The Punisher is a character from Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against crime. Driven by the deaths of his wife and children, the Punisher wages a one-man war on crime. The Punisher has always been blurred between the distinction of “good” and “evil”. He is one of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes. (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia notes the following re: anti-heroes:

There is a controversy over what exactly defines an antihero. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an antihero as “someone who lacks heroic qualities”. To some, an antihero is inherently a hero from a specific point of view, and a villain from another. Some have differing ideas on what constitutes an antihero. Some scholars define the anti-hero by several factors:

1. The antihero is doomed to fail before their adventure begins.
2. The second constitutes the blame of that failure on everyone but themselves.
3. The anti-hero offers a critique of social morals and reality.

During my rugby playing days, I had a coach who called me The Punisher. He said it was because I could punish opponents on both sides of the ball (attack and defense). He bought me a Punisher t-shirt. Boy, did I ever cut the sleeves off and wear that shirt with pride. I still have it. After 20 years. That’s what it meant to me. That is the power of a coach.

I remember vividly this one summer that same coach had reconstructive knee surgery. He’d come to practice and sit in a chair, with his surgical leg propped up on another chair. The lessons he taught me that summer were numerous – most, as always with him, had nothing to do with rugby. He demonstrated to me the power of showing up.

That same coach reached out to me recently. This is part of what he wrote:

“I just finished reading your latest blog post… ‘Hope and even just 1 friend, you might be ok. You might just make it.’ Honestly, that will stay with me the rest of my life. Thanks very much for that.”

Receiving that message impacted me so much. I cried. I shared the message with a friend. She cried. It’s funny, I’ll carry that message with me for the rest of my life just like he’ll carry my message with him. Showing up matters.

And maybe, just maybe, the simple act of writing a blog was my way of showing up for him.