Who Was That Masked Man? Real-Life Superhero Visits Classes at Helix High!

DC’s Guardian is a real life superhero—whose red, white and blue character founded the Skiffytown League of Heroes. As told by Milwaukee-based blog Heroes in the Night, Guardian recently paid a visit to Helix Charter High School, and impressed students and teachers.

“I asked pointed questions about what influences they surround themselves with,” Guardian recalled telling students. “I also talked about their responsibilities: to learn, to be apart of their family, their community and nation. How it takes involvement in being a friend, a son or daughter and even a citizen. It was not all rosy, straight talk about good and bad things that happen.”

The masked man based on Captain America lives in the Washington metro area but spends half the year in Southern California. He doesn't tell his real name, but his Skiffytown League does real good—organizing community events and aids such groups as Make-A-Wish, The Joyful Heart Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Army Fisher Houses and the Autism Research Institute.

According to a blog that follows real life superheroes, DC Guardian’s mission is to “roam the streets of Washington D.C. with copies of the nation’s Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Explaining to passers-by the importance of their nation’s democracy, DC’s Guardian never reveals his face. He says the reason behind this is to allow black, white, Asian or Hispanic people to see themselves behind the mask.”

While he and his league may be comically costumed, the volunteer work they do is actually quite serious.

Guardian told Heroes that a Helix English teacher found him while she was researching an upcoming class topic—the study of comic books and their influence on reading and personal character development. Although Guardian had only planned to talk to one class, he wound up spending the whole day there, talking to several more classes.

“They had really gone above and beyond to look out for me,” Guardian told Heroes. “I can’t thank them enough.”

Looks like Helix has at least one superhero on its side: “I was honored to be asked there and I would return in a heartbeat if asked again. It gave me much more than I think I gave them.”

I NEED A SHORT STORY, STAT!  William Lynes is a local boy made good—he lived in La Mesa from 1969 to 1977 and graduated from Helix High School before becoming a medical doctor.

In 1990, he began writing a fantasy novel, Down the Laundry Shoot, in which his kids were the main characters. He would have continued down that road had it not been for his day job as a urologist at Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center.

Lynes, who graduated from medical school in 1981, loved to read fiction, which gradually evolved into an equally strong affection for writing. Among his favorite authors are Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien and John Grisham.

Since retiring in 2003, Lynes has returned to writing fiction mostly within a medical setting. “The majority have been short stories, but I have written a novel called Luger Rounds, which I am trying to get published, set in a hospital,” he said. “In addition, I have written two historical fiction short stories on biblical characters entitled Betrayal for Beauty about King David and The Reluctant Prophet about Jonah.”

Lynes has been published by several journals, including The Permanente Journal and Glimmertrain.

And while the good doctor does most of his writing in his Temecula home, he actually has quite the connection with our town. Ever since his maternal grandfather moved to La Mesa in 1934, at least on member of Lynes’ family has lived around these parts.