Super People International

My name is Michael and I live in Indianapolis, Indiana USA. I’m 63 years old and I’ve always been aware of Superman. However, it wasn’t until I was 12 years old, in 1974 that my serious love for Superman began. Over the decades, my understanding and appreciation of the character have deepened.

I know that Supes has been through many incarnations throughout his almost 80 year old history and some of those incarnations (especially some of the more recent ones) haven’t been as optimistic as most. In general though, Superman is mostly known for being a champion for the oppressed, a force for justice and a lover of humanity in general. To me, these are the most important qualities and they continue to inspire me.

The world seems to have become a very scary place over the last month or so. The general tone of our interactions disturbs me greatly. I want to do something to make a difference. I want to do what I can to heal the world.

I’ve been mulling this idea around for several months and I think that now is the time to implement it. While I know that not everyone feels as deeply I do about the “big guy”, I suspect that are very many people who do. I’ve thought that it would be wonderful if those of us who love Superman and what he stands for (truth, justice, compassion, devotion to humanity, etc.) could commit to ourselves and others of a similar mind that we would try to follow the example of Superman whenever we could.

Here’s my idea:

Anymore I almost always wear something with the famous “S” symbol. I’ve got a Superman watch, fleece jacket, lanyard, key chain… you name it. I’m so known for being a Superman fan and having the paraphernalia that occasionally, some will call me “Superman”.

When I wear the familiar symbol, I almost feel like I have an obligation to Supes to be on my best behavior and to (as much as my feeble human self can) reflect and exemplify the innate goodness of the character. I’ve been thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice is other Superman lovers felt similarly could come together to celebrate the character and do what they can to help others.”

The Twilight Zone in My Mind

The Twilight Zone is one of my science fiction TV shows of all time. One of the most iconic episodes of it is called “It’s A Good Life”. It stars the amazing Bill (Billy) Mumy as six year-old Anthony Fremont. He has godlike mental powers.

With his powers, he has isolated his town, Peaksville, Ohio, completely. They don’t know if they have been removed from the rest of the world or he has removed everything but them and their town. Everyone is terrified of him. He can read minds, so they must think happy thoughts and never negative ones toward him. If you displease him, he can outright kill you, or worse, like wish you into the cornfield.

At a birthday party, for a resident, the birthday celebrant gets drunk and begins to do and say things that anger Anthony. At one point, he pleads with the rest of the people, he pleads with them, that while Anthony is distracted, someone should kill him.

Think about me. Go ahead, Anthony, think bad thoughts about me. maybe some man in this room, some man withe the guts, somebody who is so sick to death, of living in this kind of place and willing to take a chance, will sneak up behind you and lay something heavy across your skull and end this once and for all. Somebody sneak up behind him! Somebody end this now!

For some reason, this quote has begun resounding in my head. I can’t imagine why.

Defiant

Over the last few months (since November 5) I’ve had days when I’m fearful, anxious, sad, angry, distraught, etc. Rarely do I have days that are hopeful or optimistic.

This morning, I woke up around 4 am. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I pulled out my phone, played a few games and checked out a few websites.

As I thought about what is currently going on in this country regarding the current attack on Democracy itself, I felt a rare feeling of defiance.

I’m a gay man. I accepted that aspect of myself when I was 25. Things were tough for gay people. There was a lot of fear and hiding. Back then, you could face scorn, the loss of your job, violence against you and social ostracization.

As bad as it could be for me, it was better than it was for people who came before me. This was because of the work they did paving the way for more inclusion. They were defiant. Rather than just accept the way things were, they fought to change things. I was a beneficiary of that work.

Back then I wasn’t open to everyone in my life. I eventually made friends of other gay people. I was open to some of my family (niece, nephew, brother but not my parents). I was still closeted at work and mostly closeted in church, however I had three different pastors while I was there. I eventually came out to all three of them and I had good reactions from them all.

As I mentioned, I benefited from the work gay men and women had done before me. As such, I wanted to do my part in advancing the work that had already been done. I participated in protests, volunteered in support roles such as answering calls for the gay/lesbian hotline and supporting the community in other ways.

I realized this morning, that I can’t give up and just allow fear to paralyze me or make me run away. I need to do whatever I can NOW. I’m going to try to be more involved in political protests, planning and organization. I intend to insert myself into whatever I can to  help save this country.

I’m sure that over the next four years, my emotions will continue to oscillate from day to day, but I’m going to grab onto this feeling of defiance as often as I can and take advantage of the energy it gives me. That’s all I can do.

Perhaps, if enough of us are defiant and use that energy to build, encourage, support one another and work for change, we can save this nation yet.

So, It Begins…

Yesterday, I avoided any kind of news at any cost. I turned off notifications on my phone, checked my email sparingly, watched only DVDs and was able to avoid any reports about what was currently going on in Washington D. C.

On that day, a man convicted of a felony, a man who was indicted for three others, a man who was found guilty of sexual assault, a man who incited an insurrection against the government of the United States of America took the oath of the office of President of the United States.

