea was to get books we had not read yet. I think I traded for some Space stuff, I liked the covers, but usually more DC Super-heroes..most with no covers, but they had pages!

I liked nothing better than taking my books, finding a vacant space under a tree and just sitting and reading them all afternoon. As a matter of fact, I still love reading...but comics started me off.

Once I had an allowance...I think it was $1.00 for doing some kind of chore, I would go to the local "candy" store...sometimes they had new books, sometimes not...I never wasted money on candy, unless there were no new comics;) 

 

[frozentundraguy]

I can recall my first experience with comic books, though my parents may have bought me one issue of Donald Duck when I was 5. I was about 8 years old. It was summer. Several of the slightly older neighbor kids were in a tent with a large stack of Superman comic books. I recall being struck by how cool those books looked with the distinctive red and blue of Superman's suit. I don't think I was allowed to read their comics, but it didn't bother me, and the hook had been set.

A few years later I was able to visit my grandparents each summer for 2 weeks. I think I was 12 when I first traveled alone. I was allowed to ride the Greyhound bus, though that was a bit scary the first time. At the halfway point the bus would stop for 20 minutes, and I would buy a coke and a couple of comic books. When I arrived my uncle, who was a year younger than I, would read those comics, and the books he had. We also used the tent to setup and read in, if the weather cooperated.

[Azkaban]

I started my collecting in the early 70's. I'm from Kentucky and we we're pretty poor growing up but one day some kids stopped by the house selling what I think they called it back then was Tom-Wat trying to raise some funds for something at school. My mother who could never tell someone no tried to find the cheapest thing to buy from them and what do you know it was a subscription to Marvel Comics and she picked Captain Marvel. I started to get them in the mail in the brown wrapper and the first one I got had Iron Man in it and I was hooked. I started mowing and doing any jobs I could in the area so I could buy as many comics as I could. My mom's sister worked at Williams & Wells Drug store in town and started to put back any issues of series I collected and I would take them home read thru them slowly and just soak up every word and then neatly stack them in the closet floor. As I got older I would walk to the drug store and go through the spinner rack myself, those were the days 

[Robot Man]

On 2/28/2023 at 4:46 PM, frozentundraguy said:

I can recall my first experience with comic books, though my parents may have bought me one issue of Donald Duck when I was 5. I was about 8 years old. It was summer. Several of the slightly older neighbor kids were in a tent with a large stack of Superman comic books. I recall being struck by how cool those books looked with the distinctive red and blue of Superman's suit. I don't think I was allowed to read their comics, but it didn't bother me, and the hook had been set.

A few years later I was able to visit my grandparents each summer for 2 weeks. I think I was 12 when I first traveled alone. I was allowed to ride the Greyhound bus, though that was a bit scary the first time. At the halfway point the bus would stop for 20 minutes, and I would buy a coke and a couple of comic books. When I arrived my uncle, who was a year younger than I, would read those comics, and the books he had. We also used the tent to setup and read in, if the weather cooperated.

Every summer my parents would put me on the Greyhound bus to visit my grandparents. My grandpa would take me to lunch in his ‘62 Lincoln. After lunch, we would go to the cigar store and allow me to pick as many comics off the rack as I wanted. One of those trips, I saw something I had never seen. MAD Magazine #72. I got it and it blew me away. Started me on a life time of actually collecting all of them.

My grandmother, an antique collector took me to shows and flea markets. Many times there were stacks of old cheap comics. I always came home with a nice pile. Her influence was very important to me and made me the collector I am today.

We also read in a tent in the summer with a flashlight but they were usually nudie magazines. 

[themagicrobot]

It was the Summer or possibly early Autumn of 1964. There was some kind of Fete event at my Junior school one saturday. Sales tables set up in the playground. Lots of stuff going on. Tombola. Lucky dip in a barrel of sawdust. Mad stuff like that odd game where someone would drop a toy rat down a drainpipe and you had to hit it with a bat as it came out the bottom to win a prize.

Anyway one sales table was full of second hand comics. 4 comics rolled up and tied with string so you didn't see exactly what you got till you bought them. The price would be something ridiculously cheap like 3d per bundle. As I only arrived with 1/- I spent my funds on 4 bundles of comics. I didn't even untie the strings till I got home because I was busy pestering my dad to have a go on the Lucky Dip and Whack-a-Rat.

