Help Pat & Ashley catch up/improve store
Donation protected
We need your help to get back on our feet.
I'm Patrick Potter, and I own Comic World, the oldest comic book store in the Tampa Bay area; we're located in Largo, Florida. My fiancee, Ashley Kline, helps run the store. We're not a big conglomerate that makes tons of money. We're just two people supporting ourselves, trying to get by like everybody else. Ashley is attending St. Petersburg College going for her Associates Degree to become an RN, and will go on for her Bachelor's Degree. As soon as she has her RN, she will apply for work at one of the local hospitals. She should be done with her Associates in Science for her RN degree in 18 months.
Until then, we need the store to keep things going, keep the bills paid here and at home. However, because of several problems that arose this year, at present we are behind on our store rent and desperately need your help.
Our problems began in 2010, when we were both injured in a car accident, rear-ended by a careless driver while we were stopped at a stop sign while exiting a grocery store parking lot. The other driver did not hit her brakes. While Ashley's injuries are troublesome -- two bulging discs cause chronic migraines, and she has a tilted kneecap, she is able to function better than I am. I have two herniated discs, three bulging discs, sciatic nerve pain & damage, and short-term memory problems from a concussion. My knees were also injured. I now walk with a cane.
A year later, I suffered a retinal detachment which may have been caused by the accident. No one knows why my retina detached, but the sight was saved with some loss to my peripheral vision. How this affects me personally, overall, is that I am unable to exert myself, lift much weight, and many simple things -- even standing or sitting for long periods -- cause me considerable pain.
Neither of our cases have settled. I require surgery on my back, but will have to muddle through until I can afford it. That is not why I am writing. It is simply part of why we are behind with our bills.
We were working hard to get caught up, and had made several large strides, even though we had to move the store in 2011 to a smaller location 2 miles west from where we were. Yes, that move hurt us, but we were even bouncing back from that, and were making progress until this past summer and fall.
In the summer of 2013, our air conditioner went out at home. We had to have three separate repair jobs done. At one point, we were coming home to 90 degree heat in August, the hottest month of the year. Ashley ended up in Morton Plant Hospital's ER with dehydration from the heat. Obviously, I had to pay for the repairs.
Then, on Labor Day, our car broke down. Our car, a Toyota Celica, is an old junker. The car I used to have was totaled in the accident back in 2010. Over a sixteen day period, I had to pay a mechanic hundreds of dollars to get the car back on the road while we begged rides from people back and forth to get the store open every day and get home at night.
This, plus doctor bills, put us behind on our store rent. However, our landlord was working with us to allow us to catch up. We had a target date of February 7th, 2014 to get caught up by, and we were on track with that. We thought we would have no problem doing so.
Two days ago, though, the landlord came in and said that he will no longer be managing this center after the first of the year. His last expected day with the plaza is December 31st, 2013. After that, the family that owns the plaza will take over, and will not honor the deal we had with him.
That deal -- to catch up by Feb. 7, 2014 -- is now null and void.
Therefore, he offered us a one time deal: in order to wipe the slate clean, we need $3000.00 by December 31st. Ten days from today. We will be marked "paid in full" if we pay him that money, and be able to go forward with the new landlords, completely caught up. We want to make sure we have no problems with our new landlords.
We've set an overall goal of $6000.00, with the first $3000.00 paying off the arrears -- the back rent. The rest will help us establish a solid foundation for the store. Moving forward, we would use the balance to grow the business by establishing a strong web presence through a new website, and using some of the money to advertise our location, since so many customers lost us in this last move.
Please ... help us make this deadline for the $3000.00 before December 31st.
I still believe in what we do here. I've personally been with Comic World for 31 years. I've been through some tough times before, bouncing back because I know that what I do here is important. We're more that just a store that sells comic books. We help kids learn to read by encouraging them to look away from the video games, to grow as a community of good readers and thinkers. Many of them have aspired to become writers and artists. At least one kid who shopped here became a journalist. Others went into law and medicine. Historically, comic books have helped many kids learn to read and inspired them to take up a pen or brush and become artists.
