I have a soft spot for superheroes because they're the hero or heroine you just didn't see coming. They don't predictably save the day like police officers, emergency responders, or doctors; a superhero's day job usually doesn't fit the bill of champion of the people.
Instead, superheroes are the seemingly scrawny boy who masterfully scales walls at night and the gawkish writer who sheds his office garb to become the Man of Steel. They're also window washers who only reveal their true superhero identity for one day in October. In fact, the image shown here is a rare glimpse into the day job of the superheroes who masquerade as window washers for most days of the year.
At least, that's how I choose to look at it.
This past Tuesday, the window washers of Delta Window Cleaning Company donned the uniforms of the superheroes that so many kids hope to see in real life. Batman, Superman, and Spiderman were among those who made the windows of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital shine, but their most important job of the day was to bring wonder and joy to the children who eagerly peered though hospital windows hoping to see one of them.
I guess for some people they were just window washers. But then, that's what a true superhero would want you to think.
Holly MacCormick is a writing intern in the medical school’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs. She is a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at University of California-Santa Cruz.
Previously: Scenes from the Trick-or-Treat Trail at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
Photo courtesy of Packard Children's Hospital
