Rick Patrick
Columnist
When I was much younger, I was fascinated with the notion of super heroes. I think a major contributor to that was watching episodes of “Batman” every Thursday and Friday afternoon. It seemed every Thursday, Batman and Robin would find themselves in some kind of predicament from which there seemed to be no escape. Of course, Batman’s ingenuity would always come through and save the day. At the same time, arch villains like The Riddler or The Joker would meet their doom with a couple of “Bams,” “Socks” and “Ooofs.”
These stories, along with a very active imagination of a little boy, would serve as inspiration for many hours of delightful play. As any super hero will tell you, you must have a cape to go with your outfit. I didn’t have easy access to many super hero capes, but I did have an ample supply of bath towels. Another detail known to any super hero worth his salt is that you need a trusty side-kick. For me, the most trustworthy side-kick I had around was my faithful beagle, Snoopy. It stands to reason that if a super hero had to have a cape, so did his trusty side-kick. So Snoopy would proudly wear his smaller bath towel cape and he would become “Wonder Dog!” You can imagine the extreme embarrassment felt by my middle sister at the sight of her younger brother running around the neighborhood with a towel pinned around his neck, along with his dog. But, I had little time to worry about such trivial things as my sister’s embarrassment. There was crime to fight and arch villains with which to be dealt. I honestly feel that Cypress Street was much safer because of our efforts.
As I grew older, I began to realize that many heroes all around us, don’t need to wear a cape, or have super powers. One term I have often heard is “everyday heroes.” These are the people who may never find themselves on any awards show. They may not be the subject of some news spotlight. But, they are the people who get up every day and just live their lives the best they can. In doing that, they automatically make their own part of the world a little better, and as such, they make the world as a whole a little better. It doesn’t take much to accomplish this. It can be as simple as telling someone “Good morning” with a smile, or just helping a neighbor whenever you see a need.
One thing I think I will always enjoy doing is helping to tell the stories of these “everyday heroes.” They really are all around us, and you really do “meet ‘em wherever you go.”