3 Things I Learned From Batman in a Kilt

Today I thought I would try something a bit different. Let’s try a visualization exercise. I’m going to paint you a picture. Not a real picture—you know from my post a couple of weeks ago that I’m not exactly an artist—but a mental picture. I’m going to describe some things and you see if you can use your imagination to recreate the vision in your mind. So, imagine this:
Imagine a sign twirler. I’m sure you’ve seen them. They stand there on corners, wiggling advertisements for businesses in hopes to get attention. This particular sign twirler is a guy, probably in his twenties. He is average in appearance with ordinary brown hair. He has a close-trimmed beard, but nothing really unique about it. He is wearing a black T-shirt with a yellow Batman logo on it. Sounds pretty ordinary, right? Don’t go yet, though, because here is where it gets fun.
Take that sign twirler and add a bright yellow and black plaid kilt. Yes, you read that correctly. A kilt. Then picture a cape hanging from his shoulders down to his waist. It gets even better when you add the blue knit hat with Batman ears and the sunglasses. Do you have this image in your mind? Hopefully, because we aren’t quite done yet.
Now, take this kilt-wearing Batman dude and imagine him dancing his heart out like it was the best dance party ever. He’s jiving and twirling with that kilt flapping about and his sign for some computer warehouse shaking all over, yet somehow amazingly still readable.
Is this a crazy enough picture for you? To be honest, I can’t take credit for making this up, because believe it or not, I didn’t. I really did see this guy the other day, exactly how I described him. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen him either. A week or so before, I saw him as well. That time he was sporting a navy and gray plaid kilt with a Star Wars T-shirt, but he was dancing around the exact same way. I wish I had gotten a real picture.

I have never before envied sign twirlers, but I have to admit, despite the fact that it is summer in the middle of Utah, and anything but cool, for a brief moment I actually kind of wanted to climb out of my air-conditioned car and join him. Even with the uncomfortably high temperature, he looked like he was having the time of his life.
I don’t know this guy. I know nothing about him or his back-story. Perhaps he really was having a blast, but considering the working conditions, I kind of doubt it. However, even if hanging out on a street corner with sweat dripping down your back and noisy, smelly traffic going past and staring at you isn’t the most desirable job in the world, he was certainly making the best of it. He was doing it, and he was doing it well.
What does this have to do with writing? Not much, except for the fact that this guy taught and inspired me in so many different ways. Besides the fact that he could make an awesome character in some story, here is what I gained from watching this guy.
1- Have the courage to stand out. There was no way this guy was going to blend in the way he was dressed. He was going to be seen, and not by just a few. He was standing on the corner of one of the biggest, busiest streets in Utah County. Literally thousands of people would drive past. This guy didn’t let the fear of what others might think dissuade him from dressing how he wanted. He didn’t let the fear that someone might judge his dance moves slow him down. He went big and bold. He showed some serious self-confidence.
2- Make the most of undesirable circumstances. Seriously, I don’t think the word “fun” is found anywhere in the job description for a sign twirler. Somehow, though, this guy was dancing away with his music behind him like it was his dream job. Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe he was miserable, but to me, it looked like he was creating a way to make what otherwise would have been a long, boring shift into something at least somewhat enjoyable. At the very least, he was getting some good cardio.
3- If you’re going to do a job, do it well. I doubt this guy was getting paid more than those people who just stand on the corner and wiggle a sign, but he wasn’t just doing the job. He was putting his heart into it. I’m sure he could have gotten away with less. People would have still read the sign, and he would still get the money, but it really was much more effective the way he did it. I didn’t just see the sign, I remembered it. I may not need a computer right now, but if I came across somebody who does, I can say, “There’s this place in Orem…” I would never have remembered the sign if I didn’t remember the guy behind it. Sign seen—job done. Sign remembered—job done well.
So, even if this post has little to do with writing, it has to do with life. I can apply these things to my writing along with the rest of my life. Besides, now I can join the select few in this world who can actually say, “Thanks, Batman!”