Matt Murdock
Avenger
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2005
- Messages
- 19,072
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 56
Hello Hype! message board readers -
For those of you who didn't bother reading who started this thread... or those two little words next to the thread title... my username is Matt Murdock. Formerly Spidey's Super-Fan; and before that, spideyssuperfan.
In actuality, my name is Edward Devin Lewis. Edward's a bit too fancy, so I just like Devin. It's short, rare, and weird. Like me... just I'm not short. In fact, I'm a stocky kid, who's 6"1' and a junior in high school. I play on the football team, and enjoy listening to music.
However, I fear that I may be leaving the Hype!. I'm not sure if it will be for good; but my reasoning will be explained below.
Before I delve into my thought process concerning my departure, I'd first like to share some more about myself and where I'm coming from.
I was born in New York City, but now I live in New Hampshire. I like to think of myself as a tough, strong-willed, and opinionated kid. I'm a fan of Will Ferrell and I don't take **** from anybody. My grades used to be excellent; honor roll every quarter. Now I'm lucky if I hand all of my assignments in through a given semester.
What caused this drop in my enthusiasm for school? Well, it's a selection of things, really. First: Private high school. Wow. There's something my "let-them-hand-stuff-in-when-they're-ready" middle school didn't prepare me for. Secondly, my own teenage angst. I'm not unwilling to heave some of the burden upon myself. On the contrary; I'm much to blame for my lackluster attitude of the past two and a half years. After all, it's JUST high school, right? ...Right?
Now, however, we come to the greatest reason of all. You. My fellow posters, and this big, crazy place we call SuperHeroHype!. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming that the Hype! is so fantastic that it ruined my self control.
Nope.
I'm, in fact, saying that you're, essentially, the closest thing to a family I've got.
This is where we get to the rough stuff.
Through the football season, I play center. I'm a lineman, basically. I move people out of the way so the quarterback can throw the ball and score some points. I have a line coach, name Mark Phillips who is incredibly crude and vulgar. He smokes, drinks, and curses like a sailor. Yet this is a man I both profoundly admire and adore. The man is a mentor to me. He was a lawyer before coming to NH and argued against Johnny Cochran... and won. As an eager Lawyer-wannabe, this fact astounds me. I'm also aware that Coach Phillip's vulgarity is part of his football-persona. I've always held true to the idea that he is two different men: one who is with his family, and one who coaches his linesmen. But, no matter what, I have always been of the opinion that he loves "each and every one of his boys." Whether they're his at home, or his on the field.
Now, this particular season I had pneumatic mono for the first 10 weeks... out of 12... and before THAT I wasn't very good at all, anyway. To be perfectly honest, I suck. I'm slow, clumsy, and Phillips can't stop yelling at me during practice! I digress, however. At the end of the 2007 football season, my father and I wandered down to the local banquet hall in southern Nashua and decided to enjoy the awards ceremony. Each year, Coach Phillips gives an award to the lineman he feels is most deserving of it. This year, his speech started as follows.
"The guy I give this award to each year isn't always the best. He isn't always the guy who I pat most on the back. Sometimes it's the guy who makes me take of my hat and step on it. Sometimes it's the young man who I yell at the most."
I figured that this could be anyone... after all, Coach is NOT a quiet man.
He then said something I will never forget.
"This year, the guy who I'm giving this award to... has had to face more tragedy in his life at 17 than I will ever have to... than any of us will have to. We're adults. He's a kid. And he shouldn't have to bear this."
At that instant, I knew I was receiving the award.
Let me tell you why.
My sign-up date on the boards was June of 2005. Four months prior to that, my mother had died of a long bout with ovarian cancer. I was in eighth grade.
It wasn't fair. And I didn't like it.
I still don't.
So, one night while looking through the Pre-Spider-Man 2 Hype on the net, I found this little pot of gold.
SuperHeroHype.
Sure, I'd seen the site once or twice before, when looking up Spidey 1 (which, might I add, my mom, dad, and I saw as a family) but I had never signed up... until that summer night.
