Whoa, whoa yeah, the publishers they tryna call us...

So the book I just finished "Teenagers From The Future" is a book of essays about the Legion Of Super-Heroes comic book (which takes place 1000 years in the future).  The essays cover topics like the fashions of the future, race relations in the comic books, detailing and deconstructing the Giffin era, covers the Great Darkness Saga, and a whole bunch of other things you're not going to have any clue what I'm talking about because you don't read the Legion.

One essay was about Homosexuality and Sexual Identity in the comic book.  There were a few gay characters on the team and the supporting cast, and a few others who had major hints dropped about them but were never confirmed.  One such couple was Shrinking Violet (Vi) and Light Lass (Ayla) (yeah, the names are ALL spiffy like that).  There were major insinuations that they were a lesbian couple, but it was never clearly stated.

In that essay the author quotes from one of the letter columns in the back of one the issues.  It reads as follows:

"About the Vi-Ayla relationship, we've got a lively discussion going on the matter....Among those asking us to make a more definitive proclamation of their status, and/or to more openly depict other gay relationships, are Waynesboro, PA's Chris Shockey, Washington NC's David Webb...."

And when I read that, I'm sure I gasped!  There's my name and city!!!!  I had written a letter to them, probably asking them to just come out and say Vi and Ayla were a lesbian couple, and the letter had gotten printed in the letter column, but that was like twenty years ago, and I had TOTALLY forgotten it happened. Until I saw it in print again, right there on page 231 of this book!  And I freaked!  (well not really, but you understand)

It was so cool to have my name printed in the letter column, but how much MORE cooler is it to have my name printed in a real book, twenty freakin' years later!  WOW!

Yeah, I know it doesn't take much to get me all excited, but still man, I think is amazing.  I'm hyped!  I want to go write a whole bunch more letters to comic books now!  ....course now, no body sends letters, they send emails.  And the comic books have gotten rid of letter columns for a few years now, so they could sell more advertising.   So yeah, I probably wont.

But STILL!  My name is published in a book, a real book!

Wow.....

POLT

Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance on me...

Today on the way to work, I had an epiphany.

I was listening to the most recent CD I recieved in the Monthly CD Bloggy Exchange Thingee (or whatever we call it). This one was from john, The BunnyMan. I like this CD a lot, cause john, The BunnyMan and I have similar tastes in music. And this CD did not disappoint.

There's a song on there "Take a Chance On Me" originally by ABBA, this time covered by Erasure. While on the way to work, I was singing along, and I came to the following lyrics, and sung along like I always did, "When you're all alone with the pretty birds blah blah." That's always how I had sung it.

But then, the next time those lyrics came around, I was sitting at a stop light, not singing and for the first time in my LIFE, I heard the actual lyrics: "When you're all alone, and the pretty birds have flown."

And the clouds parted and sunbeams shown down on me as a celestial choir sangs hymns and cherubs floated overhead strumming harps. Or so my epiphany felt like it went.

I immediately put the CD on rewind and listened to it again, and yep that's what they said. How could I NOT have known what they were saying all these years?

As I laughed to myself, I though back on the other lyrics I had messed up before. The main one being Jimi Hendrix singing, " 'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy" instead of the correct lyric of " "Scuse me, while I kiss the sky."

Ah, well, live and learn.

POLT