My Fourth of July Vacation: A
ride through the Midwest during that patriotic
time of year. (Jerome A. Holst © 2005)
During the Fourth of July weekend, most people
gather to celebrate the founding of our country
by hosting parties with a patriotic theme and
consuming mass quantities of burgers, chips and
soda pop - and topping that off with a fireworks
display. Well, this year, I decided to leave the
gatherings behind and hit the road. My plan? To
travel to Metropolis, Illinois (pop. 7000), the
home of Superman and then continue into
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and then back to
Pennsylvania, my home turf.
I began my adventure by heading south towards
West Virginia, then turning west through
Kentucky. Two days into my trip I passed north
of Nashville, cruised by Paducah, Kentucky and
crossed the Ohio River to find the town of
Metropolis, Illinois located off Interstate 24.
Arriving late in the day, I checked into a motel
on the outskirts town, chow-downed on junk food,
watched cable TV and hit the hay. Had I arrived
a few weeks earlier, I could have participated
in the town's annual celebration (their 27th)
held in the second week of June that features
such events as the Superman Road Race, the
SuperTrek Bicycle Tour, the Little Miss
Supergirl and Little Mr. Superboy pageants and
the Super Car Show. The original Superman
Celebration featured a mock bank robbery where
Superman arrives on the scene to save the day.
Superman Posters Fill the Town
The next morning, I arose well rested, packed up
my belonging and then slowly steered my car into
Metropolis looking for a large red, yellow and
blue painted statue of the Superman character
that reportedly stood guard over the town
square.
As I enter the town square area, I can't help
but notice the streets of Metropolis are lined
with old-fashioned lampposts that are adorned
with lovely hanging baskets of petunias and
attractively made posters that advertise the
city of Metropolis and their merchants. Pulling
out my camera to take a few snap shots, I
noticed a lamppost fallen on the sidewalk. Could
there be TROUBLE IN METROPOLIS? My imagination
quickly sketched a scenario of Superman battling
some nefarious criminal which caused the
lamppost's destruction. But, it probably was
just knocked over by an errant driver not paying
attention as he/she pondered the wonders of the
town's "super" tourist attractions
A Metropolis lamppost takes a tumble.
As I found a parking space near the center
of town, I walked over to the town square to
take a good look at the Superman statue that
celebrated the legend of the strange visitor
from the planet Krypton. It was amusing to watch
the many tourist as they stood in front of the
statue and had a friend take the obligatory
photograph of them with the Man of Steel
(actually the statue is Bronze). Taking their
place in front of the Dell Comic inspired
statuary, some people hugged or kissed their
companions, others held their children high over
their heads as if flying but many mimicked the
akimbo stance of Superman for their photo op.
The base of the statue bore the words "Truth -
Justice - The American Way."
Superman Guards the Town of Metropolis
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