Ted Ciuba

The Day Superman Died: Vol. 6 in the Sub 4 Minute Extra Mile Series Ted Ciuba

Christopher Reeve wasn't just a superb actor, he was a living example of a Superman. After a debilitating accident, he continued to contribute to society and inspire others. Have you done enough to make this world a better place? I still remember the day Superman died. It's been a few years now, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was traversing the airport in Reno, Nevada and I saw the headlines. There were about 12 different newspapers for sale - they were all in their machines - and I caught the headlines: "Superman Dies at 52". The day prior Christopher Reeve had been with his son, watching him at a sporting event. It's not easy to be a quadriplegic and move around. It would've been so much easier to stay in the house, to watch T. V. He was made a quadriplegic in a horse-riding accident, by the way. He played the most virile role on Earth... He was a superb actor, an example of a master craftsman. You know the person by the work they do. He was superb - and though he went from that most virile role to a quadriplegic racked with pain and needing help, he never quit being a hero. Prior, yes, but certainly post-accident, his life was for others. He had a family; he was a motivational speaker. They'd put him up on an incline, and he could barely move. He could move his eyeballs - and he could speak. And it was with great effort. And he put everything he could into it, so that he could help, encourage, and inspire others. We've all got our individual paths, and it's not up for everybody to be a Superman - that's not what's required. But what is, something you should learn from this and that you should apply to yourself, is the heroic effort in a cause bigger than yourself. You see, we are stewards of the gift of life, of the Life Force. That?s why they call the time we live a present. In the evolutionary scheme of the Gods, yes, the world is intended to be better because we lived. If we have lived. If we have lived, as Tennyson puts it in the mouth of Ulysses, "Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods". Why not? You certainly can. That's the way Superman lived. And if a quadriplegic can do it, a man racked with pain who required so much additional effort to do anything that you or I as normal people can do easily - well... It's time we recognize the hero, drop our excuses, and strive to live the heroic life. Yesterday he was fine. Today he is gone. RIP. It's not for everyone to be a Superman. But it is to be noble & to leave a noble legacy. Apply yourself in a heroic effort in a cause bigger than yourself.