IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE! IT'S SUPERMAN!

We decided to drive d-i-l Heather and baby Beckett down to the University of Michigan Medical Center today for his dermatology appointment.

Look who greeted us in the lobby. None other than the Man of Steel.

Here's a story that I don't like to tell.

The year was 1959, making me 6 years old. Mom and dad and 3 of us kids (Terrie, Tim, and Dana) were loaded up in the family car, headed to Grandma Welker's house for Sunday dinner. We also had the Sunday morning copy of The Flint Journal in the back seat. 

Evidently, Terrie (at age 8) could read, and the headlines stated...SUPERMAN GEORGE REEVES DEAD AT AGE 45.

What? How could that be? How could Superman be dead...he was Superman. Did someone finally get to him with a huge dose of Kryptonite?

My 6 year old mind couldn't comprehend the headline, and I sat in the car and cried and refused to go into Grandma's house.

I think my dad eventually came back to the car and talked me down...or maybe it was the thought of missing my grandma's chocolate chip bars.

Whatever the scenario, it was devastating, but also probably a great lesson in life. Sometimes, our heroes are make-believe.