As always I own nothing, make no money from this and bow before the genius that is Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Steven Molaro, and all of the writers, actors and crew that bring the TBBT to life. Thank you.
Realization that what we want is not necessarily what we need
I am getting too caught up in my memories. The original point behind this journal was to show how even the idea of my killing Sheldon is ludicrous. I would start to write a segment of my life that proves my point and end up spending several pages discussing Mrs. Latham. I do not regret that because she is one of the special people in my life that helped me deal with my feelings about past failures and realize that you cannot be what you were, you can only be what you will become. It made more sense when I read it and I have never been able to find the quote again. Anyway instead of pushing myself to state just the facts I will continue to share the memories that helped me become more. I do not know how else to explain it. I thought at first I could do this by finding another Angelo and protecting him from the "barbarians". What I ended up doing was amassing a group of friends and colleagues I would not normally have even noticed. You know the "bit players" in the movie "Leonard Meets Reality". I apologize for wandering. The solitary confinement is starting to get to me. I seem to do best while I am writing so I will try to keep my entries linear.
Seeing a Sheep and finding a Sheep Dog
I met Stuart Bloom by accident. I had decided to walk to the comic book store to build up the muscles in my legs.
When I got there the windows were all covered in brown paper and a simple sign hung on the inside of the door.
Thank you for 20 great years. Pete. I realized Pete must have been the old gentleman that ran the comic store.
The guys and I had been coming here for years and we didn't even know the owners name. It bothered me. I stood there gawking at the sign as if staring at it would change the meaning. Out of business. I was just about to turn when a voice behind asked me if I would mind standing still for 5 more minutes while he finished a drawing. I realized that when I had approached there had been a lanky man propped up on one of the huge planters that were all along the boulevard, sketching. I could hear the charcoal scraping on the paper and the occasional deep breath as he blew the excess off his drawing pad. It turned out to be 10 minutes but the voice thanked me and I turned to get a better look at the artist. When he stood to shake my hand he appeared to be about 5'9", lanky, with a high forehead, and a smile that had sad trying to push its way to the surface. He introduced himself and we exchanged pleasantries as he did some finishing touches on his drawing.
He showed me his sketch and it was fantastic. He had drawn the store front as it would appear if it were a state of the art comic book store.
There facing the door was Kingpin, diamond cane in his hand and bald head reflecting the sunlight. It startled me at first till I realized he must have been there a while drawing the store front when I had entered the scene. I liked the way his mind spun off from the cane. I was basically filler why he drew Kingpin around me in the doorway. He must have been a DareDevil fan to pull that image so quickly from his mind to the sketch pad. I asked him if I could buy if from him, but only if he signed for it. He blushed and pulled the sheet from the pad. No charge. I reminded him it was unsigned so autograph it he did. He told me that he had graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design but had never done well after because of his passive nature and poor self image. He seemed surprised when he admitted that to me. His Art career was stagnant so he had decided to pool his remaining money and buy this comic store. The sketches were so he could get an idea of what he wanted it to look and to figure out what it would cost to get it that way. We talked some more, trading stories about our lives back east over a cup of coffee. I liked him right away. He was self deprecating but had a wicked sense of humor. He never talked about family but had some great stores about his time at RISD. The conversation was so interesting I was actual startled when an incoming text from Amy asked if they were to pick me up on the way or meet them there. Dinner time already. Rather than end the conversation I invited Stuart to dinner with us and he accepted. He was a little leery of hanging out with "science nerds" but I let him know that more than half of those nerds were also big time comic and SciFi fans. Bernadette and Howard picked us up and by the end of dinner our little group had gained an "artistic nerd". The group was getting more interesting.
Due to their shared interest in the DC verse, Howard, Raj, and Stuart bonded quickly. Once they knew of his plan to take over the comic book store they decided to view the site with Stuart and help him with his decision.
