SuperMen

Suppose they actually gave out capes and tights to dads so they could dress up to match their role as their son or daughter's hero?

The clothes would not make the man. Not like actions and living the life. So, while Pope Benedict VXI is the idol of many, the adulation might be better aimed at (or at least shared more equitably with) his father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr. who put much at risk for many years by expressing anti-Nazi sentiments during that group's rise to power.

And what else can be said about Gary Thompson, a 51-year-old father of five daughters, who left reserve service to set an example by service in Afghanistan. And who paid for that choice by losing earthly contact with his children. It is highly unlikely, of course, that he will have inspired papal dreams in his girls, but where they go, what they do, will surely reflect a hero's legacy.

** It's all about balancing the secret identify of ordinary working stiff with the superhero actions that determines a dad's legacy. **