Cape's superheroes

By Elizabeth Shelton

As local and national politicians duke it out, vying to sling the most mud and hurl the loudest disparaging remarks, I am reassured and proud to report we do have a few silent superheroes living right here in Cape Girardeau.

So many lost so much to Hurricane Ike and previous storms, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit we were saddened by the loss of a mere trampoline. But to my 4-year-old son, Gabriel, who received it just months ago from his uncle, it was a real blow. Despite being draped with four sand bags, each weighing 50 pounds, Ike's bad breath managed to hurl our trampoline 20 feet across the street into the side of my neighbor's home, pasting it there like a bug on a windshield. Other neighbors (teenagers, I might point out) carted the twisted equipment back to my yard where I, a single mom, attempted to make sense of the wreckage.

Shazam! Enter closet superheroes D.J. Roth and neighbor Steve Kapp. These kind men dismantled the remains and attempted to attach our canvas to an old frame from the Kapp family's trampoline, but to no avail. Kerpow! That is when Superhero Roth loaded the mangled pieces onto his truck with a promise to weld and bend them into shape. ("I'll be back!") The next day he returned and then had to make one more trip home for an additional unforeseen repair before he had it assembled, looking almost as good as new. Tumblin' trampolines, batfriends! Mr. Roth's heroism didn't end with delivering a mended trampoline. He returned the next day to crawl onto the roof and repair some damaged siding. (Ka-boom! Take that, Hurricane Ike!)

Until this week I had never met D.J. Roth, although he has waved on occasion from the new homes he and his son, Aaron, are building near mine. My son and I don't live in a house the Roths built, but I wish we did. When I see the care and time D.J. devoted to fixing a little boy's trampoline, I am certain he builds homes with even more pride in his work and concern for the occupants.

Some may perceive power as being appointed or elected to lead a county, a company or a country. Or, as in my son's eyes, strength is evidenced by having big muscles. But our neighbors and D.J. Roth have provided wonderful examples of real live superheroes. Genuine superpower is seeing someone in need, knowing you can help and going to his or her aid, asking no more in return than a heartfelt thank you and a request to pass it on.

I suspect D.J. Roth will be a bit embarrassed when this appears in the paper, as he strikes me as a quiet man who prefers to keep his good deeds to himself. But we are so blessed to have Mr. Roth, Mr. Kapp and others like them in our community and in our neighborhood that I felt compelled to tell of their generosity and, in some small way, to pass it on. Thank you, superheroes!

Elizabeth Shelton and her son, Gabriel, are Cape Girardeau residents.