The captain America

It was recently seen at the People's Choice Awards that Chris Evans might actually be Captain America. When Betty White was summoned onstage, Evans without hesitation helped walk her up the stairs, as anyone who knows a thing or two about Captain America knows he would do. You can see the scene yourself below in the included Youtube video from The People's Choice. After watching, I'm going to go on a little monologue rant (a good one) about why seeing Chris Evans do this means so much to me.

As a kid growing up, imagination has always been a tool I used to get me through the every day tumble of life. Its what evolved into my desire to act, to relive those amazing adventures my mind was able to create on the fly outside each day with the same gated in yard, three large trees and an old swing set. With just a little bit of pretend, that yard was a lair, those trees towers, and that swing set a flying dragon, soaring over the mountainside. Who wouldn't want to live that experience? With an imagination like that, I was attached to anything that fell into the same category. So how lucky was I that my father was a collector of comic books? Marvel, DC, Milestone, Image... I read them all, and consumed them as fuel for my imagination. And though I love many many different characters, I can still to this day instantly name my favorite of all time.

Have you guessed it? Captain America. The all American hero. The comic book symbol of our country. However, it was never his pledge and devotion to our country that I admired about him. It wasn't his super strength or acrobatic abilities (as cool as they were. And they were pretty friggin cool.) Nor was it his amazing shiny ricocheting shield... Although I'll admit I want that. A lot. No, the thing that I admired about Captain America, the thing I looked up to him about.... Was his good will spirit.

Captain America is the image of what people describe as the ultimate good guy. He looks out for people, he does what's right, most of all he would give his own life if it meant saving a random bystander. That last part is key, because the way the world has been lately, I feel that's rare. Every time I turn on the news, there's a report of homicides, manslaughter, school shootings, hostages, terrorist attacks, even kids killing kids. Now I know there are good stories out there and the news just plays up all the horrific ones, but we live in a day and age where those horrific stories are occurring, and they trump the ones about goodwill.

To this day I still admire the character of Captain America. His spirit and his intentions. My father raised me to be a good man, and to be one of character. And since he passed away, I've always been trying to attain that. I'm not perfect, but I see what the creators of the Captain were trying to do with his character, and I wish more people followed the same route. Even in the roughest times, Captain America still has his manners shine through! In the Marvel story line, CIVIL WAR, Captain America is hunted down by S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to make him register with the new Super Hero Act. Cap refuses, and after disabling the soldiers attacking him, leaps onto a moving aircraft and steals it. In the next scene its mentioned that he not only lands the aircraft safely, but then he treats the driver of the craft to hamburgers! Come on, that's just plain amazing.

CIVIL WAR ISSUE 1 From http://marvel.wikia.com/Civil_War_Vol_1_1

Everyday I come across a new stranger who seems to go out of their way to be rude, to be inconsiderate, to be hurtful.... and I just don't understand why? On my journey to being an actor, I've been told that its a dog eat dog world, and you have to step on a few people to make it, and again I don't understand why. I go out of my way to be kinder to people. To bring a smile to them if I can. To listen to them if they are having a rough day, and my biggest thing I do, to make a fun of myself in order to make them laugh. It just boggles my mind when I see people not take a moment to think about what it is they are going to say or do, or not even apologize if they accidently come off as rude. We live in a world full of pain at the moment, why make it worse?

To bring it back to where I started, Chris Evan's doing this one act of kindness, while the world already knows him for being the Courageous and goodwill character, only adds to the effect. Sure, some might say he knew the camera was on him, and some say he did it out of the goodness of his heart. Either way, he did it. A small gesture, yes, but now a days we need small gestures like this. And when you have a large group of people, like his fandom, watching you do this... Well it inspires them. It makes them want to be generous like the great Captain America they look up to. It makes that fictional character who is an example of who we should want to be, and who we all CAN be, just that much more real. And I know this because seeing him do so keeps that role model of the man with the shield vivid in my mind.

So I just want to send out my personal thanks to Chris Evans, for reminding people how easy it is to inspire others. One little old lady at a time.

And I'll leave you with this photo of me truly showing off my geek side.