Vendor A. Allen: Cap, you've come a long way

“You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” is not only a song by Fatboy Slim. It was the motto used by Philip Morris to promote Virginia Slims cigarettes in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

I think the idea and phrase was saying that women until then were not allowed to vote, or to smoke in public. It was not accepted by men and the public.

It was the same way for African Americans. We have all come a long way in what is acceptable to society.

Now the time has come for Captain America “to step up his game,” as we say on the street.

Yes, when we look at reality and the way things are nowadays, homelessness and LGBTQ are a way of life.

For Joshua Trujillo and Jan Bazaldua to put together a gay superhero who helps youth who are homeless is a really good thing. I remember when I was homeless for three years, and how rough it was to survive. I would tell the story of a man who was sitting on the roof of his house during a storm and flood. He prayed, “Lord, send someone to help me and my family.”

Shortly after, another man came by in a boat and threw him a lifeline. The first man responded, “No thanks, I am waiting on the Lord.”

Then a helicopter came by with a ladder. Again, “No thanks, I am waiting on the Lord.”

Finally, a ship came by and tossed him a raft. “No thanks, I am waiting on the Lord.”

The man died and went to heaven. “Why didn’t you save me?” he asked the Lord.

And the Lord responded, “I sent you three people and you refused.”

That’s how I feel about being saved from homelessness. It doesn’t matter whether it is a government program, Black or white: I just want out.

I am in a 12-step program and we just call it a Higher Power. It’s the same as a super power. You can make it whatever or whoever you like, as long as it saves you.

Captain America, you’ve come a long way. Continue to save lives.