“A hero
is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in
spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
-
Christopher
Reeve
For those that
haven’t heard of the condition, Cerebral palsy impacts movement, muscle control,
dexterity, and strength. It typically stems from developmental problems or
injury to the brain. In short, it made things like catching a baseball,
dribbling a basketball or playing piano border on the impossible for me. You
can imagine as a child growing up in suburban America how this might’ve colored
me in the eyes of my peers.
I was shy,
reserved, had few friends outside of school, even fewer in school. I often
struggled with the notion that I was different, and therefore not as “good” as my
classmates. I wondered why it had to be me that didn’t fit in, and in the
limited capacity of a twelve year old boy began to try and escape the only way I
knew how.
My imagination.
Having
always loved to read I was the kid that was excited to have to complete a book
report. One day in a Kroger’s store while accompanying my Mom on a grocery trip
I spotted the diminutive comic book section, something my eyes had never been
drawn to before. The heroes and heroines
that graced each colorful cover seemed strong, confident and capable of
anything. And while all the books on display caught my eye, Uncanny X-Men #307 called out to me. I had
to see how the heroes in the book were going to battle this intimidating vision
called ‘Exodus’. A menace that seemed to tower over them on the cover, growing
larger than life to the point he was spilling off the page. My eyes lit up. I had
to have it!
 |
| Photo rights belong to Marvel Comics |
But alas, money wasn’t
something that my parents had in reserve, and back in those days, budgets were
tighter than yellow and blue spandex. Even
the $1.95 cover price could’ve sparked an instant “No” from my mother.
I found her rifling
through her coupon book in the vegetable aisle. Meekly I approached her with the comic, fully
expecting a negative response. “Mom, do you think you can get this for me
please?” The please was thrown in as window
dressing, for it was a special occasion.
“What is it?”
“It’s a comic
book.”
“We’ll see.”
I knew my Mom
well enough to know that not only had she not given me an outright No, but that ‘We’ll see’ was code for, “Yes, I’ll get it for you but I’m busy
right now.” I beamed instantly.
I finished that
comic on the car ride home, but continued to read and study it as though it
were some ancient tome holding all the infinite secrets to life on earth. I was
hooked, soon every week I was picking up comics with my allowance, graduating
from the periodical rack at Kroger’s to a full-fledged comic book store.
I began to learn
about mutants, how they were hated and feared, shunned by the very people they
had sworn to protect. My knowledge began to expand and soon I was reading about
a certain adamantium-clawed Canadian, and then, the world’s greatest detective.
Slowly, I began
to understand that not only did these characters have tremendous strengths, but
also glaring weaknesses- weaknesses they too had to overcome, to power through.
I
calculated that I too had some measure of the same, even with my cerebral palsy.
After all, I was still creative, bright and eager. I knew that I could be using
the skills that I did have to supplement those where I was lacking. Though this
realization didn’t change my whole world overnight, it did open up a new way to
look at life. The impossible no longer seemed so far away anymore, no longer
out of reach. I have comics to thank for that.
If you enjoyed this story feel
free to hop on over to New Worlds Comics and check out similar stories by other
comic fans, or submit your own:
Comics Empower Project
Here’s hoping that afterwards you’re ready to
take on the world,
David “Doc” Schroyer
*ALSO if you are up for checking
out my new series on Channillo.com that focuses on Arizona-based bars, pubs and breweries, use the miracle of the internet to travel on
over there:
