By Kevin Henry, Proofs EditorI have a confession to make ... I root for the bad guys. I’m the guy who wants Wile E. Coyote to catch the Road Runner. I’m the guy who thinks Alan Rickman should’ve defeated Bruce Willis in Die Hard, Kevin Costner in Robin Hood, and taken over Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. Yeah, I know the real name of my favorite movie villain. Scary, huh?Perhaps nowhere is there a greater showcase of good vs. evil than in the arena of professional wrestling. I know, I know ... many of you will immediately stop reading my editor’s note at the mere mention of “professional wrestling,” but hear me out on this one.Through a long story that I will tell you personally sometime at an upcoming trade show, my mom is a HUGE pro wrestling fan. She watches Monday Night Raw. She watches Friday Night Smackdown. She watches because she actually knows the wrestlers (again, part of the long story), but there’s no question she’s hooked on this form of sports entertainment.My family is a very small, tight-knit crew. I’m an only child and my 13-year-old daughter is an only child. Yes, our family tree doesn’t branch out very far. My daughter and I do a lot of things with my mom and dad ... including our annual weekly tradition of eating dinner and watching Monday Night Raw together. We each have different reasons for watching it. My mom likes to tell the stories of when she met this guy or that guy and how nice he really is. I watch it for the storylines they come up with each week and the continuous twists and turns of this soap opera on steroids. My daughter? I’m afraid she’s watching it because the wrestlers are shirtless. Sigh.If at this point you’re still reading and you think my Monday Night Raw ritual is nuts, my mom will gladly tell you this ... Monday Night Raw is the longest-running weekly episodic series in television history, airing more original episodes than The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Home Improvement combined. It debuted on Jan. 11, 1993, and is still going strong. I’ve heard this from her several times and she’ll put a sleeper hold on anyone who dares to disagree with her.Why am I telling you about pro wrestling? Well, I landed back in Tulsa last night after spending the last four days in the mecca of pro wrestling, attending SummerSlam (the WWE’s big pay-per-view event) in Los Angeles. This was the annual summer dad-daughter trip for Julia and me. I gave her the choice of going anywhere in the world this summer. She chose L.A. and SummerSlam. I tried offering Paris, a cruise, or a number of other options. She wanted to see John Cena and Randy Orton. I think her days of American Girl dolls are officially over.Julia and I had a great trip and made lots of memories. I bought the whole SummerSlam package, so we stayed at the official SummerSlam hotel. We ate with the WWE superstars. We sat four rows from ringside so we saw the sweat fly when Cena (the good guy and Julia’s hero) and CM Punk (the bad guy and my hero) met for the world championship last Sunday night. One of the best parts of the whole weekend was the autograph session. Fate intervened and had us meet three of the certified WWE villains for autographs. I smiled. Julia shook her head.
Getting an autograph from PunkAm I nuts about pro wrestling? Not really. More than anything, I’m nuts about what interests my daughter. I know she’s growing up and these dad-daughter trips may be a thing of the past before long. I’m going to take advantage of every moment I can with her, including a four-day wrestling extravaganza in L.A.We all get busy in the dental industry. I know the travel can be crazy and the demands on your time can be tough, but I hope you’re still able to carve out time with your kids and family when you can. Find out what they like to do and do it with them. You’ll be amazed at the memories you make and the smiles you get ... even if you’re cheering for the bad guy.Read on, this is your e-newsletter ...