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| 1st comic I remember owning |
On April 22nd 2015 at 5:30 pm Central, Wilbur Earl Hooks II passed away, and I lost the single biggest influence on my life. Everything I am, everything I consider important I can trace back to him in some way. Of course the obvious things, the big things: the importance of values, of family, and of an honest day's work, but also the little things:
Comics? Here is the secret origin of Trey Hooks and comics. My dad was always a religious man, a firm believer in God, but he had a greater appreciation for the philosophical and historical side of religion than let's say...the practical applications or others views of the practical applications. He was all for a sermon on the importance of love or the tribulations of Elijah, but he had no patience or need of a sermon on "12 Tips from the Bible on How to Invest Your Money". So on those Sundays, and there were many in the late 70's, while my mom dutifully sang in choir, he would dutifully put his tithe in the offering plate, take me to the restroom, and then down the backstairs, out the church doors, into the car, and down to a 7-11 about 5 minutes away. The purchase was always the same: 2 doughnuts, an Icee, a coffee, one Sunday paper, and one comic. Those Sundays spent in relative silence (as I remember it) sharing a booth at the convenience store was my first introduction to the worlds of Batman, Spider-Man, etc. I can't swear that its the first comic I owned, but Amazing Spider-Man #194 is the earliest one I remember him buying for me.
Movies? One of the family legends is the time I ensured my Dad got a speeding ticket by telling a police office that he was "making us late for a movie". I was 5, the year was 1980, and I could be forgiven for being excited...the movie was The Empire Strikes Back. Its the first memory I have of going to a movie theater.
Doctor Who? I don't how my dad discovered it or why. I don't know when we began watching it. I do know that for a little kid with an 8:00 bedtime, the one exception, no questions asked was Saturday nights when Doctor Who started at 9:00 on PBS. We saw them either cut into a movie or aired back-to-back. Tom Baker was my dad's favorite doctor over the old one (Jon Pertwee), the young one (Peter Davison), and the look-alike (Colin Baker) [Somehow we had seen Colin Baker episodes in the midst of Tom Baker episodes before we knew about regeneration. We thought it was supposed to be the same guy played by a similar actor. I guess we were kind of right in hindsight]. He never really got into the relaunch. One of my favorite pictures is this:
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| 3 Generations of Dr. Who Fans |
If you ask people who was Wilbur Earl Hooks II, most people will give you a blank stare, because he went by the nickname Buddy his entire life, and in a way that's fitting. More people considered him friend than probably anyone I know. He was certainly the best father I will ever know. He was certainly one of the best friends and mentors.
Not sure why I never commented on this, but I should have.
ReplyDeleteI know your experience with your father will differ significantly from mine; I mean, you were his actual son, after all. It's not lip service when I say was one of the best people I've ever known, and certainly the best father. No disrespect to mine (you know how he and I were) but your dad was far more even-keeled and thoughtful.
He told me many times in my adult years I could call him Buddy, but I never managed it more than once, and I told him why---he was too important, too deserving of respect for me to address him without title.
At any rate, the world is far poorer without him in it, and I have no doubt I'll never meet his equal.