MAN OF STEEL

I dedicate this short piece to the memory of  George Reeves and Christopher Reeve who made me a better man. Also to my Special Needs students and to another hero of mine; my son, Mike who does not possess any of my faults.

MAN OF STEEL
By Peter Vuono

     Every boy needs a hero. I was no exception. Growing up in the mid 1950's, I was drawn toward anything that projected strength. I loved dinosaurs and Superman. George Reeves was the perfect hero; big, handsome, strong and heroic. When he passed away in June of 1959, I was greatly saddened but looked to others along the way to fill the void such as Steve Reeves. Then, in the late 70's, a new hero had arisen.
     Like his predecessor, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve was the perfect Superman; tall, muscular, good looking and behind the scenes, a true man of integrity. In his early years, he was quite involved in the Special Olympics, the Save the Children Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Here was a hero that the public needed. What also impressed me about him was the fact that he was trained by former British weightlifting champion, Dave Prowse who would also be immortalized on the screen as Darth Vader!
     Recently, my son had played a movie trailer for the upcoming remake entitled, Man of Steel. I had seen it many times before and had previously thought nothing of it. However, this time, as the trailer rolled, my son, Mike, made a comment saying,"It's too bad about Chris Reeve; isn't it dad?" Instantaneously, my heart dropped and my eyes welled up to capacity.
     I hadn't forgotten Reeve's accident in 1995 and his struggle with being a quadriplegic. I thought of his death in 2004 and the passing of his wife, Dana, soon after. But at almost the same moment, I had an epiphany.
     As I started to maintain my composure and pull myself together, I realized that Chris Reeve's life taught me a lesson that I should have learned from all my Special Needs students but never did. Reeve showed us that our lives do not have to be derailed from the path that we were so passionately following just because of an illness, accident or disability.
     Reeve, after his accident, went on to direct both an A&E and HBO movie. He wrote two books and appeared in a segment of Smallville. He later starred in the remake of Rear Window and in doing so, received a Golden Globe nomination and a special award from the screen actor's guild. He made numerous appearances and speeches on behalf of stem cell and spinal cord research and together with his wife he created the Chris and Dana Reeve Foundation which operates even today.
     All within the time of a one minute movie trailer, I learned through Chris Reeve's life that illness and disability don't cause life to end but only to change. It was at that very moment that I ironically realized that Christopher Reeve truly was a Man of Steel.