8/15/2009
I've been reading comics for over 35 years and Green Lantern was always my favorite. While my life more resembled Peter Parker's, I found Hal Jordan as a character that I could relate to. Yes, he was physically able, but his real strength came from his ability to rise above the situation by using his will and intellect. To me that was something that connect with the core of who I am. I don't easily share my story to strangers on the Internet just because people tend to be less than respectful sometimes, but if I'm going to have this blog I'm going to be open and honest with anyone who might visit it.
I was born in 1964 with a very rare birth defect called Esophageal Atresia/Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula - in a nutshell the upper part of my esophagus connected to my trachea instead of the lower half. I'm one of the oldest people in the US to have survived having the defect since, at that time, it not only was difficult to diagnose the problem, the corrective procedure wasn't well known. I spent a lot of time in the hospital and I was easily prone to illness. Comics were my escape and something inexpensive enough that my parents could supply me with a ready supply.
One side effect of all this was that the scar tissue caused me to choke on my food quite often. In the days prior to 911 and the common knowledge of the Heimlich maneuver let me tell you that I had a lot of close calls and times when I nearly choked to death. Pretty scary for a kid - and in those moments when I wasn't sure of myself I looked to my Green Lantern for inspiration. I'd ask myself "what would Hal do?" -and Hal helped me find the strength of will inside myself that I didn't know was there. And if my hero could get out of tougher situations just on his sheer strength of will and courage, then I could too.
I was with Green Lantern every step of the way for a long time and only left the book a year or so after "Emerald Twilight" because I just couldn't accept what was done to not only Hal Jordan but the entire Green Lantern mythos. In fact I left comics altogether and only picked up issues when Hal would show up, finally returning to the hobby during "Day of Judgement".
So 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the modern Green Lantern mythos and the year I celebrate 45 years of triumph over my birth defect. With the new animated film and the live action film on the horizon, not to mention "Blackest Night", I felt the time was right for me to start a site and give something back to the characters that gave me so much. And beside, the way I figure it I owe the guy!
I was born in 1964 with a very rare birth defect called Esophageal Atresia/Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula - in a nutshell the upper part of my esophagus connected to my trachea instead of the lower half. I'm one of the oldest people in the US to have survived having the defect since, at that time, it not only was difficult to diagnose the problem, the corrective procedure wasn't well known. I spent a lot of time in the hospital and I was easily prone to illness. Comics were my escape and something inexpensive enough that my parents could supply me with a ready supply.
One side effect of all this was that the scar tissue caused me to choke on my food quite often. In the days prior to 911 and the common knowledge of the Heimlich maneuver let me tell you that I had a lot of close calls and times when I nearly choked to death. Pretty scary for a kid - and in those moments when I wasn't sure of myself I looked to my Green Lantern for inspiration. I'd ask myself "what would Hal do?" -and Hal helped me find the strength of will inside myself that I didn't know was there. And if my hero could get out of tougher situations just on his sheer strength of will and courage, then I could too.
I was with Green Lantern every step of the way for a long time and only left the book a year or so after "Emerald Twilight" because I just couldn't accept what was done to not only Hal Jordan but the entire Green Lantern mythos. In fact I left comics altogether and only picked up issues when Hal would show up, finally returning to the hobby during "Day of Judgement".
So 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the modern Green Lantern mythos and the year I celebrate 45 years of triumph over my birth defect. With the new animated film and the live action film on the horizon, not to mention "Blackest Night", I felt the time was right for me to start a site and give something back to the characters that gave me so much. And beside, the way I figure it I owe the guy!
Posted in: Opinions
1 comments:
You are a terrific person, Myron. Everyone in IFT misses you.
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