3 bundles of comics were the usual UK comics like Dandy/Beano/Lion/Hornet/Hotspur/Buster/Eagle. One bundle had a Beano on the outside and 3 American comics hidden within. I had never heard of DC Comics until that day. My mind was blown.  

[lizards2]

On 2/28/2023 at 6:33 PM, Robot Man said:

Every summer my parents would put me on the Greyhound bus to visit my grandparents. My grandpa would take me to lunch in his ‘62 Lincoln. After lunch, we would go to the cigar store and allow me to pick as many comics off the rack as I wanted. One of those trips, I saw something I had never seen. MAD Magazine #72. I got it and it blew me away. Started me on a life time of actually collecting all of them.

My grandmother, an antique collector took me to shows and flea markets. Many times there were stacks of old cheap comics. I always came home with a nice pile. Her influence was very important to me and made me the collector I am today.

We also read in a tent in the summer with a flashlight but they were usually nudie magazines. 

Ahhh..., memories of riding Greyhound and Trailways. The smell of the onboard restroom, the malt liquor bottles rolling on the floor. The child molesters and drug dealers in the bus stations. Fond memories. I can't believe my parents let me do that alone, starting at about 7 years of age.  

[THE_BEYONDER]

I was going through a couple childhood boxes looking for my 1st comic, and came across this book.  

Made me wax nostalgic immediately.  As a youngster, me and my buddy would take the subway downtown every weekend to hit the 2 big shops here in Toronto ( Dragon Lady & Silver Snail ).  Not sure what other books I bought that day, but I remember pulling this from the back-issue bins at DL.  Before heading home we always hit the Jelly Bellies shop in the mall (as you couldn’t get them anywhere else at the time). Grabbed a big bag and headed home.  While flipping through my comic haul on the subway ride home and snacking on some exotic flavoured jelly beans.... I fumbled my goodies . Although I saved the books, I ended up dropping the bag of beans on the floor.  Train is coming into the station....jelly bellies go hurtling through the car. 
 

That loss hurt....

[skypinkblu]

On 3/1/2023 at 3:30 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I was going through a couple childhood boxes looking for my 1st comic, and came across this book.  

Made me wax nostalgic immediately.  As a youngster, me and my buddy would take the subway downtown every weekend to hit the 2 big shops here in Toronto ( Dragon Lady & Silver Snail ).  Not sure what other books I bought that day, but I remember pulling this from the back-issue bins at DL.  Before heading home we always hit the Jelly Bellies shop in the mall (as you couldn’t get them anywhere else at the time). Grabbed a big bag and headed home.  While flipping through my comic haul on the subway ride home and snacking on some exotic flavoured jelly beans.... I fumbled my goodies . Although I saved the books, I ended up dropping the bag of beans on the floor.  Train is coming into the station....jelly bellies go hurtling through the car. 
 

That loss hurt....

But I bet you wouldn't have saved that bag of Jelly Bellies forever;) So brilliant choice!!

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/1/2023 at 7:24 PM, skypinkblu said:

But I bet you wouldn't have saved that bag of Jelly Bellies forever;) So brilliant choice!!

[s-man]

As a young lad, in 1983 I was hooked on watching the animated show Spider-man and his Amazing Friends every Saturday morning.   As much as I liked Spidey, I never became a collector of his comics. It was a guest group that I fell in love with and one character from that group in particular.  The episode was A Firestar is Born and it guest starred both the X-Men and Juggernaut.  But the one character that really caught my eye was Wolverine.  Those freaky claws!  So, in August of that same year, I was sent to the local Dairy Mart to pick up cigarettes (amazing at one time they would sell to kids and even give you matches), milk and bread.  I was supposed to give my mom back the change, but I saw something that would make me into a lifetime collector, a copy of Uncanny X-Men 172 with Wolverine on the front cover and bought it.  I forget the excuse I used for buying it, but they didn't make me return it so 

From that humble start, I would eventually make my way downtown and become a regular at an actual comic shop called Treasure Island, located inside a mini mall.  At the entrance stood a cardboard cutout of Blackbeard the pirate next to a treasure chest full of bundled $1 books.  As you walked in, the glass display case on the left held some nice keys that included X-Men #1 which was far beyond my reach at the time selling for $1000.  Next to the case were dollar bin books and back issues in long boxes.  My head would spin as I gazed upon the great assortment of wall books displayed, wishing my parents were millionaires so I could snatch them all up.  The place was fun and magical all at the same time.  It was also the site of one of my greatest comic collecting missteps.  A shop employee whom I had gotten to know was big on a book that had just released and he highly recommended it to me.  He handed me a copy and I took a look at the cover and flipped through it quickly.  "My money is for real mutants!" I told him as I put it back on the shelf.  Little did I know those dang mutant turtles would be big and that copy of issue #1 that I put back would be worth a pretty penny some day!   Oh well, I was pretty happy with all the X books I came away with from there and still have Wolverine's limit series I bought from them.  The place has since closed down and I was sad to see it go, but the memories remain.  