Four months after my mother dies, I'm signed up here... and posting furiously.
But, here's the crazy part. I'm grateful. I'm grateful to every single poster; banned, here, gone, gay, straight, black, white... whatever. I'm grateful to everyone because, even though you're all just names on a screen, you're all also someone to talk to. Unlike most people, I don't have cousins. I don't have aunts. I don't have uncles. I only have one pair of grandparents and they live in Europe.
Here, in this country, in this state, in this house, there is only me and my father. We are the only people we have in our entire family. This is it. We are all of the Lewises.
But, sometimes those're the breaks, right? I mean, cancer is SAD and all, but it's common.
And to an extent that's true.
Unfortunately, my family must have ****ty luck, because three weeks ago, my father, too, was diagnosed with inoperable, stage two, metasticised lung cancer. It only has a 20% chance of responding to treatment. Within six months, there's an 80% my father will be dead.
I could be an orphan at 17.
I hate to sound self-serving, but Coach is right.
That's tragedy.
Now, people can whine and complain about the batsuit all they like, or people can argue over whether or not Storm could electrocute Magneto, but in the end, I've got to be honest.
I just don't care anymore.
I've found that posting on the site has become tiresome... almost a burden... something I have to do.
I don't like feeling this way. I'm ALWAYS on. And I'm hurting my father in the process.
I can't keep doing this to myself or my family.
I'm not going to leave permanently; I'll probably return quite often. And if there's something anyone needs, I'll be online as well (my various usernames are listed in my profile.)
I suppose that I'd just like to close with a thank you. Thank you to all the friends I've made and the people who I've met on this incredible, interactive playthingy known as the 'net.
I'm not interested in this thread becoming a flame-war thread, so please don't allow that to happen (mods or posters!
)
With that, I'd like to wish you all an enjoyable spring, a happy valentine's day, and an enjoyable january.
In case I don't see you:
Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight.
-Devin . MM . S S-F. SSF
For those of you who didn't bother reading who started this thread... or those two little words next to the thread title... my username is Matt Murdock. Formerly Spidey's Super-Fan; and before that, spideyssuperfan.
In actuality, my name is Edward Devin Lewis. Edward's a bit too fancy, so I just like Devin. It's short, rare, and weird. Like me... just I'm not short. In fact, I'm a stocky kid, who's 6"1' and a junior in high school. I play on the football team, and enjoy listening to music.
However, I fear that I may be leaving the Hype!. I'm not sure if it will be for good; but my reasoning will be explained below.
Before I delve into my thought process concerning my departure, I'd first like to share some more about myself and where I'm coming from.
I was born in New York City, but now I live in New Hampshire. I like to think of myself as a tough, strong-willed, and opinionated kid. I'm a fan of Will Ferrell and I don't take **** from anybody. My grades used to be excellent; honor roll every quarter. Now I'm lucky if I hand all of my assignments in through a given semester.
What caused this drop in my enthusiasm for school? Well, it's a selection of things, really. First: Private high school. Wow. There's something my "let-them-hand-stuff-in-when-they're-ready" middle school didn't prepare me for. Secondly, my own teenage angst. I'm not unwilling to heave some of the burden upon myself. On the contrary; I'm much to blame for my lackluster attitude of the past two and a half years. After all, it's JUST high school, right? ...Right?
Now, however, we come to the greatest reason of all. You. My fellow posters, and this big, crazy place we call SuperHeroHype!. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming that the Hype! is so fantastic that it ruined my self control.
Nope.
I'm, in fact, saying that you're, essentially, the closest thing to a family I've got.
This is where we get to the rough stuff.
