You Make Me Want To Be a Superhero!!!

I could cry about you! But I'm not going to give you the satisfaction! I choose to be a Superhero, dammit!

I did cry buckets for the victims you left behind. I was shaken to my core that my own child could have been in that theater! We live so close - a few simple variations in plans could have left me without a daughter, or her without the love of her life.

You aren't a star, Mr. Murderer. You aren't the Joker. He was a fictional character created by the genius of Bob Kane. You don't deserve notoriety. I'm not even gonna say your name. So there! I'm gonna make you disappear! What you did on July 20, 2012 at The Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado will not be forgotten, but you will. We can learn from what you chose to do. Those who survived and are still breathing down here on Planet Earth can still make a difference. You didn't break us!!!

You didn't break your victims either! They are stronger spirits than EVER! They continue to inspire us to make the mentality that could do such unspeakable violence - POOF - disappear from our world!

I don't have bullet-proof bracelets or an invisible airplane, but I do have something even stronger! We all do - those who fight for freedom, justice and the American way know that it's more than just the American way, it's the way of a loving WORLD!

Mr. Gunman, Mr. Wanna-be-famous. You cannot break our spirits!!!

Love is so much more powerful than we know. It doesn't always stop bullets. Sometimes it does. Matt McQuinn saved his girlfriend's life, and lost his own on July 20th. He IS a SUPERHERO.

I'm not going to let him be forgotten. His is the face of this tragedy - not yours - Mr.Gunman!

Matt McQuinn, 27, along with 11 other brave souls, are gone from this earth too soon because of the actions of insanity. But insanity must NOT be the victor.

Among the names of the victims are: Jessica Ghawi, 24, Alex Sullivan, 27, Micayla Medek, 23, John Larimer, 27 and the youngest victim, Veronica, just six years old. These are the names we should remember. These are the names of those who are already Superheros. Their spirits shine down and compel us to be better people, treasure every moment this life gives us, and LOVE each other while we are here.

Ashley Moser, 25, is still fighting for her life. She was among the severely wounded. She is in critical condition - not strong enough to be told that her 6-year-old daughter Veronica was killed by the gunman.

I was crying yesterday. I'm sure I'll cry again about this. But I am also MAD AS HELL and hearing the John Williams' Superman Movie theme song in my head!

Get your LOVE on! Be the greatest Superhero this galaxy has ever known! How do you do it? With love.

Shine so brightly that you extinguish the darkness. It's so much simpler than leaping tall buildings in a single bound. Smile at someone who is being grumpy to you. Be kind when you feel like being grumpy. Little efforts can make BIG differences.

The darkness visited upon us on July 20, 2012 is unfathomable. What does it take to get a mind to the point of zero conscience? I don't know. I can only insure that mine never reaches that dark, hopeless chasm of chaos. LOVE is the answer. Forgiveness. Right, but that's a bit tough to focus on at the moment. I know I need to forgive. I wish Mr. Gunman would have gotten a lot of psychological help to have headed off his deranged actions.

Can we learn something there? Possibly. I don't believe that people are "born evil." However, there very well may be neurological reasons for such extreme deviant behavior.

I do believe that people need to be more in-tuned with how others around them are thinking and feeling. Could loving friends or family members have helped before it got this far? Maybe. Unfortunately, this kind of psychotic explosion is sometimes masked so insidiously well, that no one sees it coming. But there may have been signs that needed heeding. We can't go back. We can make resolutions for the future!

As a society we can attest to the fact that most people we meet while going about our daily lives in the world, have more of an air of indifference than compassion, at least on the surface.

That needs to change if we are to change the world into a "Haven of Joy."

You are important. You are special. We can't do it without you! You are the Superhero that the world has been waiting for! Feel the feeling of a smile. There is cosmic energy in it.

I promise, if you start it - it's going to grow. When you smile at me - I'll smile right back atcha!!!

Oh! Right there...that's it...I see you!

Thank you for smiling. Thank you for opening a door for someone with their hands full.

Thank you for patiently waiting (without yelling) for a mommy with a stroller to cross the street safely, even if you are in a big hurry to drive to your important meeting!

Thank you for telling a parent who you saw hit their child in public - "That's NOT Okay!"

Thank you for being patient with a waitress who got your order wrong. You don't know what kind of a day she's been having that led to her accidental carelessness.

Thank you for ALL you do for LOVE!

I'm not asking for big heroic deeds, though I am grateful when those do come forth.

What I'm talking about is the everyday hero we all have inside of us - just waiting beneath our mild-mannered exteriors. THE POWER OF LOVE is even Kryptonite-proof.

I believe that "thoughts become things." Collectively we have a lot of power to create. We have a lot of choices here. What do you want to create? Do it.

Yes. I feel like going to my Batcave and sobbing over the violence in the world.

Yet I plan to emerge victorious - ready to defend Gotham City - and the world of our fantastical imaginations once again!!!

I choose to get stronger. I choose to be more loving. I choose to be a force to distinguish evil in this world.

Are you with me?

Many thanks to my technical adviser, Francisco Solis (the love of my daughter's life and...wait for it...) - an expert in the field of "All-Things-Superhero!"

A big Thank-You Hug to my son Chandler Burkes, for confirming that John Williams was the composer of the original (Christopher Reeve) Superman movie music!