Of course, I’m referring to Donald Trump. I am filled with dread about all of the terrible things he and his cohorts will enact. Already, in slightly over one day, he has done the following (among others):

  • Pardoning January 6 Rioters: Trump pardoned about 1,500 individuals charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
  • National Border Emergency: Declared a national border emergency and ordered the U.S. armed forces to repel illegal migration and drug trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border.
  • Rescinding Biden’s Executive Orders: Rescinded 78 executive orders approved by Joe Biden, including efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and protect federal lands from oil drilling.
  • Halting TikTok Ban: Halted the enforcement of a ban on TikTok in the U.S. for 75 days.
  • Renaming Gulf of Mexico: Officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.
  • Federal employees required to return to work in-person
  • Executive order aims to end birthright citizenship
  • rump ended an Environmental Protection Agency rule that required auto manufacturers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half in new light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning in 2027.
  • Alaska’s Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley, reversing the name change by President Obama
  • Rescinded the Biden administration orders that put many of the DEI apparatus in place.
  • Executive order that begins the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement

He also announced that the US will be withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO)

Reality Check

Today the congress of the United States of America met in joint session to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election. This was accomplished without incident and is a routine occurrence after a presidential election. There was nothing extraordinary about it.

This went off without a hitch because the losing candidate, the current Vice President, acknowledged and accepted the results of the election. She did her sworn duty, as all vice presidents have previously done.

There is nothing notable about the event but it contrasts sharply with the same event exactly 4 years ago today. Then, the loser of the election, the then President, refused to accept the results and encouraged his followers to protest the outcome of the election. Many of them then violently broke into the capitol and proceeded to disrupt the proceedings. Several of them threatened the individual members of Congress, destroyed public property and injured, and even killed some of the police personnel who were there. Thankfully, the Congress was eventually able to reconvene and the then Vice-President did carry out his sworn duty and the election was duly certified.

The losing candidate continued did nothing, for several hours to stop his supporters and stop the violence. For the next 3 weeks (and beyond), he continued to not accept reality and insisted that he had, indeed won the election, but it was rigged. Later, when the new President was inaugurated, he refused to attend the ceremony as other presidents had.

What I have just stated is factual. This is reality. If you disagree with these facts, then I ask you to do us both a favor. Please unfriend me and have no further contact with me. I don’t hate you, but I have no desire to waste your time or my time. If you disagree what I’ve said, there can no good outcome of our further contact with one another.

Thank you for reading this. I wish you all well.

Character Actor Spotlight – James Millhollin

We all have our favorite actors. I have a special affinity for character actors. They are actors that you have seen in dozens of productions, but you may not know who they are. They have rarely (or never) been given a high profile or accolades they deserve. If you think about a movie or television show as being a stew, they provide the spices that make the production more “tasty”.

Today, I’d like to focus on James Millhollin.

James Millhollin’s roles include dozens of performances in motion pictures, theater and television. He, most generally portrayed bureaucrats, hotel clerks, and various authority figures. His characters were usually persnickety, fussy, somewhat obnoxious and most of the times, caused a smile or two.

He appeared in nearly 100 movies and television shows. These include:

No Time for Sergeants, One Step Beyond, The Twilight Zone (3 episodes), The Dick Van Dyke Show,
The Andy Griffith Show, Batman, Lost In Space, The Brady Bunch and Columbo, among dozens of others.

James passed away in 1993 of Cancer. In the time he was on this Earth, he gave that world the best of himself and gave us lots of smiles and joy. Thank you, Mr. Millholin!

James Millhollin on Wikipedia

James Milholin on IMDB

Emotional Rollercoaster

During the last three days, I like many, many others I have been experiencing a lot of varied and conflicting emotions. Among them are hope, disbelief, disappointment, sadness, anger, fear, trepidation and terror as well as many others that are negative.

Earlier this morning, I was experiencing hopelessness. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I got up and tinkered with a small personal project. I made some headway with that and began to feel a little better as I assured myself that I still had some autonomy over myself. I was able to return to my bed and was eventually able to fall asleep again.

Upon waking, I began to recognize an emotion that I hadn’t experience in a while. I felt determined. I decided that I don’t have to be a victim of the current circumstances. I therefore resolved to seek out opportunities to try to lessen or mitigate some of the challenges will inevitably come up in the next 4 years. I have no illusions of being able to solve anything, but my actions might make a positive difference to someone. As of now, I intend to keep fighting the good fight.

Long term, I don’t know what I will feel like next year, next month, next week, tomorrow or even 60 seconds from now. I hope that I can remember what I’m currently feeling and return to it as many times as I need to.

I’m going to try to take care of myself, my family, my loved ones, my life partner and anyone who comes to me and needs some help or encouragement. I hope that I have what is necessary to give at those times.

In the meantime, I am wishing that all who read this are able to take care of themselves, their love ones and people who need comfort.

So, I plead with you to take care of yourselves, and each other. These people are all we have.

Peace.