I was so close to finally being even with my bills. I might not have a dime left over, but if Comic World succeeds -- if I succeed -- in keeping my bills paid until Ashley finishes nursing school, then it will have helped one more person realize their dreams, who can in turn give back to our community.
I'm not looking to get rich quick. I'm just asking for help so I can survive.
For those who might be saying, "Well, I'm not comfortable donating money to this guy's comic store," then please, come on by and look us over for yourself.
We're at 1901 West Bay Drive, suite 9, in the Village Plaza in Largo, Florida. Our phone number is [phone redacted].
We're the original store that began as Geppi's Comic World way back in 1982, and I began here not long after it opened. I bought the store on December 1st, 1992, and I've been hard at it for over 31 years. The plan for the shop was to expand into online sales. We've already established a presence on Facebook and Amazon.com. I recently began a blog called "21st Century Comic World". We are working on a website, an eBay store and more. As I said, we *were* working with the landlord, and everything was going according to plan until this unexpected development.
We are open every day right up through Christmas Eve, and will be open December 26th straight through December 31st, every day until 8pm. We've been running holiday sales long before this development, since mid-November, and are continuing through the end of the year. So if a donation isn't your style, don't give something for nothing. Come by and see us and we'll give you a great deal, better than you'll get anywhere else!
If you're not sure we're for real, please check out the store on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Comic.World.1
I also have the blog I spoke of, and wrote about my 31 years with the store (pictures included):
http://comicworld1982.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-21st-century-comic-world-man.html
If you're willing to help us out, either by stopping by or making a donation, I know I speak for Ashley when I say, we both humbly thank you.
With only a few days before Christmas, I have to admit, this pretty much blew my mind, especially when things were finally almost all caught up and on track for the first time since our car accident.
Thank you.
Merry Christmas.
Patrick Potter
I'm Patrick Potter, and I own Comic World, the oldest comic book store in the Tampa Bay area; we're located in Largo, Florida. My fiancee, Ashley Kline, helps run the store. We're not a big conglomerate that makes tons of money. We're just two people supporting ourselves, trying to get by like everybody else. Ashley is attending St. Petersburg College going for her Associates Degree to become an RN, and will go on for her Bachelor's Degree. As soon as she has her RN, she will apply for work at one of the local hospitals. She should be done with her Associates in Science for her RN degree in 18 months.
Until then, we need the store to keep things going, keep the bills paid here and at home. However, because of several problems that arose this year, at present we are behind on our store rent and desperately need your help.
Our problems began in 2010, when we were both injured in a car accident, rear-ended by a careless driver while we were stopped at a stop sign while exiting a grocery store parking lot. The other driver did not hit her brakes. While Ashley's injuries are troublesome -- two bulging discs cause chronic migraines, and she has a tilted kneecap, she is able to function better than I am. I have two herniated discs, three bulging discs, sciatic nerve pain & damage, and short-term memory problems from a concussion. My knees were also injured. I now walk with a cane.
A year later, I suffered a retinal detachment which may have been caused by the accident. No one knows why my retina detached, but the sight was saved with some loss to my peripheral vision. How this affects me personally, overall, is that I am unable to exert myself, lift much weight, and many simple things -- even standing or sitting for long periods -- cause me considerable pain.
Neither of our cases have settled. I require surgery on my back, but will have to muddle through until I can afford it. That is not why I am writing. It is simply part of why we are behind with our bills.
We were working hard to get caught up, and had made several large strides, even though we had to move the store in 2011 to a smaller location 2 miles west from where we were. Yes, that move hurt us, but we were even bouncing back from that, and were making progress until this past summer and fall.
