I Am MediocreMan™ · 5 March 2011
I am MediocreMan™ also known as (aka) Michael T. Miyoshi. If I had a sound bite attached to my website, it could announce, “Look on the web. It’s a word. It’s inane. It’s a can. A can? Perhaps inane, but not a can. It’s just little ole me, MediocreMan.” Silly, I know. Still, if I say “MediocreMan” in a deep enough voice, it almost sounds like I am a superhero. But I am not an X-Man or a Superman or even an Underdog. I am just MediocreMan, an average guy with a blog.
I like to think I am a bit like my favorite superhero (in either the Marvel Universe or DC Universe), Wolverine. While I do not have his healing factor or cool retractable adamantium claws, I do have this particular X-Man’s penchant for ignoring good advice. After all, many years ago, an established author gave me good advice when he told me I should stick to one type of writing. One genre. But I could not do that. I could not take his sound advice. I write about anything and everything.
I am multifaceted and complicated like everybody else in the world. I am a Christ follower, husband, father, teacher, coach, and writer. I am tied to labels like “aging athlete” and “geek.” I am all of those things, but none of them completely defines me. (Except maybe Christ follower because I want all I do to honor God.) My writing reflects that complexity. I write about God and faith, family and friends, teaching and coaching, and of course, writing. I write essays, poetry, songs, scripts, short stories, and novels. I just could not follow the advice of well-meaning individuals who said to only write a certain way. To be the best at that one thing. I had to go my own way. Like Wolverine.
Fortunately, I do have a couple super powers. Like Superman (not my favorite superhero even in the DC universe, but somebody who must be mentioned in any discussion of superheroes), I can listen in on a conversation from across the room and I can see through people and situations. In reality, I think of myself more like Batman (my favorite DC superhero) without the playboy millionaire persona, outstanding athletic ability, or cool custom-made toys and vehicles. Still, like Batman, I do not have superpowers (except as noted above), but I do use my God-given abilities the best that I can. To please God and affect people in a positive way. I do not fight crime or save people from catastrophes like superheroes do. Instead, I write about living a normal life and having a great time doing it.
What I really do is muse. I muse about practically everything under the sun. I muse about life. But I do not muse just to muse. I have a goal with all my writing. My goal is to make my readers laugh or cry or think. Or any combination of the three. If they are entertained in the process, all the better. I write so people know that they are not alone in living their normal everyday lives. I write about my own foibles and follies. I write about wanting to be like Batman who has no superpowers, but still does good in his world. And I post to the internet regardless of how many fans (real or imaginary) I might have.
(I must digress from the superheroes for a moment, so that a reference made later will make sense. I did not know it until long after I published my first book, Musings of a Mediocre Man, but a writer named Robert William Service wrote a poem called A Mediocre Man. The poem describes who I am – just your average Joe. Like Mr. Service’s poem says, I do not take on airs or think I am above anybody else. I am not a superhero. I am just a mediocre man like he says nine in ten people are.)
Of all the superheroes mentioned here, I am probably the most like Underdog. His is an unfortunate name. If he was Down Under Dog, we would know that he was from Australia. But what is an Underdog? Is he a superhero that is expected to lose? Is he just a super dog who wears underwear as a costume? Neither is really a very good explanation since superheroes are expected to win and they all wear long underwear. And so it is with MediocreMan. Without the expectation of winning or long underwear. I do not really consider myself mediocre except in the sense of Robert W. Service’s poem. (I said the digression would make sense.) I like the alliterative nature of MediocreMan and it fits with my own first and last names. It also fits with my personality and way of thinking. I am good at a bunch of things, but not great at any one. I have that old-fashioned blue collar mentality when it comes to working hard and earning what I get. Like I imagine Underdog to be. At the very least, in his alter ego.
Now that I have been using the moniker for quite a while, I really like MediocreMan. I like the thought that I can rise above mediocrity and still be considered a mediocre man. I guess I am a little like Underdog. I have a superhero name that does not quite fit me or at least the way I think of me. I am not mediocre. But I am MediocreMan.
When you go to my different websites, you will see Musings of MediocreMan on one site (MediocreMan.com) and a sampling of all my other types of writing on the other (MichaelTMiyoshi.com). Like superheroes, I have an alter ego of sorts. I am MediocreMan and I am mild mannered Michael T. Miyoshi. Like the superheroes I mentioned, I do not always take good advice (like Wolverine), but I do use my superpowers (like Superman) and non-superpowers (like Batman) for the glory of God and the betterment of people, and I have an unfortunate superhero name (like Underdog). While I may never have my own comic book or graphic novel, I do have my own blog. And I have my own secret identity or at least alter ego. I am Michael T. Miyoshi aka MedioreMan™.
© 2011 Michael T. Miyoshi
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