When I was a little kid, there were two shows I cared about watching on TV: Batman and Speed Racer. The latter I liked because Trixie was a badass, which you didn't see much on kids' TV shows in the sixties. The former always made me laugh, even when I didn't get the multiple levels of the jokes (which of course I wouldn't, as it aired for only the two years between when I was four and six). Later when I watched it, I got the double entendres and always appreciated the lead characters self-depracating humor. Apparently the actor shared that type of humor with his character.
When my second son was born, I hadn't yet decided on a name. I liked the name Jordan (and still do) but am glad I didn't go with that because there are so many Jordans now! My labor was short and relatively easy with him, lasting a few early-morning hours and culminating in his birth at 8:10 a.m. My amazing labor nurse had three sons, one of whom was named Adam, and she and I spent a lot of time talking. On that particular night, not many ladies were having babies at my little rural hospital. I liked the name and was rolling it around. When I returned from the birthing room to my hospital room, unnamed baby at my side, I turned on the TV. There was my old favorite, airing on a Saturday morning: Adam West as Batman. That was my final sign that Adam was the right name for my son. So he's sort of named for the actor, but not entirely.
When I heard this morning that Adam West had died, I shed a tear. While I'm sure there is a lot about him I don't know, I really liked what I did know. He was humble, funny, and sincere, and his family's statement about his death speaks volumes about his other great qualities, if not directly then certainly indirectly (in what they chose to focus on). I'm sorry he is gone, but I'm happy that he had a long life of doing what he wanted -- which just happened to enrich the lives of others.
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