I hurt today. I hurt bad. I think I pulled a muscle or something in my leg at the gym because my leg is ultra-tender today. It extends up into my back just a little bit, but it doesn't feel like my sciatic pain. With any luck, I'll be feeling back to normal tomorrow. Being sore is no fun at all. On top of that, my ass was dragging all day long today. I just couldn't seem to wake up. From what I can remember, I slept pretty well last night, but my body is telling me otherwise. I need to listen to what my body tells me more often. I tend to ignore what it says.
It dawned on me today that I've been making huge strides in self-growth. Not the belly fat kind of growth (though I am feeling a little bloated today), but rather the emotional kind. There was a time not very long ago when I put too much energy into what others thought of me, thought about me, did they like me... all that bullshit. Maybe I've been too preoccupied with other things, but I realized today that I really don't give a flying rat's ass what people think about me. Sure, I like to be liked as much as the next guy, but if someone doesn't like me, it's their loss, not mine. I can't change the way people think and I really don't have the energy to put into trying in vain. I'm a pretty okay guy. I like me. Well, most days I like me. :-) I think that's huge growth on my part. Sure, it's taken almost 45 years for me to get into this mindframe, but just coming to this realization makes me feel incredible.
The other day, my friend Michael posted a question on his Facebook page. It went something like this:
"OK comic Geeks!! Here's the question of the day... What was the 1st comic book you remember reading?"
He posted a picture of his comic, which was Superman #272. I followed suit. Mine, coincidentally, was also Superman, but issue #274, not #272. Very close, though. It was the first book that I remember reading. The cover was burned in my memory.
A friend of my dad gave him a shopping bag full of comics that he brought home for me. That's the only specific book I remember from the bag, but I do remember there were a lot of kiddie books, too, like Richie Rich and Caspar and that sort. It wasn't too much later that I started buying comics on my own. The first issue I ever bought was another Superman book. This time it was issue #302.
I was living in Hudson, NY and there was a Stewart's on the corner of the next block. They carried comic books and I was in heaven. I'd stop in every couple of days and pick out one or two with my allowance money. While most of the books I purchased at that store I have no specific memories of, I do remember something surrounding this book:
I rode my bike over to the store and bought this. I was very excited because it featured Supergirl, someone who wasn't a member of the Justice League, but someone I adored. (Side note: it should have been very clear to me at this point in my ten year old life that I was a big fag, but it took longer for that to happen.) It was sprinkling out, so I got outside, carefully put the issue under my coat and started to pedal away. I didn't even get out of the parking lot before the book slipped out from under my coat and landed smack dab in the middle of a puddle. I grabbed the book, rushed home and laid it out to dry. I was so ticked off that I had to wait to read it.
Of the three books pictured above, I only own the JLA book, though not my original copy. I've since replaced it with one that wasn't thoroughly soaked. I really need to go back and track down copies of the other two. They are important books in my comic collecting past.
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