Jack Asbury III is a superhero in real life but dressed up a popular fictional one to help a little girl struggling with bullies at her school.
Jack is a local EMT in Spring Hill, FL who also dresses up as Batman to help others in his local community, especially kids. One day, he noticed that a friend, Erica Calculli (also from Spring Hill), posted on Facebook that her three-year-old daughter Lydia was dealing with physical and emotional injuries from bullies at her school. One day, the little girl even came home with a black eye! “At first it was very minor and I thought it happened just playing around, so I let it go,” Erica explained. But eventually, Lydia told the whole truth. “She told me that a bunch of girls and one boy hit her, and a girl threw a shoe at her eye.”
When Jack saw that post, he asked Erica if he could walk Lydia to school as Batman. The mom quickly gave her blessing and Jack met the two outside of Lydia’s school as the Dark Knight. “At first, Lydia was a little shy and nervous,” Jack said. “But when I told her I had a gift for her, she came out and started talking.” He gave the young girl her own superhero costume, telling her that she is brave just like the other superheroes he knows.
The kids inside were stunned to see Batman inside of their school, but especially walking hand-in-hand with Lydia. Inside the classroom, he spoke to all of the kids in Lydia’s class, letting them know that Lydia was his best friend and he would be back to check on her.
Since then, the kids’ attitude towards Lydia has turned around. In fact, a little boy befriended Lydia after seeing her superhero best friend. Lydia is doing much better academically and socially, and Erica is so grateful that Jack stepped in. It was definitely a heartwarming story to read and I’m glad that “Batman” was able to help this little girl.
Jack is working to help other families in and around the Spring Hill community. In fact, he has set up a “Batfund” on Facebook to assist in creating care packages and providing other needs for those who could use the help. A true hero in real life!
Imperfectly B 