Pop: Chapter 12b

     I can't believe that Pulse is closing.  I muddle through helping the staff finish setting up everything.  I insist that I help out, just like I used to years ago back when I was in college.  And after.  There's really not  much to do, but it helps keep my mind off of things.

    The first fan comes in just before twelve, and we chat for a little bit before he goes off to look for anything else before he pays for his book.  For the next hour, a slow but steady line of customers come in.  Just enough that I get to talk to each one before moving on to the next.  Most get their book and leave, but some stay to search the store for that one special thing.  Todd had mentioned that there wasn't any 'going out of business' sales planned.  Anything that is still here after the last orders come in will just be moved to Downtown Comics.  Only then will the merchandise be put on discount.  Why give longtime customers a deal at the old location, when they can find the same things just a few miles away a little later on?

    By 1:30. the line has pretty much ended.  The few customers who come in, flock to other parts of the store.  Most are just picking up their pull-lists, ignoring me and the book display.  In all, about two dozen people had shown up.  While that doesn't sound that big, it is more than I had at some of the early dates out west.  One stop in Seattle barely had eleven people show up, so this turnout is actually pretty good, especially since I'll have the big event this Saturday with the hardcover edition.

    Carrie walks over from the counter after the last of the book signees leave.

    "Mr. Burton, if you would like to leave early, you probably could.  I doubt anyone else will be coming.  Only fifteen people had expressed interest, and that guy was the last of them that I know about."

    "No.  I'll stay, at least for a few more minutes, just to be sure.  I'll sign a few extra copies in the meantime.  Just in case someone comes in after I go."

    "No more than a few.  Anything we don't sell will just have to be moved."  Todd had come out from the office to join Carrie.  "A few less pounds to heave."

    I continue signing, nonetheless.

    "It looks like there's not that much less, especially if you don't take the fixtures."

    Todd just laughs.

    "Heck, Chris.  That's just the downstairs.  Much of the second floor still needs to be moved."

    "Wait.  There's a second story?  I've been coming here for over eight years, and I never even heard about a second floor."

    "Yeah.  it's where we keep, kept, most of the older books and overstock."

    "I thought that most of the backlist was off-site.  At least it was when I started coming here.'

    "It was.  But it was moved here once the renters left.  About ten years ago.  Mitch bought our the building then.  Thought he could expand into bigger things, but it was ever only used for storage."

    "Could I get a look at it?  Just for old time's sake.  If it's against regulations or anything ..."

    "Well, for you, I guess we can make an exception.  Carrie, watch things down here and call us if anyone shows up."

    Carrie nods her head and goes back to the counter. Todd then waves his hand, asking me to follow her behind the counter and into the office.

    I had only been able to look into the room a few times over the years.  The door was usually kept closed, but I had known that there were two doors in the rear from those few glances.  Todd leads me to the one on the left, which opens up to a staircase.

    "How was that floor ever rented if the stairs a here?" I ask as we start climbing.

    "There's a second set in the rear, on the other side.  That one's more of a fire exit, but the renters used it for their main access."

    Todd takes the turn at the landing and starts climbing up the second set of stairs to an open hall at the top.  There's only one door, wide open and Todd gestures me through.

    "The really valuable stuff had already. been moved, but there's still plenty left. "

    The hall ran along the right side of the building, so the door had opened up to the other side of the store.  The room was wide open, with rows of boxes starting from the rear wall, gaps every few feet. I guess those were the comics already taken.  The room was fairly dim, until Todd flicked the lights on.  That's when I saw the posters covering the windows.

    "We put up the posters to keep the light off the books as much as possible.  That's why we also have them mostly towards the rear. There used to be some dividing walls, but Mitch had most of them taken out when the renters left.  The only ones left are the far one, where the outside entrance is, and this one for the bathroom."  Todd pointed to the left.

    "I never guessed this was up here. I mean, I thought I heard things above, but I, I, well, I'm speechless."

    "Well, this is a pretty good place," Todd answers as we head to the far wall. "It wouldn't take much to put some new walls in, as none of them were load-bearing in the first place."

    Todd opens the door in the far wall as we reach it.  "In here are the rest of the supplies, decorations, and overstock.  That's the door to the outside stairs.  We changed the locks, so that it can't be opened from the outside anymore, but it still meets all the regulations."