[Axelrod]

I posted elsewhere my not especially exciting story about how I caught the true collector's bug at the age of 11.  I've never posted about my first comic book shop though. 

For almost two years (pretty sure), I bought strictly off the spinner racks of my local drug stores and 7-11 equivalents.  Because at that time, I didn't know any other way to do it.  This was in Metairie, LA. 

Then one day I heard about this place - a comic book store.  Like, a store that only sold comic books.  How amazing was that?  

That place was BSI comics.  Not quite close enough for me to walk or ride a bike to, but I got my dad to drive me there.  And, wow, walking into that place for the first time was like a little bit of Heaven for a boy like me.  And behind the counter was Carl Tupper, in his wheelchair.  I'll never forget him.  A true character.  He passed on 2011.  I read this obit years ago, which I feel like sharing:   

Spoiler

It is my sad duty to relate the death of Carl Tupper, proprietor for more than 30 years of BSI Comics. Carl was a true saint. A remarkable man who cruised through life with an indomitable spirit and always a smartass remark ready for any occasion. Family and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Mass at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. (in Metairie Cemetery), on Monday, January 3, 2011 at 1:00 PM. Visitation will begin at 11:00 AM until service time. Interment will be held in Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.

Anyone in the metro area who grew up in the comics/sci-fi world in the last thirty years knew Unca Carl. (As did many who did not run in that crowd.) Face it, if you didn’t know Carl, you weren’t a true comics geek. From the early days of the Book Swap, Inc., a used paperback trading store on Kent Avenue in Metairie, to the salad days of BSI Comics just around the corner on Fairfield and later located in Fat City, Carl held court from his wheelchair, behind those huge, hand-built wooden counters, giving out free advice to anyone with ears. As he often said, “I can solve all your problems, but none of my own.”

Walk into the store happy and Carl would ask if he could have “some of what you’re on.” Enter in a foul mood and he’d flat out tell you, “Babe, you know what you’re problem is? You got a bad attitude.” Walk in with a girlfriend and the gloves were off. In fact, some people would bring new girlfriends in to test them; if they could roll with Carl’s punches, then there was hope for a serious, lasting relationship!

But even though it appeared that Carl’s business was selling funnybooks, that was just a front. Carl Tupper’s real business was teaching kids about life. Carl probably “hired” more “employees” over the years than Popeye’s ever will. It wasn’t because he needed the help -there was always at least one semi-reliable, full-time employee at the shop who could take care of most anything- but because Carl knew the kids needed the job for one reason or another. A day, a week, a month; however long that kid needed the work, Carl would always find something for them to do.

We all got paid with pizza, po-boys, free comics or paperbacks and occasionally actual cash. It must have been a drain on his finances from time to time, but Carl knew he could make a difference in our lives, and he did indeed. Even after most of us had moved on and established ourselves in the “real world,” when we came back for a visit we’d find ourselves alphabetizing the racks as we browsed or dusting, or sweeping, or moving things around the store just to pay him back a little bit and Carl would still shove a few bucks or some free merchandise into our hands. It’s just the kind of guy he was.

And through Carl, we became doctors, lawyers, police officers, teachers, retailers, comics pros, (and ams,) and a host of other professions. But above all, Carl taught us how to be friends; how to get along with each other despite our differences. If you think arguments over politics, religion and race are difficult to mediate, you ain’t seen nothing until a pack of fanboys start dissecting the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Marvel vs DC, Golden Age vs Silver Age vs Bronze Age, or Jim Shooter vs John Byrne. Carl mediated everything and you could tell that that was why he opened that store up every day. He loved the comics, but he loved his employees and customers more.

And if you had a problem, Carl was always there. Need your car or computer fixed? Need a gardener or plumber? Looking for someone to help you move? Carl knew absolutely everyone and if he sent you to them, you got a deal. BSI’s current proprietor, Jason, remarked that “Carl was a social network before the term existed” and that’s the God’s Honest Truth. I have about a dozen close friends from high school, but I have at least a hundred friends that I met through Carl and BSI. And oddly enough, about 90% of my high school friends were also BSI customers or employees. Go figure.

