My Day As `Census Count Crusader' in Oak Park

It had been 75 days since I last wore a red cape, but who was counting?

On Tuesday, I returned to super-hero action by playing the role of "Census Count Crusader." It was part of the Village of Oak Park's awareness-raising efforts for the 2010 Census.

With visits to Oak Park and River Forest High School (including a foray into the cafeteria, above photo) and Oak Park Village Hall (nearly two hours) for a Census Rally, I had more super-hero red boot time than my day's journey in standard, mere-mortal footwear.

That must count for something, though I've yet to quite figure out what.

The rally at village hall was part of the 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour.

Cruising around village hall during the rally to interview a variety of folks, I teamed up for some fun, informative interviews at the direction of Joe Kreml, the village's talented cable station producer and the brains behind the now-legendary Super Shopper Spotter commercial.


Thanks to Village Clerk Teresa "Terry" Powell for pulling me back into Superhero-land. Three months ago, I wore much the same costume as Super Shopper Spotter. The only change Tuesday was a shirt bearing the "Census Count Crusader" logo (left).

When asked about the SSS on my cape, I had a ready answer: Super Statistical Summarizer.

Comeback For the Triple S Super-Hero Costume?

It's preliminary, so I'm unable to divulge details just yet.

But it appears that the Triple S super-hero costume in which I galavanted around Oak Park for the holiday season some 18 months ago may soon be making a re-appearance.

It would be for another local cause, it would be in the near future and, I am happy to note, it would entail somebody else wearing it.

I realize not everyone has yet been exposed to what I'm alluding to, so you can check out the Super Shopper Spotter campaign that Inside Edge PR coordinated between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009: here is the Shop the Village 2009 blog that I created, as part of the local effort to spur on local shopping.

And that effort came on the heels of the inaugural Shop the Village campaign.

If nothing else, and if you're primed for a good laugh, check out some of the clips of Super Shopper Spotter in action.

The Story Behind `Super Skateboarder Stopper'

A quarter-century ago, I was fooled--hook, line and sinker--by an April Fool's story in Sports Illustrated.

It was about "Sidd Finch," a newcomer to the baseball scene purported to be able to hurl the ball 168 mph, or roughy 68 mph faster than anybody else.

And I like pulling legs as much as anyone else--and much more than most.

So when I had a chance recently, at the invitation of Wednesday Journal managing editor Helen Karakoudas, to pull an April Fool's stunt involving my alter ego, Super Shopper Spotter, I quite literally leapt at it.

Of course, last week when the article appeared in the "Wednesday Jerbil," I doubt anyone believed for a moment that Triple S now stood for Super Skateboarder Stopper.

Just the same, it was fun. You can see the tale, "Superhero scouts new economic stimulus," here at the Wednesday Journal website.

You can also check out some of Super Shopper Spotter's other exploits here.

Shop the Village & Super Shopper Spotter

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Super Shopper Spotter!

A new superhero has descended on Oak Park and he's on the lookout for people shopping locally. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to yours truly, S-3 (for short) is one of the new, fun wrinkles to the 2nd installment of the "Shop the Village" program whose implementation I will again be overseeing.

Check out more details at Shop the Village's official website, which has links to a news release, a YouTube channel and other specifics.

Super Shopper Spotter: The Commercial

Usually, my PR work involves more time on the keyboard and less time dashing to and fro in public while wearing a cape and red boots.

With that in mind, if you were in the Downtown Oak Park area a few days ago, you might have seen some especially bizarre behavior, even by Super Shopper Spotter standards.

Thankfully, Joe Kreml, producer of the Village of Oak Park's Cable Channel 6, swiftly created this 52-second segment to help explain Triple S's antics:

`Super Shopper Spotter' Picks Up Steam

Off to a good, fun start with Shop the Village, in my alter-ego character, Super Shopper Spotter.

Above is a photo and below is a video from my Saturday excursion, featuring a visit to Val's Halla Records on Harrison Street in Oak Park: