• Published in Opinion

“Truth” - Submission from Christopher Pattison and Olga (BellaDonna)

The sunset of yellows and reds glowed resplendently inside the plane’s cabin. We were flying above a blanket of cerise cumulus. Moments like this are inspiring, however, the real inspiration was bestowed from Dale’s communications. The highlight of my travel east was the Logan’s Run photoshoot that the motivation from Dale had been the catalyst for us to organize.


This was one of many such moments that we were enriched in positive energy from Dale. And these were via distance so I can imagine being in Dale’s close presence must have been truly incredible.


Initially, I wanted to pen significantly more but sometimes less is more so I will conclude with one more thought - the last word Dale wrote to me was “truth”. Truth is that he will always be remembered and like that sunset, his light will shine uniquely….


- Christopher Pattison and Olga (BellaDonna)

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  • Published in Opinion

Old Superhero Never Felt Old To Me - Submission from Dallas Justice Johnson

If anyone has any ideas how to honor this man’s life, please let me know.


Now I don’t want this post to just be about me, I want it to be about him, but I do want to take a moment to address his impact in my life.


I have been sobbing for hours. This man has been an idol of mine for the last 7 years.


I would never fail to bring him up, when I talked of wanting to do hero work.


He was one of the biggest running forces in my life, I am so glad that I got to tell him that, when we first came into contact online.


I more than anything wish I got to work with him in person though and will definitely try to cherish the connections I have in life now, when we work together for the betterment of others.


Dale Pople would often comment words of encouragement when I did the work that he inspired me to do. I would always try to comment on his posts in return when he shared his works and comments that blew my mind continuously. He sent me a Superhero patch, stickers, and most unbelievably the license plate to his Supermobile from the “Superheroes” documentary when I told him I was going to present on him for one of my college classes at UNT!! A proud moment of mine was when he talked on Heroes 101 about a talk him and I had of how long I looked up to him and how it made him feel old but that he did some good there. He was always humble like that.


Dale Pople had a heart I aspire to have and I hope I can even remotely live up to it.


This man had done unbelievable good for others that does not seem possible. For those on here who are not part of the RLSH community if you want to learn more about his life, watch the “Superheroes” documentary from HBO that is on Prime rn for free or his own 15 minute documentary here on Facebook (shared it a couple times here before) or on Youtube!


He has helped countless people in his years of unrelenting good! Even when he claimed to retire, he just would never stop and he will still keep going even now.


Seriously though, as always, if there is a way I can help you, I want to honor his name and do just that for you!


I want to end this with his own words, as he would always say, “You know what to do!”! ❤️💛

 

- Dallas Justice Johnson

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  • Published in Opinion

“Add A Little Color” - Submission from Good Samaritan

This is a hard post for me to make, and I’ve been avoiding doing so simply because I’m still trying to process everything that has transpired over the past handful of days.
 
On Saturday evening, my good friend Dale Pople took his own life. I, like many of his friends and family, was shocked and saddened by the news. I was especially surprised as it was only two days since I last spoke with him.
 
A week ago today, I called Dale to catch up and see how he was doing. He had just announced on Facebook that he was going through an interesting and difficult change in his life, and I, feeling concerned, wanted to see how he was holding up.
 
He actually seemed to be in high spirits. He framed his trial as simply a “new beginning”, talking about his plans to get a new home, start a new job, and get back out there doing charitable works as “Old Superhero”.
 
You see, Dale was a Real Life Superhero (or RLSH, for short), an individual belonging to a subculture of people who create original superhero gimmicks and identities to do good works in their communities through various charitable means.
 
Many of you already have heard of the RLSH community because of my involvement with it over the years. But what many of you don’t know is that Dale was a major driving force in my growth and development, not just with my path as a costumed activist, but also with my career and personal life.
 
When I was homeless and couch surfing in California, Dale sent me money so I could get my affairs in order and move back home to Louisiana. A year later, while on a road trip, he passed through town and got lunch with me. I attempted to hand him the money I owed him. He simply held his hand up and said, “No need. Pay it forward.”
 
Years later, I moved to Florida for a new job. Dale called me up and asked how I was liking my new set up. “It’s fine.” “Well, I know you’re an industry guy like me. How would you like to work at Ion Television? There may be a spot opening up here.” Of course, I said yes to the idea, but six years of constant broken promises in Los Angeles taught me to be CAUTIOUSLY optimistic.
 
A year after that, a day before my 33rd birthday, my father died right in front of me. A month after that, my job let me go due to budget cuts. At this point, I was confident that my life was going nowhere, and hopelessness set in. Then, out of nowhere, Dale calls me up and states, “I told my bosses about you. They want to interview you.”
 
Next thing I know, I have a job in master control at Ion Television, working right alongside Dale himself. He was a blast to work with, and I was introduced to many ridiculous forms of pop culture, tv, and movies that I was not privy to, such as the glorious 80’s slasher film “Chopping Mall” (look it up as it is DELIGHTFUL).
 
A few months later, I needed to head back to Louisiana to finish the paperwork on finally inheriting my late father’s car, which had tremendous sentimental value to me. Unfortunately, my then-current car broke down beyond repair, and I did not have a credit card to rent a car to drive to Louisiana.
 
Dale simply went to Enterprise with me and rented a car on my behalf. I paid him back within a month, and I’m sure he thought nothing of it, but that act of kindness meant the world to me.
 
Since then, I moved into a decent house in a lovely city that I truly feel I can call home, I’ve adopted the best dog anyone could want, I’ve made a new best friend that I’d punch a nazi for, I’ve gotten back into the RLSH game with a new outlook and determination, and I’ve fallen in love with the woman I plan to marry.
 
None of these wonderful things would have happened had it not been for Dale coming in to save the day, simply because he cared.
 
And I’m just ONE story.
 
Dale has impacted more lives than I can count. He was THE ultimate Real Life Superhero. To everyone in this weird subculture, he was our SUPERMAN.
 
And I guess that’s what makes his passing extra hard. That life and depression was able to finally get the best of him breaks my heart, because he helped in almost every major battle with depression I had.
 
The man was my friend and my hero. I’ll never forget him, and I’ll always aspire to bring about the same level of kindness to others that he would afford me.
 
I’m paraphrasing here, but Dale once said something to me in regards to many RLSHs who always dress in grim and dark color schemes (something that drove him nuts), but can also be applied to one’s outlook on life:
 
“Try adding a little more color. It goes a long way.”
 
Farewell, Old Superhero. You know what to do.
 
#PortraitOfASuperhero
#oldsuperhero
#youknowwhattodo
 
 
 
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Checking In On Our RLSH Family and Remembering Dale aka Superhero - Heroes 101 Radio

 

RIP, Dale Pople aka Superhero.

On Saturday July 18 we lost our brother, our mentor, our Superhero to suicide.

Please join us for this special episode. We'll talk about ways to cope with depression, how we can help others, and we'll share stories about Dale.

Tuesday, July 21st 7pm PT/10pm ET

Thank you so much to everyone for joining us in honoring and sharing stories about Old Superhero tonight. It's no surprise that our boards were so full, the list went off the screen with people wanting to chat.
In no particular order, thanks to callers Steven Fontaine/"Dusk", Brennan Cox, Vector, Zeta Zimmer, SkyMan, RazorHawk, Zero, Good Samaritan, Knight Owl, The DarkShadow, Tamerlane, Discordia, and Spectral Hawk. We also had Patrioteer, Wolf Paradox, Masa Cloud and a few others hanging in the chat room for some time, despite our ongoing audio issues.
 
Thank you again, everybody, and take care.
 
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