What Makes #SFBatKid Beautiful
What We Built By Coming TOgether for a Day
I got to City Hall right around 12:30. There was already a modest crowd around the stage they’d built in the courtyard across the street from the main building. Two giant screens were built, one in front of the stage, and one behind a press stand, where a few cameramen were already sitting and waiting.
It didn’t start until 2, but I wanted to get there early. Today’s big adventure was BatKid, aka Miles, a 5-year-old Leukemia patient who was getting his wish granted by the Make-a-Wish foundation. Earlier in the day he’d rescued a damsel in distress, defeated the Riddler, rescued Lou Seal and overcame the Penguin, but his last mission of the day was to visit City Hall and receive the key to the city.
It’s Friday, November 15th, and over 10,000 people have come out to cheer on Miles as San Francisco is transformed into Gotham City. With the power of the internet, Miles’ wish gets live-streamed to every corner of the planet, and people all over the world are showing their support for #SFBatKid. It is, honestly, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
What makes wishes like these so important is that, for a little while, Miles gets to forget about fighting Leukemia or being sick or worrying about things like chemotherapy; instead, he gets to spend his day being the luckiest kid in the world; fighting Batman’s worst villains, rescuing those who need his help, and performing dazzling acrobatics in front of cheering crowds.
As someone with a family member fighting a major illness, sometimes just a sense of normalcy is everything. My mother, who lives in England, has been fighting cancer for years and when I go to visit, she makes a fuss out of handling my laundry, even though it makes her tired. Just the chance to be a mom and not a patient is a night and day difference to someone fighting for their life.
Back at City Hall, it’s almost one thirty. The last 90 minutes have flown by, as I’ve made fast friends with everyone around me. There’s Rich and Darla, two retired teachers and SF natives who’ve come out to cheer BatKid on. There’s Robert, the Batman fan who was sure he could have nailed the Alfred role if one had been available, then Michael and Greg who had retreated from Union Square’s flash mob in order to get a good spot.
We’ve never met before, but we’re all fast friends, sharing stories of how wonderful it is to see people out to cheer Miles and have absolutely nothing else invested other than the desire to make Miles’ day. In today’s society where we fight over chemical weapons, healthcare and food stamps, it just feels good to put it all aside and help make someone’s dream come true.
Right around two o’clock, the matching Batmobiles have pulled up, and the crowd is chanting, “BatKid! BatKid! BatKid! BatKid!” as the day’s figures walk up on to the stage. One by one, they came up to thank BatKid for saving the day. From the Mayor to our Chief of Police, Fire Chief, even our US attorney and more choked back tears as they thanked BatKid and give him a key to the city.
In a world where it feels like so many of these events turn into galas about being seen, or seeing “BatKid: Presented by…” it was nice to just be in a space where people really cared about this little boy they’d never met, and wanted to share their support, no strings attached.
I kept my eye on Twitter all morning long, watching the #SFBatKid hashtag work its way into post after post, from people who lived across the city to people in other countries. Once BatKid had rescued the damsel in distress, live streams started to appear from friends I knew who’d never even been to San Francisco.
That’s when I decided to leave early. This was really happening. This pure, unadulterated wave of positivity was really being created, and I knew I had to be a part of it. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for Miles, looking out at that sea of people cheering for him.
It seems like people all over San Francisco are deeply proud of their city tonight, and the way it turned out for BatKid’s big day. This was really a day to be proud of the things we stand for in a city, to be proud of the things we want San Francisco to represent to the world. It’s a city where thousands of people made sure their Friday was wide open to cheer on BatKid, a child they’d never met, while he fought an array of supervillains, just so they coud be there for him.
That’s something unique. That’s something special. I want to say thank you, BatKid, for bringing out the best in us. You made my wish come true.
