On this date in 1982 Renaldo Nehemiah of the United States set the world track record for 110-meter hurdles (12.93 seconds). I’m assuming that 110 meters refers to the length of the run and not the height of the hurdles. If that were the case, Superman would have an unfair advantage over Renaldo and any superheroes (“leaps tall buildings in a single bound”).
As a kid, I wasn’t into Superman. I liked Batman and Spiderman, especially Batman because he was dark & mysterious and had really cool gadgets plus the bat mobile. Superman and Spiderman both worked downtown so I guess they didn’t need a car. They could walk, run, take a cab, fly, or swing from skyscrapers.
They both worked for newspapers so I imagine they knew each other, maybe met at a journalism conference. I wonder if perhaps when they were introduced each secretly thought, “There’s something not quite right about this guy.”
I think they could have been great together. Unstoppable. Watch each other’s backs and lift each other up like Ecclesiastes says. But professional jealousy could have been a problem. Maybe conflict over assignments and crime falling through the cracks.
“I thought you were stopping the bank robbers from drilling into the vault. You’re the one with x-ray eyes!”
“Gimme a break, I was across town lifting a train that was racing toward a trestle bridge that was out. You were practically right next door at the time. Were your *@#^! spidey senses not tingling?!”
“I don’t believe you actually have x-ray vision. I think you’re blind as a bat!”
And at that moment, out of the shadows would step a caped figure in black. “I take issue with that statement,” the masked man says. And from there things would get really complicated.
So, I’m thinking Renaldo Nehemiah had the right idea. Run in normal clothes and spikey sneakers and jump over tiny fences. Enjoy the applause, collect your medal, get your check, and go home to a woman who doesn’t nag you about wearing tights and working late.
-- rLp --
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