28. Batman

I still have a drawing of Batman I did when I was 3.  When I turned 40 we had a Batman cake, Batman napkins, cups, balloons, etc.  You get the picture.

About 10 years ago my family, brothers, spouses, and mother, took a trip to Rome.  It was a bad period in my life, personally and professionally.  Things were falling apart.  I couldn’t afford to go, but Gerry offered to pay my way.  He wanted us all to be there.

The morning of our second day we went to the Sistine Chapel.  We got in early before it got too crowded.  It’s a small room and it was overwhelming.  After that we went to St. Peter’s.  The first thing you see is the Pieta.  All around there’s one mindblowing Bernini sculpture after another, centuries of the finest artists working at the height of human achievement, and I’m thinking I don’t know if I really believe in God and everything around me is saying you are small, your doubt means nothing, no one cares.  I didn’t deserve to be there, I was a loser, a failure, and I knew it. 

I sat down on a bench next to Kate and started to cry.  She gave me a tissue and asked if I was okay.  After a bit I got up to take a walk and get a grip on myself.  I walked out to the center of the cathedral towards the Bernini altar right below the dome.  Tons of people are milling about and I’m standing at the altar looking up at the light streaming down from the high windows, tears pouring out of my face, and I look over at the guy next to me – and it’s Adam West.

I couldn’t say anything because I was still crying.  I walked around for a bit to make sure.  It was him.  I couldn’t believe how tall he was.  I looked around for one of my family and couldn’t see anybody.  I finally ran into Bill and told him what happened.  He said, “Holy Coincidence!”

Everybody busted my chops for the rest of the trip.  “Who’d you see today, Dan?  Superman?”  Things like that.   But I know what I saw.  I saw Batman.  

He saved me.