I’m lucky. Being a recovering addict, I have met some interesting people that have walked all sorts of lives. One thing I have learned is that all are welcomed. All want to be accepted. I love that all these people and I have one thing in common. That one thing makes it so easy to be kind and loving to each other. I take that one little lesson and extend it into my everyday life.

Scum

“Hey, now, listen. I won’t have you bad-mouthing Scum. Some of my best Scum are scum.” – Plastic Man *

Patrick “The Eel” O’Brian was a slippery and hard to catch criminal. He and his gang were breaking into the Crawford Chemical Plant when a night watchman caught them. Eel O’Brian was shot and inadvertently sprayed with a chemical. O’Brian escaped into the mountains. Delirious and near-death O’Brian was found by a group of Monks and taken back to the Monastery. These “Kindly Brothers” nursed him back to health Physically Spiritually and Emotionally. In his recuperation O’Brian found the chemicals changed his body. He could bend and stretch into any form or any length. Upon leaving the monastery O’Brian was dissatisfied with a life of crime and sought to redeem himself. Taking the name “Plastic Man” and fighting crime but keeping his “Eel O’Brian” connections to secretly infiltrate the underworld. Some of Plastic Man’s best friends are those that walk the thin line between darkness and light. Some would be considered heroes, and some would be considered villainous.

Accepting people for who they are is an important aspect of making connections. The major religions speak about accepting people as your neighbor or as the larger world family. Look at all people as if they were part of that “world family”. One day everyone will need help at something does it really matter where that help comes from? If you drop your groceries on the street are you really going to complain if a person helps you pick up the groceries? The point is that we are all equal. We all have the same fears and worries. We all have the same expectations. Acceptance is behind the door, fear is the lock, and willingness is the key. To find acceptance just be willing to face the fear.

Plastic Man
First Appearance: Police Comics #1 (August 1941), DC Comics, Quality Comics

Creators: Jack Cole

* “Revenge of the Curse of the Horror of the Creature” Plastic Man, #4 of 6, November 2018