Bob Shortell
Bob Shortell passed away Friday morning. Surprising, but not shocking. I mean, Bob wasn’t in the best of health when I first met him 27 years ago (dear God, has it been that long?). I still have that memory of walking into his comic book store, (Time Warp on Main St. in Ansonia) for the first time and Bob and his then business partner (Ron?) started making fun of me because I was wearing a hat for Space Travelers, the other comic book store in the area. Despite the ridiculing, I quickly grew to love the place and eventually convinced my brother to start regularly taking me there instead of Space Travelers (I don’t think it took much convincing). But only when Bob was there. The other guy was just too grumpy.
Eventually Bob bought his partner out and it became safe to go down there anytime. And go down there I would. I would spend hours there going through the back issues or just talking to Bob. Bob would be kind enough to let me hang out there while my parents went shopping or something and once I had my own car, it’s safe to say I was there everyday until I was about 20.
I got my first real retail experience hanging out at Time Warp. Bob would let me ring up customers, or I would sort his back issues for him. Once I had my driver’s license, I’d go pick up the books for Bob or run various other errands for him. But mostly Bob and I would just hang out and talk, or watch movies on the TV in back.
Things really exploded when Bob agreed to let Time Warp become the local business sponsor of Explorer Post 130. Explorer Post used to be an off-shoot of the Boy Scouts for coed teenagers that focused on one activity only (in Post 130’s case, Dungeons & Dragons). Post 130’s monthly meetings moved to the store and it wasn’t long before everyone was pretty much just hanging out there all the time. You could go in on what would normally be the slowest time for a comic book store (or any store for that matter) and there could be 5 - 20 kids there. I think it intimidated customers sometimes.
Time Warp was way ahead of it’s time in one way as it was probably the first comic book store to ever put tables out so people could play games. Keep in mind, this was back in the mid-80s, way before Magic the Gathering and Heroclix came along. Oddly enough, it was very rarely that we’d actually played Dungeons & Dragons there. Often times, it was some card game that Bob had taught us: Cribbage, Setback, or Rummy 500 or some such.
My favorite memories of Bob though are of the late night pinball tournaments. There would be anywhere from 4 to 10 of us there and we would turn off the lights and just play pinball until 11pm or midnight. That was were I learned how to trash talk people.
Eventually though, things come along; new jobs, new friends, new responsibilities, and I eventually stopped hanging around Time Warp. I’d stop in on the rare occasion and Bob and I would chat for a bit. After he closed the store I lost touch completely.
I always tried to live my life so as not to have any big regrets. I only have one or two, but Friday, when I heard of Bob’s passing, I added another one.
Lots of the people who hung out at Time Warp during that time will tell you that Bob was like a second father to them. But to me, Bob really was a second father. It was during this period of time that my father’s Alzheimer’s disease had progressed far enough that he wasn’t the same man he had been. Bob was a big help to me dealing with that and just essentially being a surrogate father to me. He would listen to whatever problems I came to him with big or small (though I’m sure they were all big to me at that time) and would often give me advice. I may not have always listened to it, mind you…
I regret that I never told Bob just how much he meant to me. How much he influenced me. How grateful I was that he took this shy, low self-esteem kid and made him feel like he had value. I always thought I’d run into him again someday and I could tell him then. But I never did.
Bob, you were an incredible man. Giving of your time, giving of your self, giving of your heart. You helped shape the hearts and minds of many a teenager. Not counting family, 3/4th of my friends list wouldn’t be my friends if it weren’t for you (directly or indirectly).
I hope I’ve grown up to be at least half the man you were. Thank you, sir.
Eventually Bob bought his partner out and it became safe to go down there anytime. And go down there I would. I would spend hours there going through the back issues or just talking to Bob. Bob would be kind enough to let me hang out there while my parents went shopping or something and once I had my own car, it’s safe to say I was there everyday until I was about 20.
I got my first real retail experience hanging out at Time Warp. Bob would let me ring up customers, or I would sort his back issues for him. Once I had my driver’s license, I’d go pick up the books for Bob or run various other errands for him. But mostly Bob and I would just hang out and talk, or watch movies on the TV in back.
Things really exploded when Bob agreed to let Time Warp become the local business sponsor of Explorer Post 130. Explorer Post used to be an off-shoot of the Boy Scouts for coed teenagers that focused on one activity only (in Post 130’s case, Dungeons & Dragons). Post 130’s monthly meetings moved to the store and it wasn’t long before everyone was pretty much just hanging out there all the time. You could go in on what would normally be the slowest time for a comic book store (or any store for that matter) and there could be 5 - 20 kids there. I think it intimidated customers sometimes.
Time Warp was way ahead of it’s time in one way as it was probably the first comic book store to ever put tables out so people could play games. Keep in mind, this was back in the mid-80s, way before Magic the Gathering and Heroclix came along. Oddly enough, it was very rarely that we’d actually played Dungeons & Dragons there. Often times, it was some card game that Bob had taught us: Cribbage, Setback, or Rummy 500 or some such.
My favorite memories of Bob though are of the late night pinball tournaments. There would be anywhere from 4 to 10 of us there and we would turn off the lights and just play pinball until 11pm or midnight. That was were I learned how to trash talk people.
Eventually though, things come along; new jobs, new friends, new responsibilities, and I eventually stopped hanging around Time Warp. I’d stop in on the rare occasion and Bob and I would chat for a bit. After he closed the store I lost touch completely.
I always tried to live my life so as not to have any big regrets. I only have one or two, but Friday, when I heard of Bob’s passing, I added another one.
Lots of the people who hung out at Time Warp during that time will tell you that Bob was like a second father to them. But to me, Bob really was a second father. It was during this period of time that my father’s Alzheimer’s disease had progressed far enough that he wasn’t the same man he had been. Bob was a big help to me dealing with that and just essentially being a surrogate father to me. He would listen to whatever problems I came to him with big or small (though I’m sure they were all big to me at that time) and would often give me advice. I may not have always listened to it, mind you…
I regret that I never told Bob just how much he meant to me. How much he influenced me. How grateful I was that he took this shy, low self-esteem kid and made him feel like he had value. I always thought I’d run into him again someday and I could tell him then. But I never did.
Bob, you were an incredible man. Giving of your time, giving of your self, giving of your heart. You helped shape the hearts and minds of many a teenager. Not counting family, 3/4th of my friends list wouldn’t be my friends if it weren’t for you (directly or indirectly).
I hope I’ve grown up to be at least half the man you were. Thank you, sir.