The Return of Captain Hoopla
One of the great things about being a Dad is that you get to recapture your own youth.
Today, for instance, I took the Zedettes to see Spiderman 3. It was a 12A certificate, so of course they had to be accompanied by a responsible parent. Not being able to find one of those, they asked me to take them instead. It was a good movie – a bit long and complicated at times – but a good mix of action and comedy.
Now at this point I have to confess that Spiderman – or rather his alter ego Peter Parker – got me through my childhood. If you read the Marvel comics you came to realise that Spidey stories balanced battles with weird foes with the trials and tribulation’s of Peter Parker’s personal life. Here was a lad who had to cope with school and college studies , a part-time job as a photographer, caring for a frail aunt and, of course, skyscraper battles with the Green Goblin. Compared to that, my life seemed a doddle.
Of course, as I explained to the Zedettes, I also had a secret identity. For I was Captain Hoopla! Wearing a t-shirt eblazoned with a huge inky ‘H’ , I brandished a large red plastic hoop which I could I could hurl towards wrong-doers and, through the miracle of back-spin, watch it return to my hand a moment later.
The street gangs of Easterhouse feared my very presence. Or at least I’m sure they would have if I hadn’t disappeared around corners and up stairways if I saw them coming. Well come on…some of those guys walked about with kitchen knives stuck in their belts and they weren’t looking to carve chicken.
As I explained my secret past to my awe-struck children I could see the glimmer of an idea form in their minds. Yes, maybe it was time for the entire Hoopla Family to take to the streets. That’s probably why they ran off. Probably gone to get hoops and costumes.
Probably.
To read comments on this post, click here