I spent today, like I spend most Sundays, with my son. I was telling him all about my adventures with the snow blower and he made an excellent point.

The only reason I was able to extract what turned out to be a slipper from the snow blower was with a small crowbar. While I do have many more tools than I had a month or two ago, a crowbar is still a bit of a surprise. I have one because two Halloweens ago my son wanted to dress up as DC comics anti hero Red Hood. A character that has a history with crowbars.

I was telling my son all about this today and he made the point that we can go further back than Halloween 2023. If he never wanted to watch the DC animated movie Under the Red Hood, then he wouldn’t have loved the character and asked me to create a costume. Then he really blew my mind when he suggested if I never got into comics when I was a kid then I wouldn’t have shown him the cartoons, he wouldn’t have watched it, and wouldn’t want a costume.

Do I have a working snow blower in 2025 because I picked up a comic book at my local WaldenBooks in 1987? This is a dangerous thought experiment. Am I living in this place without the path comics started me on? Is my son born? Do I meet certain people? Am I a writer? Who and what are the alternate versions of myself and my life without buying a comic? What is the Kevin-verse?

My son gets a big thank you for making me have to big brain life. As I reawaken these creative muscles with daily posts it’s moments like these that will help me to flourish. I might not realize it in the moment though, and only become aware decades later that a tiny decision today will reap rewards later.