Spotlight on Mutants with Barbara Walters- Episode 2; Bliss

Posted on Wed Jan 31st, 2024 @ 3:44pm by Iris Walker & Bliss Hawkins

1,070 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: Televission

Have you ever wished you could throw a boulder as easy as touching it? Or perhaps just crush it?

A smiling young woman is in a car junkyard. She picks out an old Oldsmobile sedan, twice the size of a modern car. She placed her palms on the hood. The car began to compress like it was in a trash compactor. The glass and chrome car quickly became a glittering ball the size of a backpack. The young woman casually tossed the car into a distant stack of flattened cars. The loud crunch of metal on metal could be heard. She looked to the camera with a grin and a thumbs up.
"I love trash day."

Shotput and discus throwers would love such a talent.

(Video of a shotput thrower.)

Today on Spotlight on Mutants, we meet Bliss Hawkins, also known as Escapade; a girl who can do exactly that.

Barbara: thank you for joining me, Bliss.

Bliss: Thanks for having me, mamm.

Barbara: so tell me about how you came to the Xavier mansion.

Bliss: Long story short, i was born in Vegas. I lost my parents when I was really young. I always had weird (bleep) happening around me, sorry, can I say (bleep)? Anyway, I got an invitation to this cool school, but it was all the way on the East Coast. So I packed up a bag and started walking.

Barbara: You walked all the way from Las Vegas to New York?

Bliss: Oh, not every step. I had to get a bus out of the desert, but my first stop was in Phoenix. Not exactly out of the desert. Buses cost money, something I was relatively short on most of the time. I had fantasizied about seeing the country when I was a child, dreaming of the different places I would go and the people I would meet.

Barbara: And this was your chance.

Bliss: Sure was. They say travel when you're young and no responsibilities to weigh you down. I was getting some money from a stipend, but it wasn't enough to keep me in four star hotels. I saw a lot of things on my journey, not everything is sunshine and rainbow out in our world. There's a lot of things wrong--ignorance, hatred, and greed. All the seven deadly sins. But more importantly, I saw that for every bad example I found, there were ten good examples of Humanity.--kindness, tolerance, even forgiveness. The whole trip changed my perspective. I'd been an angry, resentful kid when I left Vegas. By the time I'd arrived at the Professor's school, I'd found something very powerful--hope.

Barbara: that is beautiful. Hope is a powerful force, isn’t it?

Bliss: A force that can change the world.

TAG - if anything.

Barbara: so it sounds like you’ve found a home here. Does that include friends?

Bliss: (face lights up) Oh yes! I've made more friends in my time here than the rest of my life. I love it! I have a roommate who's so sweet, but we're so different but not like Oscar and Felix from The odd couple. Think Thelma and Louise without the crime spree.

Barbara: (smiles) That’s very descriptive. Now, what about Professor Xavier? What’s your take on him?

Bliss: (the warm smile fades as she visibly struggles for a long moment, biting her lip before answering with a tremble in her voice)
I know the professor could live a life of ease. He's smart, talented, and rich. He could do just about anything he wanted. So why does he choose to do? He tries to help kids who are less fortunate than him. He has a dream that mutants and humans could just be.... People together. That's a dream I can get behind.

Barbara: You know, I think I can, too. (Smiles) So do you have any plans for the future? Either immediate or long-term.

Bliss: (perking up) Oh yeah, I got lots of hopes and dreams, just like every kid my age. I'm catching up on my education. Trying to figure out what to do with my life besides being a superhero... I don't think that pays the bills ? but anyway I got time for that. In between all of that I'm trying to find time to fall in love. Like I said, I'm doing things everybody my age are trying to figure out. Just because I can leap tall buildings in a single bound doesn't mean I got all the answers. Sometimes I'm still trying to figure out the questions.

Barbara: I know the feeling. (Smiles) You mentioned falling in love. Is there a special someone in your life, or is that a future possibility?

Bliss: (turns more shy) There's a guy. He's amazing. I can be honest, I've never met anyone like him. (Looks to the camera)
Girls! Find the smart guys. Give nerds a chance. Find the guy who spends more time volunteering to help you with your homework than working on his hair in the bathroom. You can do a lot worse than sweet, smart, and sometimes silly."

Barbara: That’s some very wise advice from a very wise young lady. Is there anything else you would like the world to know, either about you or mutants in general?

Bliss: Definitely. Mutants are people too. We're your neighbors, your best friends, your high school crushes, sometimes even your brothers and sisters. We didn't ask to be different. Imagine if you could see in the dark, or stretch like taffy. You're still the same person. How would you feel if everyone you cared about turned their backs on you, or worse?

There's a sad fact about students at my school. Almost every one of us have been abandoned by our families, some in the most heartbreaking of ways. Even after that kind of rejection, we're trying to make this world a better place for humans and mutants. Ask yourself if you could bear that kind of hurt and still get up in the morning every day and try to be a better person. It's not the easy road. But it's the necessary one.

Barbara: Those are powerful words. I think you’ve given us all something to think about. Thank you for your time today, Bliss.

Bliss: Thank you for the opportunity, Miss Walters. You've been very kind.

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