A New Hero in Town

It all started with our trip to the cabin last month. A large, silver Iron Man figure had made its way into the selection of cabin toys, and Eddie carried it around for most of the weekend. He pressed the chest button nonstop, endlessly repeating the sound bytes, "I am Iron Man!" and "Repulsor blast!"

Then, a few weeks ago, we found a Toys "R" Us coupon that was about to expire. So we stopped in to let Eddie pick out a toy of his choice. After handing him pretty much every toy in the store and having him say, "Yeah, that one!" we eventually narrowed it down to a Batman utility belt with a light-up buckle, or an Iron Man action figure.

In what must have been the toughest decision of his life, Eddie chose Iron Man. Somewhere amid the dark streets and rooftops, I thought I heard a single tear dropping.

As a side note, our Toys "R" Us cashier was someone I recognized from my days playing in the USU band. As he asked me if I would like to sign up for a Rewards "R" Us card, or if I needed any batteries, I immediately felt pretty good about my modest accomplishments in life.

I have since shown Eddie a few excerpts of the movies so he could see Iron Man in action. I also dug out the comic book that came with the DVD so he could look though it. He was so into the comic that he wanted to take it in the bath. When I wouldn't let him, he wanted it to be on the floor next to the tub so he could see it while bathing. Ah, the whims of childhood.