I recently read a book that was about creating some kind of superhero persona or heroic alter ego as a way of motivating yourself to do things, so for instance, you’re not just exercising, you’re training yourself for some heroic task, like going on a journey to Mordor or being a secret agent. (I actually thought the book would be about something different when I checked it out of the library, but I read it anyway) Along the way, you’re supposed to also be planning grand adventures that you could actually do, finding real-world ways to live out the kind of adventures you might read about or see in movies.

That got me started wondering, what would my alter ego be? I don’t have too many grand adventures I want to carry out. I’m old enough that my idea of fantasy travel right now would involve first-class flights and either nice hotels or interesting bed and breakfast type places. I have no desire to bungee jump over gorges or parasail, or anything like that. If I just focus on what kind of character I might “play” in order to get more fit and do the kind of exploring that interests me, I might be some kind of wandering druid/bard who goes exploring to see more of nature and learn about plants and trees and pays my way by telling stories.

While they talk in terms of superhero secret identities, the characters they describe seem to have more to do with D&D character classes, so maybe they just mean that this is your secret “super” self, not necessarily that you’re a superhero. Oddly, the town where I live now does have a superhero. There’s a guy who dresses up like Spider-Man to do parkour and good deeds around town. He’s a local celebrity. People in the town Facebook group will respond to missing pets posts by commenting that they saw Spider-Man out looking for that missing pet. When there were some car break-ins at the town swimming pool, he started patrolling the parking lot (presumably either to be a deterrent with his presence or to call the police rather than shooting webs at anyone breaking into cars). There’s a big local festival coming up, and I’m volunteering as a way to get involved in the community. Last weekend, there was a Zoom meeting for volunteers, and Spider-Man was in the meeting, because of course he’s volunteering. He’s apparently an integral part of all local events (he was the grand marshal of last year’s Christmas parade). He wore the mask, and his Zoom name was “Spidey.” So, if I did want to actually go around dressed in a hooded cloak and tending to the trees while telling stories, it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing in this town. People probably wouldn’t blink. There are people who hang out at the farmers market dressed in fantasy/medievalish clothes and hand out quests to find the dragons hidden around town. People would assume I was with them.

It sounds kind of silly, but I did find my mindset changing when I started thinking of myself as that character. So, instead of sitting down at my computer to write, I’m crafting stories I’ll share with my adoring public in Ye Olde Amazon Tavern. Going on long walks in the mountains would be exactly the sort of thing I’d do, though I’d come home at the end of the hike instead of camping out or staying at an inn (one nice thing about living in the mountains—I can hike the Appalachian Trail for a few hours and then come home).

Now I just need to figure out why a druid/bard would be doing housework and cleaning the kitchen because that’s where I really need the motivation. Maybe not enough people tossed a coin to me after my storytelling session, so now I have to wash dishes to pay for my night’s stay at the inn.

I do have a few big adventures I’d like to do, though they’re less on the “adventure” side. I want to get back to Europe to hit a few of the places I haven’t visited and revisit some of the places I’ve lived or visited. Staying in a real castle is on my bucket list. I also want to see New Zealand and Alaska. For now, I hope to start really exploring this area. I think my big fall vacation will be to Yorktown/Williamsburg/Jamestown. It’s only a few hours away, the hotels aren’t expensive this time of year, and in addition to all the history stuff, there’s a big outlet mall with the shops they don’t have here, so I can replace my comfortable nice shoes (comfortable enough to walk downtown, but nice enough to go to concerts/theater/church) and maybe pick up some winter clothes that will be suited to this climate.

I also have some day trips planned. There are so many festivals in the fall, and there’s what looks like an interesting event at the Mennonite heritage center. Then there’s hiking and some drives to look at the autumn colors. The leaves have already started turning, and it feels like fall.

So I guess I’ll put on my druid/bard persona and get out there and do stuff — in addition to writing, of course. The bard has to tell stories to pay the bills.