    "This place is so great.  I wished I had known about it sooner.'

    "Well, at least you got to see it, before it goes."

    "How much?"

    "What?" Todd stares dumbfounded at me.

    "I want to buy the building, once Pulse closes.  I can't let this place go to waste.  I need some office space once I move back, and here will be perfect.  I know I have the money.  I just have to talk it over with my fiancé to make sure, but sh'e the one who wants me to move my junk somewhere else anyway.  I can't think of a better spot."

Pop: Chapter 12a

     I could tell something had changed even before I opened the door to Pulse.  There were fewer posters on the windows and fewer lights as well.  The sign on the door had shorter business hours.  Instead of opening at nine, they now opened at eleven.  They were closing at six most days.  I remember when they stayed open to eight.  Nine most weekends, if not longer when a gaming session was going on.

    Just inside the door, the new comics display was barely halfway full.  The aisles of boxes of back issues were down to just a few.  The shelves with new toys and memorabilia were gone, less than half.  For a second, I thought it was a temporary thing, as the table for the signing had been placed right in the middle of the store, but then I saw the "Closed.  Off-limits" signs posted on the doors to the game rooms in the back.  What had happened to Pulse?

    "Sir.  May I help you?  If you're here for the signing, you are a little early.  We aren't officially fully open yet."

    A young woman with a ring through her lower lip and a purple streak through her hair had popped up from behind the counter to ask me that question.

    "He's the author, Carrie.  Let me handle him." 

    Todd Foster, the old manager from when I started coming to Pulse, came out from the office door behind the counter.  I thought he had left years ago for a job at Downtown Comics.

    "Sorry, Todd," Carrie replied.

    "You can get back to prepping for the event.  I'll handle Chris." Todd was ever the charmer.

    "So, Todd. What are you doing back at Pulse.  I though you had moved onto Downtown.  What brings you back here?"

    "Not only are you still a stickler for being on time, you always want to get to the point." Todd comes over to shake my hand and give a partial hug.  I try to avoid rubbing off the sweat too noticeably.

    "Well, are you trying to avoid the question?"

    "Chris, Pulse was bought out by Downtown last fall.  In fact, we'll be shutting Pulse down once the last of the pre-orders come in the next month or two."

    "No. Tim would never sell Pulse.  And if Downtown owns Pulse, why aren't I doing my signing there?"

    "About the signing, Davy and Harry have the new guy on Superman coming over to the main store tomorrow.  His contract states that sites can't have any events within three days before or after his visit.  To get you in, they decided to hold your event here."

    Tad had arranged most of the venues without much input from me.  He usually had me going to comic book and gaming stores, as opposed to mainstream book store, for the most part, for my tour.  Because of my low level notoriety, I didn't have to have such a rider in my contract. Sure, I had a little runaround having these two signings in Lexington, but they were just far enough apart that no conflict had arisen. It looked like David Cummings and his partner and husband Harold Jackson found their own way to get around a contract too.

    "That explains my signing, but how did Downtown buy out Pulse? I was pretty sure Mike would never sell."

    "Well, Downtown had moved into a newer, bigger building and needed extra inventory to help fill up the space.  They offered Mike a lot of change for some of his back issues.  To be honest, I heard that Mike had lost his spark for the biz.  He was ready to try something new.  So, instead of getting some back stock, Mike sold them everything.  Except the building.  Mike still owns it, and Davy didn't want to have a second location.  The deal was completed in February, and everyone is just waiting for the last few legalities to clear and then Pulse will be gone."

    "Wow. I can't believe Pulse is closing."

    "Don't think about that now.  Let's get you set up.  I doubt we'll have a huge crowd on a Thursday, but you never know."

Pop: Chapter Twelve

    "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," I yell up to Sam as leave for the signing.

    I mean, he will probably be alright on his own.  He shouldn't, say, burn down the house or anything in the next few hours.  He's eighteen.  He knows he'd be arrested if he commits a crime now.  That's probably too harsh for him to think this way, but he has been acting surly ever since he found out about the house.

    I walk down the street to Rick's to pick up my car, eating a protein bar on the way.  Banana chocolate-chip.  Almost as good as the blueberry, just a little more common.  At least here in Lexington.

