Average Ordinary Everyday Superhero

I gotta say, if I could be a superhero, I would. And I'd definitely be Batman. Why? Well, that's another post.

I want to compare and contrast my comic book superhero to two superheroes in my life.

As I said, I'd be Batman if I could. He was my childhood superhero. And not the dark Batman that is so popular of late. No, not the semi-dark animated series. I'm going for Little T.J.'s love for the 1960s Adam West Nana nana Nana nana BATMAN! Kapow! He was so cool!

Batman could be near death and suddenly find a way out. I mean, of course he would, it was in the script. But still, that is the Batman that I hero-worshiped as a child. He was able to rescue anyone from anything.

On the real side, my childhood hero was my oldest brother. Why? I thought he could do anything and that he knew everything. (Boy, was I wrong.) But there was admiration and respect that has adjusted (really I'm not as naïve). He would carry me everywhere either on piggyback or on his shoulders. (Wow, the thought of attempting such a feet seems impossible now.)

I figuratively worshiped the ground my oldest brother walked on. He was and is one of the kindest people I've ever met. He is willing to help out in whatever manner he can if someone is in a bind. He is an example of a real life hero to me because it's not the extraordinary things he does, it's the things that I wouldn't think to do that he makes look so ordinary for him.

Going back to Batman. As I've watched the animated series, the 1980s-1990s movie series, and the revamped movies (sadly, I've still not seen The Dark Knight), I've learned how Batman is such a real person. He's broken for so many reasons, it's hard to start with one. But orphaned as a child (yeah, poor little rich kid loses Mommy and Daddy, raised by a butler. Think that would happen today? Fat chance.) Batman always had character flaws. A couple of them were being too forgiving and too caring. Okay, honestly, those aren't flaws in my judgments. I'd rather lose and forgive than win and only have my pride.

A different hero that I look up to is my dad. Figuratively, "Dad" is the common hero for every little boy. I feel grateful that I have such a great relationship with my dad. I have friends who seem to have strained (or non-existent) relationships with their dads. But I am definitely lucky to have a great dad. And I hope to be just as good of a dad to my children as he was to me.

My dad has gone through a lot in his life. He had a pretty bad work accident that injured his back shortly after I was born. He was the non-traditional stay-at-home dad until I was about 7 or 8. Growing up, I thought there wasn't anything my dad couldn't fix or didn't know. If he had a better reaction time, he could've been on Jeopardy. My dad did everything to make sure my mom was happy. And when she passed almost 10 years ago, he was able to live his life and move on.

In the end, my dad is just awesome. As a father, I hope I can be 1/2 as awesome as my dad. So when my son says to me "You're the best daddy ever" and melts my heart, I better do my best to live up to that belief.

Well, guess that's all I have about average ordinary everyday superheroes.

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