Captain Eleven

When I was a child, there was a show on our local KELO-TV called Captain Eleven. Dave Dedrick was the man behind the “superhero,” and the opening credits went like this:

One man in each century is given the power to control time. The man chosen to receive that power is carefully selected. He must be kind. He must be fair. He MUST be brave. You have fulfilled these requirements. And we of the outer galaxies designate to you the wisdom of Solomon, and the strength of Atlas. YOU . . . are Captain Eleven.

If you’re from Sioux Falls or the surrounding areas and are roughly the same age as I am, you probably just heard that entire thing in your head as you read it. You were probably able to recite that with the correct voice inflection and energy and everything.

I was thinking about Captain Eleven the other day. Specifically, I was thinking of that line “given the power to control time” and wondered what that would be like. Certainly, there are spans of time I would slow to a crawl, like meaningful vacations with my kids. And there are times I’d speed up, like standing in line at the DMV, for example. In fact, if I was given a choice to acquire any superpower, it might be that one: the power to control time.

But I think about the things you need to become Captain Eleven: You must be kind. You must be fair. You must be brave. There’s one more thing I think we need to be a superhero: A positive spirit. I think it should actually say: you must be kind, fair, brave, and positive.

Because superhero or not, the storms of life will come our way. Just ask Superman, Iron Man, Spiderman, and even Captain Eleven himself. Life doesn’t always go as planned. But, to come out of it on the other side and win?
We must believe that the best is yet ahead.
We must believe in a positive future.
We must believe that better things are coming.
I hope you feel like a superhero today. I believe you’ve got superpowers beyond what any of us can even see. And whatever your superpower is: may it be guided above all by a positive spirit.

With blessings and gratitude,
Melissa