We had Connor's birthday party today even though his birthday is actually next week.  There were balloons, party games, cupcakes, presents, and other standard birthday elements.  He had a number of his relatives and several of his friends (one whose birthday party followed shortly after Connor's) attend.  It was a good day and a fun party full of pizza, play, and laughter.

I realized that Connor is at the age that he will remember, albeit vaguely, these events.  I remember my birthday party during my kindergarten year, and I am sure that he will remember his.  We are at the point that he will be actively remembering the events that shape who he will become.

This is one of the reasons that I support birthday parties.  They serve as a sort of anchor for our memories, which are otherwise such skittish things.  While I don't perfectly remember one birthday to the next, major occurrences between the birthdays and at the birthdays themselves have helped keep a relatively accurate timeline of my past.

I hope that Connor's party was memorable enough to serve as that anchor.  Hopefully, he will remember the Batman/silly-string obstacle course, the new bike, the table of bubbles, and other elements to remember what it was like to be six turning seven.  Too many people forget their own past and the events that helped shape who they are.  They forget what they were like as a child.  May this birthday party help Connor avoid such a fate.

So often lately, I've found myself disturbed by the cover images on comic books.  Batman, in particular, has been a figure whose cover images tend to be disturbing to such a degree that I try to not even look at them before I read the issue.  However, many comics have covers that have very little (sometimes nothing at all) to do with the story contained within.  Those that are connected usually are intentionally misleading, putting the characters into a shocking position which is never really attained in the story.

I would like it if the cover was actually the first panel of the issue's story.  That way, the readers not only has something to grab their attention, but it helps tie the story in from the start.  It would also make it easier to organize issues that cross-over between titles.  Now, I know why cover art is the way that it is, and I have already figured out some problems with my idea.  Still, should I ever write a comic, I would like my covers to be more related to the story and less designed just to shock.

Connor is at the adorable, yet difficult, five-year-old stage. Among his many obsessions is cutting and taping paper. He tries making all sorts of things with them (no doubt inspired by my friend, Richard, and Katrina's friend, Rachel) and has been lately obsessed with making the Superman symbol. This past evening, he cut out the Superman shield, colored it red with a yellow “S”-like shape, colored several other sheets of paper blue (even though he should have gone red), taped it all together, attached a string, and started jumping off the couch with his self-made cape.

I envy him. I remember being in kindergarten and practicing making Superman symbols. I was so proud of what I could make that I made a superhero symbol for every kid in my class. I had the DC heroes down thanks to the Superfriends show, but when one boy asked for an Iron Man symbol, I gave him a circle with a clothes iron drawn on it. Despite knowing the other symbols, Superman's was the only one I truly cared about.

To this day, my preferred superpower would be wingless flight (especially with Superman's maneuverability). Pragmatically, I believe teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, or time control (the four T's) would be the most useful, but flight is the one I want. When Bj brought over his Lego Batman 2, I couldn't stop giggling (yes, giggling … it was annoying) as I got to fly Lego Superman around the levels. I loved the flying parts of Super Mario Galaxy, X-Men Legends, and the Infamous games. When you add super-strength, super-speed, heat-rays, x-ray vision, super-hearing, and freeze breath, you have the perfect superhero.

Yet, my adoration of Superman goes beyond his abilities. I appreciate his small-town upbringing, his Christian values (though I lost some of my love for him when he started sleeping around), his search for belonging, his respect for the world and its people, and his belief in America. He is the type of man that I hope to be. As much as I like Batman, Superman's optimistic view of the world is something that I aspire towards having myself. Batman can put fear in the hearts of criminals, but Superman can put hope in the souls of all people.

Gone are the days (and the hair) that I could look in the mirror and imagine myself being Clark Kent. But occasionally, especially on days that I happen to be wearing red and blue, I can almost hear John Williams' masterful score triumphantly announcing the hero. On those occasions, I stand a little straighter, feel a little taller, and am ready to take on the world. Perhaps I need Connor to make a cape for me.