Today is October 10th.

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krypton21

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I can't believe it's been three years. You know, the older generations still know where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news of the Kennedy assassination. To that extent, there will be a good number of people around the globe from my generation, that will always remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news that <b>our</b> Superman died. Three years ago today, Christopher Reeve died.

Of course, I didn't find this news out until the morning of the 11th, which was a Monday, when I got to work. The first email I opened read: "<i>-- Actor Christopher Reeve has died at the age of 52, a day after lapsing into a coma, his publicist tells CNN.</i>" And my heart sank. It felt as though a lifelong friend had died. And, in a way, he was.

I was born two years after <b>Superman: The Movie</b> was released in theaters. So I grew up watching Superman on my TV, while wearing my Superman Underroos and jumping off the couch to see if I could fly. Christopher Reeve wasn't a mere mortal to me... he WAS Superman. He made us believe a man could fly. There were no strings, or green screens (actually, it was blue back then), or CGI.... Superman was real. Metropolis, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, they were all real. I just could never figure out why I couldn't find a Daily Planet newspaper.

Eventually, as time wore on, I got older and I knew that Superman was just a comic book character. But as a child of the 80's.... Christopher Reeve will always be Superman.

And then, on May 27, 1995, the impossible happened.... Superman was paralyzed from the neck down. Like any human being that has lived a 'normal' life (as normal as an actor's, anyway) to have your world turned upside down in a flash...... he wanted to die. But thanks to the words of a loved one, "You’re still you. And I love you.", whispered to him by his wife Dana, his outlook changed. Instead of sulking, and wallowing in misery, he chose to do something about it. The doctors told him that he would never walk again. Chris wanted to prove them wrong. He established the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, and touched as many, if not more lives than he did portraying a character from a comic book.

Sadly, three years ago today, due to an infection from a pressure wound, the man the world knew as Superman, left this planet forever.. He was 52.

For about a month, his passing was a major topic in the news. While it was a sad time, there were many good articles that were praising his strength and his accomplishments, but there were some negative stories as well. You can't please everyone, right? Well, in that time, I collected all the editorial cartoons, as well as the fan-art, that I could find that were about him. Click on the link below to see them.

<center>
tribute-gorrell.jpg


Chris Reeve Memorials</center>

And so, today, in memory of Christopher Reeve, I am wearing the CRPF dogtags I bought shortly after his death.

Rest in piece my friend. You are missed.
 
I make a point of sending a c-note to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation each year.
 
Thank you. I try to send what I can every now & then, but I always feel as though it's not enough.
 
You have to see the video to really get the *feel* of this song and the full impact.

The Last 10 Years by Kenny Rogers:

Oh, the last ten years, it's been quite trip
Over thirty-six-hundred spins around without a cosmic slip
But within the realm of our atmosphere
We're 'bout as out of whack as we've ever been in a million years
We watched the Y2K scare in a panic
An' we watched as time proved Nostrodamus wrong
An' we watched as Mother Nature shook the planet
An' cellular replaced the telephone
We lost Charlie Brown, Ray Charles an' Johnny Cash
We even lost Superman, mhm.

Well, the last ten years, look at the hills we've climbed
The best golfer's black, the best rapper's white an' it's about **** time
But we best beware, there's a brand new fight, you see
An' I hate to say we might be our own worst enemy
We watched Oklahoma sifting through the damage
An' we watched a US President get caught
We watched shareholders watch their savings vanish
We all cried when we watched those towers fall
We lost Minnie Pearl, Ron Reagan and Sam I Am
We even lost Superman, mhm.

Expensive gas an' free downloads
The dot-com boom, an' reality shows
What's gonna happen next is anybody's guess
Satellite radio and hybrid cars
Hand-held computers an' a trip to Mars
It's all become a part of who we are
In the last ten years.

In the last ten years
We lost George Harrison, John Paul and June Carter-Cash
Hell, we even lost Superman
Gonna miss you. Chris...
 
I'm not really a fan of country music, but I must admit.... I like that song.

I must have listened to it a few dozen times last night, each one with a different video. Out of all the ones I saw... I think this is the best one:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/i7Srnng-NCo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/i7Srnng-NCo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
 
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