    With the remodel going on at my house, I'd been keeping my car at Rick's where it was safer.  I can see it parked out on the driveway as I walk towards it.  Midnight blue Camaro.  Fully charged too, considering the cable's down.

    Yeah, it is a hybrid.  I go on and on about how Sam's vehicle is basically a box on wheels, and I have a partly electric car myself.  Yet mine is sporty and actually looks like a car.  It just wasn't practical to keep a gas-powered vehicle when I don't drive it for weeks at a time.  Leaving all of that fuel in the tank could cause problems.  That might be one of the reasons I had so many problems with my last car.  The Camaro might not be the best car for driving to New York and back, so I just leave it here and drive one of Dad's cars.  Now that I'll be back in Lexington, I'll get to drive this one more often and finally put gas in the tank.

    Besides, this was the only model that came in blue.

    I must admit that the drive is fairly smooth, as I pull out of Rick's driveway.  I try to drive around town as much as possible so I can stay familiar with the traffic patterns.  New York traffic makes me appreciate Lexington traffic ever more.  Sure, driving here can be tricky, but it makes sense after awhile.  Four years in NYC and I still try to stay off the roads.

    The drive to Pulse is quite boring.  Just the familiar lights and lane changes I took dozens of times, usually from the other direction, but this part of my day is the same.  One detour for road work, nothing new.  Late mornings are fairly tame.

    I make it to the strip mall down the block from Pulse in less than fifteen minutes.  Even for me, that is impressive.  This will make my first time back to Pulse in over a year.  With the work on my book and the tour, I just didn't have the time to stop by the old place my last few visits here.  

    The strip mall is about the same.  The convenience store has changed it name. Not sure if it is a new owner or just a re-brand.  I'll have to go in after the signing to pick something up to validate parking here. The rest of the storefronts are for various services, ones I never really looked into.  The nail salon and weight-loss center in particular are not for me.  Anyway, I should be fine parking here for a few hours.

    I walk down the street to Pulse, only thirty minutes early.

    I must be slipping by being so late.

Pop: Chapter 11b

    I do a quick scan to see if what Dad wrote was really as bad as Thad suggested.

Anything created for the masses cannot be considered 'real art.'

    It's worse than I imagined.

Such works of 'pop art' are beneath the qualifications of true artistic merit. [...] Merely copying and altering the works of others is also beneath the standing of those artists who have dedicated their lives into pouring their souls into their works.  Lowering one's standard, just to try and influence the masses is a poor substitute for artistic genius and the creative process.  While the production of commercially available works can be profitable, the artist's true talent is lost within the broad appeal of the unappreciative public.  That is not success; it is selling out.

    That doesn't track with what Dad normally says.  He prefers a more rural, naturalistic style, regardless if it includes 'pop' elements or not.  In fact, the only times he worked outside of this style was when his art professors forced him to do so, such as his movies that are so popular to a certain type of clientele.  Dad did try to do some work for popular consumption, but he never liked it.  He didn't begrudge anyone who did, though.  He felt that quantity, as in mass popularity, doesn't always meant that quality suffered.  Maybe he changed his mind at one point. I go back to reading.

Trying to make art out of mass-produced images is useless and wasteful. [...] wasteful of the artist's talent and useless in the grand showing of the greater art scene [...] or the world at large.

    Those brackets and ellipses are worrisome.  They are suggestive that the writer is trying to force his point across in ways that cited work did not.  I've seen it so many times during my proofreading career.  It is usually a sign of weakness.  Not what I would expect from this newspaper.

    I get a notification beep from my Mac.  Ten-thirty.  I'll just have enough time to finish getting ready and drive to Pulse for the signing. 

    I close up everything before logging off.  I definitely don't want Sam to read this until I get to talk with Dad.  This editorial gets way too close to things he didn't want Sam to know.  I also don't think Sam will understand some of the techniques this guy is using.  Sam probably won't be able access the article easily, unless one of his friends has a subscription and tells him.  Like that will happen.

    I check my phone at the charger.  It's just about finished.  Should be ready by the time I go.  Hated to leave in on so much last night, but it was necessary.

    Don't think about any of this right now.  I have a book signing to get to.