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Oct. 11, 2004 Let me start by saying one thing. The real heroes in life are those who put their lives on the line, who give of themselves above and beyond what is asked and do so selflessly without counting the cost. Service persons (for those of you in Rio Linda, yeah I said it, that's people in the military), firemen, police officers...you get the idea. We can NOT compare what they do. However... Those of you still with me (Hellllooooo????)I'd like to pay my respects to another hero. This one from the year I graduated Dear Old McKendree. Okay, I've got to aside here. This has been a great year of changes. A lot of big things coming down. Ronald Reagan, Ray Charles both died. I lost a job in January and found another this month. I lost a very good, dear friend in a train accident (despite what the coroners jury said it was an accident, I'd bet my bippy on it).There's been a lot of hurricanes in Florida and if that wasn't bad enough it's an election year. Now, back to what I started. This goes back to 1978. I graduated McKendree College.I started my first job outside of school (in the cold cruel world, in other words)and two movies to have an impact on me came out, or was it three? I'm not sure when Star Trek the Motion picture came out so I won't count it here. The first was Animal house, well it wasn't the first, but since it came out just after I graduated college (I swear that wasn't me as Flounder, even though I think the movie was based on life at ole Muck U.).Coincidence? I think not. The second was Superman: the movie. I think this came out first. Anyway, this started the whole thing. For the rest of the year I believed a man could fly. Look, I've been a Superman fan since before I could spell it. That's a long time. The lead was an, at the time, unknown acter named Christopher Reeve (no relation to George Reeves from the 50s television The Adventures of Superman, though I find that veeerrry strange). Christopher Reeves burst on the scene in full primary colors and looked every inch the part. (Actually, I also though Margot Kidder as Lois Lane was very HOT)okay, anything about the guy in the big blue tights gets my attention. That's why I can't totally diss Seinfeld.(The guy's a freekin'Superman fan, too, so he can't be all bad). Superman:the movie must vie with Star Trek:the motion picture and the first ever Star Wars(is anyone seeing a pattern here?) as my most watched movie of all time. I'd still watch it over and over if I could. I watched all the Superman movies several times over, even the bad ones, but of course the first was the best(Isn't it always?). It all came to a halt when Mr. Reeve had THE ACCIDENT. He fell off the horse and didn't get back on, EVER. He's spent the last nine years recovering from a fall which broke his neck and raising money for spinal injury patients.(see: christopherreeve.org) I believe that's the right address. He's done a lot for research and treatment. This brings me to where I was headed. The last several years he has been appearing as the character Dr. Viril Swan (a tip of the hat to Superman artist Curt Swan, or Stephen Hawking, I don't know) who appears in the preSuperman life of Clark Kent "Smallville" on the WB channel. He is the one who tells Clark where he came from and was sceduled to mentor him into taking on the Big Red S. I just read the news Christopher Reeve passed away. I'm sure his wife Dana will continue the work they've been doing, but, as I said, this is about a hero. And now you know why. Even though he was told he would never even breath without help Chris Reeve went on to prove his doctors wrong and he did. He also went on to do a lot of other things they said he wouldn't.Too bad walking wasn't one of them, but he was working toward that. Well, I guess the Big Red S will go on, but Christopher Reeve's shoes will be hard to fill. Maybe there will come another year when we will believe a man can fly. Maybe someday we'll all look up and ask if it's a bird, or a plane.To me, no matter who fills the roll Christopher Reeve will still be Superman and nothing changes that. ------------ About the author: Lee Zelhart is a proud graduate of McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois and the father of two teens (one of which will be getting married in the next couple of years, maybe sometime in 2006) and the author of The Ghost of the Cavalier due out in 2005. Email: graphicsdoctor1@sbcglobal.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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