Tire Man!

There’s a Super Hero that lives in my neighborhood. I know my Superheroes. Love DC and all things Superman. Gotta admit to liking the darkest part of the Dark Knight too. Embraced the whole Justice League and the Legion of Super-heroes although I would have embraced Wonder Woman and Saturn Girl a bit quicker than I would the Green Lantern and equally Green Arrow. Have to Marvel at the Fantastic Four and the X-Men and that stream of Amazing Tales. Was weaned on the whole Truth, Justice, and the American Way thing. So I know, and love, the whole idea of Superheroes. Was surprised to see one living in my neighborhood….and that I only discovered his amazing abilities last week. Tire Man lives just a few blocks from me.

Now, as Superheroes go, Tire Man is not typical. No cape. His everyday costume is a jumpsuit that looks suspiciously like overalls. He usually wears a hat. Not the Odd Job, cut off your head if I throw this at you kind. Something more suitable for fishing rather than James Bond like exploits. Functional garb that masks Tire Man better than Clark Kent’s glasses ever hid the Man of Steel. Costume aside, Tire Man is more human than most Super Heroes. Tire Man is a Super Human Hero.

He has an amazing ability. He makes stuff out of tires. Old tires. He transforms them into planters, edging, compost bins, swings, horses, and more. While that might be something less impressive than what Iron Man does, Tire Man does something else even cooler than transforming junk into good stuff. Tire Man shares. He shares his gifts and abilities so other folks can be Super Heroes, too. He shares his gifts because he knows he has a wonderful ability that matters to the environment, the economy, families, and much, much more. So he shares his ability freely and hopes others use what he shares and give it away too. Tire Man is out to save the world. He lives right around the corner from me and showed me his Fortress of Solitude the other day.

His Fortress of Solitude is in his back yard. A back yard that must be seen to be believed. It is a wonderland of gardening, recycling, self-sufficiency, personal truth, and sharing that is a Disney Land of answers and example. Plus, there are swings. Made from tires, of course. Tire Man’s back yard is a place where living our truth and being our best everyday shines forth like the bat light at exactly the right time. Just when we need it. Just being there and seeing it inspired me. Inspired me to share the tale of this wonderful man named Paul Farber who is really Tire Man.

Why now? How could I have lived so close to someone with so many answers and examples and just noticed him now? Well, boys and girls, that is how the whole Super Hero thing works. We only see them when we are ready. They arrive just in the nick of time to hand us the key to our safety and survival. I saw him on and off for almost two decades. He waved. I waved back. Polite strangers…a statement about how much we really know the world that is our own back yard. Events moved us to where we finally really communicated for the first time last week. He and I amazed each other by sharing. By getting to know each other. By opening up and sharing our truth. In the process, we learned much. We learned how much we have in common. We learned how much the world needs what he does and what I do. (I am Word Man….and that is self-proclaimed, my cape is a towel, and my words are only to be used to heal.) We learned that we are very different…..yet linked in our passion to do our best everyday and help the world anyway we can.

Pretty cool to discover a Super Human Hero right around the corner. Even cooler to share his story and let other’s see how they can save money, the planet, and their own backyard with their own hands and a few old tires. Tire Man wants to save the world. He just needs someone that understands how to speak while he does what he does best. So I told him to go back to work and leave the rest to me.

Here I come to save the day. Mighty Mouth is on the way. Sharing www.tirecrafting.com so you can look at it and become your own planet saving force for good. I think Tire Man needs more press. Press that says we should share our ideas and work together to save each other’s resources. Tire Man’s skill impressed me. His back yard stunned me. He won me over though when he said something that really says he understands what Super Human Heroes are all about. “I want to give this away. I charge for the books and CDs only so I can print more of them.” Now that, boys and girls, is how we are going to save the planet…one back yard at a time.