And without knowing it, Carl taught us all that no matter how dark the storm clouds are, the sun will eventually come back out. Faced with a myriad of health problems and operations stemming from his original stroke some forty years ago, he never complained about his problems. Yes, he came off as a sarcastic, crabby , but no matter how hard he tried to make you think that was his real self, he couldn’t hide that blinding twinkle in his eye that said, “mess, babe, life is good… enjoy it while you can.”

Repose en paix, Unc. And open a folder for me up there…

I was one of those kids. He was amazingly kind, in a crabby sort of way.  After my first visit, I was there at least 1-2x a month, right up until I turned 18 and left for college.  

That was kind of the end of my collecting days.  But my love for comics - at least the ones from my day - doesn't look like it's ever going to fade.  

[Artboy99]

My first story is how i got into comics. I grew up on a farm in the west end of the city i live in, today that area is car dealerships and a Walmart super-center.

One day my father told me we were going into the city to buy some lunch meats. My dad liked to eat lunch meats on rye bread with hot mustard, and back in the early 1970's you had to go to specialty shops to buy that stuff. In to the city we went and when we arrived my dad dug a few coins out of his pocket and told me to "go to that comic store and buy some comics". The store was called Paul's Book Store, he dealt mostly in used books and comics. He had stacks of comics on shelves and sold the books at half cover. The very first book that caught my eye was Fantastic Four 112. The black cover and the powerful looking characters about to duke it out was very appealing. How could a 5 year old resist? 

I still have the book i purchased, i am amazed it has survived all these years.

Thank you Dad for starting me off on reading and collecting comics.

[walclark]

My father spent his career in the Air Force and I spent a large part of my childhood living on Air Force bases around the world.  The bases were pretty safe places and it was a simpler time so we kids rode bikes all over the base.  Might go bowling, catch a matinee at the base theater, head over to the ball field for a pick up game, but there were lots of times we would ride over to the BX (base exchange in the Air Force...in the Army it would be the PX or post exchange) and "browse" the comics.

By browse, I mean we would hang out in the BX and read a dozen comics.  It's an old story, oft repeated, but eventually the clerk would yell at us to either buy something or get out.  I would make my selection, plunk down a dime and two pennies (no tax) and head home.  Like many of you, I was outraged when comics went up to 15 cents.

I loved reading, but wasn't really a collector because we had to move every year or two and the military imposed limits on how much they would move for you for free.  Obviously, the stuff we needed to setup a new home took precedent over comics.  The weight limit was brutal, especially when going overseas.

Earliest comic I remember owning was an Amazing Spider-man #10.  After one of our moves, I asked my mom where the comic was and she said it was "in storage" and we didn't have room to bring it to our new base.  Turns out that was kind of like telling your kid that his old dog went to live on a farm.  I'm sure that ASM #10 and more were thrown out as we packed to move.

Side story: I collected bubble gum wrappers and sent them off with a quarter to get a felt Baltimore Colts pennant.  A year passed and no pennant and I kind of forgot about.  Since sending off for it, we had moved a couple times, but bless the military postal service, they tracked me down and delivered the pennant almost two years later.  I was expecting a full size pennant to hang on the wall.  As with most stuff you order like that, the reality was that the Colts pennant was about the size of a child's hand.  I was still glad to get it and wish I still had it.

Edited March 2, 2023 by walclark

[Stefan_W]

My apologies if sharing videos is not allowed, but in this video I share a deeply personal story about comic collecting when I was young. It fits in perfectly with this thread and sharing the video is easier than typing the long story out. 

 

[lizards2]

On 3/1/2023 at 9:38 PM, Stefan_W said:

My apologies if sharing videos is not allowed, but in this video I share a deeply personal story about comic collecting when I was young. It fits in perfectly with this thread and sharing the video is easier than typing the long story out. 

 

Super Awesome video and story - thanks for sharing!!!  

[Stefan_W]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:54 AM, lizards2 said:

Super Awesome video and story - thanks for sharing!!!  

Thank you for watching, and I am glad that you liked it  

[skypinkblu]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:38 AM, Stefan_W said:

My apologies if sharing videos is not allowed, but in this video I share a deeply personal story about comic collecting when I was young. It fits in perfectly with this thread and sharing the video is easier than typing the long story out. 

 

OK,  I needed a box of tissues...beautiful story, I'm actually in tears.  Thank  you