Through the football season, I play center. I'm a lineman, basically. I move people out of the way so the quarterback can throw the ball and score some points. I have a line coach, name Mark Phillips who is incredibly crude and vulgar. He smokes, drinks, and curses like a sailor. Yet this is a man I both profoundly admire and adore. The man is a mentor to me. He was a lawyer before coming to NH and argued against Johnny Cochran... and won. As an eager Lawyer-wannabe, this fact astounds me. I'm also aware that Coach Phillip's vulgarity is part of his football-persona. I've always held true to the idea that he is two different men: one who is with his family, and one who coaches his linesmen. But, no matter what, I have always been of the opinion that he loves "each and every one of his boys." Whether they're his at home, or his on the field.
Now, this particular season I had pneumatic mono for the first 10 weeks... out of 12... and before THAT I wasn't very good at all, anyway. To be perfectly honest, I suck. I'm slow, clumsy, and Phillips can't stop yelling at me during practice! I digress, however. At the end of the 2007 football season, my father and I wandered down to the local banquet hall in southern Nashua and decided to enjoy the awards ceremony. Each year, Coach Phillips gives an award to the lineman he feels is most deserving of it. This year, his speech started as follows.
"The guy I give this award to each year isn't always the best. He isn't always the guy who I pat most on the back. Sometimes it's the guy who makes me take of my hat and step on it. Sometimes it's the young man who I yell at the most."
I figured that this could be anyone... after all, Coach is NOT a quiet man.
He then said something I will never forget.
"This year, the guy who I'm giving this award to... has had to face more tragedy in his life at 17 than I will ever have to... than any of us will have to. We're adults. He's a kid. And he shouldn't have to bear this."
At that instant, I knew I was receiving the award.
Let me tell you why.
My sign-up date on the boards was June of 2005. Four months prior to that, my mother had died of a long bout with ovarian cancer. I was in eighth grade.
It wasn't fair. And I didn't like it.
I still don't.
So, one night while looking through the Pre-Spider-Man 2 Hype on the net, I found this little pot of gold.
SuperHeroHype.
Sure, I'd seen the site once or twice before, when looking up Spidey 1 (which, might I add, my mom, dad, and I saw as a family) but I had never signed up... until that summer night.
Four months after my mother dies, I'm signed up here... and posting furiously.
But, here's the crazy part. I'm grateful. I'm grateful to every single poster; banned, here, gone, gay, straight, black, white... whatever. I'm grateful to everyone because, even though you're all just names on a screen, you're all also someone to talk to. Unlike most people, I don't have cousins. I don't have aunts. I don't have uncles. I only have one pair of grandparents and they live in Europe.
Here, in this country, in this state, in this house, there is only me and my father. We are the only people we have in our entire family. This is it. We are all of the Lewises.
But, sometimes those're the breaks, right? I mean, cancer is SAD and all, but it's common.
And to an extent that's true.
Unfortunately, my family must have ****ty luck, because three weeks ago, my father, too, was diagnosed with inoperable, stage two, metasticised lung cancer. It only has a 20% chance of responding to treatment. Within six months, there's an 80% my father will be dead.
I could be an orphan at 17.
I hate to sound self-serving, but Coach is right.
That's tragedy.
Now, people can whine and complain about the batsuit all they like, or people can argue over whether or not Storm could electrocute Magneto, but in the end, I've got to be honest.
I just don't care anymore.
I've found that posting on the site has become tiresome... almost a burden... something I have to do.
I don't like feeling this way. I'm ALWAYS on. And I'm hurting my father in the process.
I can't keep doing this to myself or my family.
I'm not going to leave permanently; I'll probably return quite often. And if there's something anyone needs, I'll be online as well (my various usernames are listed in my profile.)
I suppose that I'd just like to close with a thank you. Thank you to all the friends I've made and the people who I've met on this incredible, interactive playthingy known as the 'net.
I'm not interested in this thread becoming a flame-war thread, so please don't allow that to happen (mods or posters!
)With that, I'd like to wish you all an enjoyable spring, a happy valentine's day, and an enjoyable january.
In case I don't see you:
Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight.
-Devin . MM . S S-F. SSF
anyways, best of luck mon fraire. and the hype'll be here whenever you need it brotha'. 
:heart:
