Stryder's Dementia: SUPERMAN

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...Superman's 75th Anniversary!

Wow! The Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton. The Man of Tomorrow! Kal-El. Mild-mannered Clark Kent. Faster than a speeding bullet! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! This looks like a job for SUPERMAN!!!! Up, up and away!!!

Superman. Incredible!

I've been wracking my brains trying to think of a way to express what Superman has meant to me over the years. Maybe I can talk about how hard it was for me to be an immigrant in the United States as a young child and so obviously different from all the children in small town, rural Utah. Or how, conversely I was the outsider here in Toronto when my family returned to Canada, having been changed by the years spent in the U.S.A.? In either case, I felt like the alien trying to fit in amongst humans...it sure helped to have a role model who was also an immigrant and who also had some difficulty fitting in...

You know, Superman was created by an American and a Canadian...just like me!

Perhaps I should talk about how Superman is not only a super hero but also a shy guy with glasses who likes to stay out of the spotlight and write about the things he sees? How he's just a friendly guy who wants everyone to be happy and have a nice time and be safe!

Then again, I could go on about the moral implications of Superman...how he always tries to do the right thing and help others...how wanting to be like Superman inspired me to be good! To never lie, cheat or steal...to be polite and respectful but also to be true to myself and my ideals! To stand up for what I believe! To be the hero of my own story!

I could even talk about Christopher Reeve and the movie Superman...how it's always been part of my life...how whenever I'm feeling tired or cranky I can just hum the brilliant John Williams Superman theme, (Up, up and away...SU-PER-MAAAAANNNN) stand up straight and carry on! Just listening to the first few bars of that awesome french horn from the theme song can inspire a plethora of emotions...

In the end...there's too much to say about Superman. He's too big! How does the Man of Steel impact my life? If I can't tell you, let me just show you...