In the summer of 2013, our air conditioner went out at home. We had to have three separate repair jobs done. At one point, we were coming home to 90 degree heat in August, the hottest month of the year. Ashley ended up in Morton Plant Hospital's ER with dehydration from the heat. Obviously, I had to pay for the repairs.
Then, on Labor Day, our car broke down. Our car, a Toyota Celica, is an old junker. The car I used to have was totaled in the accident back in 2010. Over a sixteen day period, I had to pay a mechanic hundreds of dollars to get the car back on the road while we begged rides from people back and forth to get the store open every day and get home at night.
This, plus doctor bills, put us behind on our store rent. However, our landlord was working with us to allow us to catch up. We had a target date of February 7th, 2014 to get caught up by, and we were on track with that. We thought we would have no problem doing so.
Two days ago, though, the landlord came in and said that he will no longer be managing this center after the first of the year. His last expected day with the plaza is December 31st, 2013. After that, the family that owns the plaza will take over, and will not honor the deal we had with him.
That deal -- to catch up by Feb. 7, 2014 -- is now null and void.
Therefore, he offered us a one time deal: in order to wipe the slate clean, we need $3000.00 by December 31st. Ten days from today. We will be marked "paid in full" if we pay him that money, and be able to go forward with the new landlords, completely caught up. We want to make sure we have no problems with our new landlords.
We've set an overall goal of $6000.00, with the first $3000.00 paying off the arrears -- the back rent. The rest will help us establish a solid foundation for the store. Moving forward, we would use the balance to grow the business by establishing a strong web presence through a new website, and using some of the money to advertise our location, since so many customers lost us in this last move.
Please ... help us make this deadline for the $3000.00 before December 31st.
I still believe in what we do here. I've personally been with Comic World for 31 years. I've been through some tough times before, bouncing back because I know that what I do here is important. We're more that just a store that sells comic books. We help kids learn to read by encouraging them to look away from the video games, to grow as a community of good readers and thinkers. Many of them have aspired to become writers and artists. At least one kid who shopped here became a journalist. Others went into law and medicine. Historically, comic books have helped many kids learn to read and inspired them to take up a pen or brush and become artists.
I was so close to finally being even with my bills. I might not have a dime left over, but if Comic World succeeds -- if I succeed -- in keeping my bills paid until Ashley finishes nursing school, then it will have helped one more person realize their dreams, who can in turn give back to our community.
I'm not looking to get rich quick. I'm just asking for help so I can survive.
For those who might be saying, "Well, I'm not comfortable donating money to this guy's comic store," then please, come on by and look us over for yourself.
We're at 1901 West Bay Drive, suite 9, in the Village Plaza in Largo, Florida. Our phone number is [phone redacted].
We're the original store that began as Geppi's Comic World way back in 1982, and I began here not long after it opened. I bought the store on December 1st, 1992, and I've been hard at it for over 31 years. The plan for the shop was to expand into online sales. We've already established a presence on Facebook and Amazon.com. I recently began a blog called "21st Century Comic World". We are working on a website, an eBay store and more. As I said, we *were* working with the landlord, and everything was going according to plan until this unexpected development.
We are open every day right up through Christmas Eve, and will be open December 26th straight through December 31st, every day until 8pm. We've been running holiday sales long before this development, since mid-November, and are continuing through the end of the year. So if a donation isn't your style, don't give something for nothing. Come by and see us and we'll give you a great deal, better than you'll get anywhere else!
If you're not sure we're for real, please check out the store on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Comic.World.1
I also have the blog I spoke of, and wrote about my 31 years with the store (pictures included):
http://comicworld1982.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-21st-century-comic-world-man.html
If you're willing to help us out, either by stopping by or making a donation, I know I speak for Ashley when I say, we both humbly thank you.
With only a few days before Christmas, I have to admit, this pretty much blew my mind, especially when things were finally almost all caught up and on track for the first time since our car accident.
Thank you.
Merry Christmas.
Patrick Potter
Organizer
Patrick Potter
Organizer
Largo, FL