Howard had doubts on the integrity of the structure and Raj had mentioned that the traffic flow along this street was the wrong demographic for what his business would cater to. They had put up a traffic counter near the front door and let it run for 3 days. After reviewing the footage they all understood why the old store had closed down. Stuart was going to need a site that was better suited to his business. Amy and Sheldon pulled demographic reports for the various neighborhoods and determined that the shopping district would be too much money for the amount of traffic it would bring. Then they found it. It was an old realtors office (no not the same one Sasha had worked at) that was on a main road, close to the campus, had it's own parking, and the building's exterior was in great shape. The Realtors site was also near a movie theater that mostly showed classic films that tv could never do justice to. (I had seen Akira Kurosawa's the Seven Samurai there and fell in love with the move all over again). It attracted a lot of the people that would be interested in a comic/graphic novels/anime store. Stuart would have to gut most of the offices to get the floor space he needed but we convinced him to keep the one office that had its own restroom as his office. The drawings he did of the "new" look was eye catching but was not gaudy enough to upset his neighbors. Then the number crunching began. Stuart's vision of the new store was going to be a little pricey for his budget. I was contemplating loaning Stuart the money when a strange thing happened. Stuart announced that he and his new partner, Sheldon, were going to build the store the way he had envisioned it. Sheldon was to be a silent partner but had demanded to be in charge of stocking the shelves (and a 30% discount which Stuart talked him out of because that would affect the profit margin, Sheldon acquiesed). Stuart would later admit that Sheldon was an amazing organizer, and Sheldon that Stuarts eye for detail kept the displays popping.
Raj had been admiring the drawing Stuart had drawn of Kingpin comic shopping. He wondered if Stuart would do one of him dressed as Batman but without the cowl. It was new comic night so we drove Sheldon over so he could stock the shelves and Raj asked Stuart about drawing him.
Stuart agreed to it but let Raj know that he would not draw him as any of the existing heroes out of respect for their creators. Even the Kingpin picture he had drawn had been so as not to show any of the features. He instead offered to draw Raj as a new comic book hero. Raj loved the idea and they began to choose the costume for Raj. Knee high black boots, the faded grey and maroon striped pants that Han Solo had worn in star wars, the double breasted Union uniform shirt that John Wayne worn in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", brass buttons and all. Arms crossed, chest out and looking to the heavens.
I have to admit it looked cool. That's when I got my idea. Stuart could draw a dozen of so heroes, in similar poses, and each uniforms slightly different.
He could lithograph the final print and with several dozen copies ready, offer to draw a person features into their own super hero. Insignia's slightly more.
Stuart was unsure if he would have the time until I pointed out he could draw in the features and hire someone to add the color and any other touches the client requested. An ad was placed and after several interviews Stuart decided to hire a gorgeous goth woman, who was very talented, and a little scary. As part of her interview she showed Stuart her comic about her life. He was fascinated on how she drew herself so well while in so many positions. He did find the panels of her having sex with a guy wearing only the top half of a Wookie costume a little troubling. Some things you cannot un-see. Alice had multiple piercings, liked dark clothes and she really was a nice woman. She just would not put up with anyone she deemed fake. (Side note I had made the mistake of referring to her as young lady. She looked me square in the eyes, she's only slightly taller than I am, and announced to the whole store that if I ever use the L word to describe her again she would pull my balls up around my neck like a tie. The boys actually recessed into my body when she said that. I also got looks from some of the patrons and mumbles about being more understanding of alternate life styles. Not that L word you morons. Alice loved it,) At first Alice only worked part time and mostly from home. She progressed to working at a bench on the sales floor (which actually brought in more people), then to being there full time, and last to joining us for dinners on Sundays because Stuart's cousin closed by himself that day. It was an interesting relationship. She updated his wardrobe (not goth), made sure he took his vitamins and what few pills he still needed and brought light to his life. He taught her how to improve her art using knowledge he had gained at RISD and gave her stability. I have to admit I was a little jealous of their relationship. He had lived longer but she had lived more. Together they were a great team.