Several weeks ago, I helped my cousin’s second grade class
complete an English project. In the days before my visit, the kids were
assigned to come up with a list of characters and setting for a story that we
would complete together in class. The day of my visit arrived. Over the next
hour, the kids and I weaved an imaginative story filled with battles and
learning right from wrong and the power of a grandmother’s love.
Once we finished and the kids were assigned their new project,
I sat down with another cousin who decided to visit that day.
“How do you do that?” she asked after the usual inquiries
about grandchildren. “I mean, how do you come up with that stuff?”
I wasn’t sure I could tell her it all started with Batman.
Now, I’m not talking about the George Cooney-Ben Afleck-Val
Kilmer caped crusader. I’m going old school with the campy television version
starring Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo! With a right hook(BAM!)
and a left upper cut(KAPOW!) these caped crusaders cleaned up Gotham City every
week from the likes of the Joker, the Penguin and Catwoman.
But for me, Batman was so much more. It sparked my
imagination for the first time in my young life. Many Sunday afternoons while
on long boring drives with my parents, I’d step into the fantasy world of
Gotham City, coming up with different stories with Batman and Robin. And of
course, me.
Silly, I know, but looking back, I realized how much I learned
about storytelling basics from the show—romantic conflict(Batman and Catwoman’s
charged relationship,) chapter breaks(how would the dynamic duo escape the
Riddler’s clutches THIS time?) and satisfying endings(the caped crusaders save
the day!)
What were some of your favorite TV shows when you were
growing up?
A multi-published
author with Love Inspired Historical and Barbour, Patty lives in North Georgia
with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters, her son-in-love
and a grandboy who has her wrapped around his tiny finger. When she’s not
writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or working in
her garden.
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