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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1983)
/ Wednesday, June 1, 1983/The BattaIion/Page 13 Youngest blackbelt ever Boy wins cancer fight Rainy day portrait Staff’photo by Peter Rocha enjacjj Drops of rain were evident everywhere the Rer| following the thundershowers late Mon- ownmif . day night. With the rains came a breath of unseasonably cool air — a relief from the hot summer weather. excited aotb aid. had s disapji coachiiiiK Diego r he< ■d up teams vas eks ago if ling. Superman myth lives n the real Metropolis United Press International SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. — Matt Hodges, who six years ago became the youngest karate blackbelt in the world, appears to be the winner over an even more difficult challenger — cancer. At the age of 6, he was in the Guinness Book of World Re cords and appeared on the “Mike Douglas Show” and “To Tell the Truth”. The “Karate King” had fans around the globe who sent him letters — more than 20,000 of them — filled with praise and affection. Little Matt Hodges was a star, especially in his neighborhood. Matt’s future looked bright. But all that came to an abrupt halt on April 2, 1977. During the day, Matt com peted in a Marshall University karate tournament. That night, he lay on his back in the Charles ton General Hospital, using all his strength and concentration against a cancerous brain tumor. “My little boy lay motionless like a human vegetable with tubes running out of his head, his mouth and nose. His eyes were popping out of his head which was three times its normal size,” Pam Hodges, his mother, said. The doctors acted quickly to drain the fluids expanding Matt’s brain. But the release of pressure caused a mass of blood clots. Matt was in bad shape. He made it through the five operations needed to extract the blood clots. “They were as big as baseballs, but I made it,” said Matt, 12. After recovering from the re sulting paralysis and loss of speech, he underwent yet another operation to remove the tumor. When the tumor was re moved, doctors gave him a year to live and told his mother to expect the tumor to grow back. That was six years ago, but the tumor has not returned. Matt’s most recent checkup showed no trace of cancer. He is not on medication and no longer needs chemotherapy or radia tion treatments. His hair has grown back. His memory has greatly improved, and his feet have grown four shoe sizes in the past seven months, after having not grown at all for four year's. “I’m very lucky,” he says. “You’ve got to have courage.” Courage is only one of the qualities Matt possesses. “Matt has never been depress ed or sad throughout all this, he is always happy. It never seemed to faze him,” said his mother. Matt’s doctors said he should swim every day to combat the degeneration of his muscles caused by the temporary para lysis. Unable to afford a pool for her son, Ms. Hodges, bought him a pony. Ms. Hodges says overcoming the ignorance of his peers and the prejudice of society is be coming a bigger challenge as Matt grows older. For now, Matt’s cousin, Michael, 10, and sister, Chastity, 9, take care of any bullies, his mother said. But one day Matt will have to face it alone. And when that day comes, his mother believes he will be ready. “I believe one day Matt will be completely well,” she said. “When he gets older he will take it upon himself to build his body back up. I told the doctors that when he first became sick. They thought I was in a fantasy world.” The “Bionic Kid,” as Matt be came known to his doctors, is very busy these days. He goes bowling every weekend with his classmates from Winfield Elementary Special Education School, and he is learning to ride “Red”, his new pony. “I’ll always try something once,” he said. np. To up,' ck Dei champ u rant ai' he last ui United Press International 1ETROPOLIS, Ill. — Bob [sterfield says he still believes Superman, despite a dose of |nomic kryptonite that Shed hopes of a multimillion lar theme park in the “Man keel's” hometown a decade “He’s as real as God made je green apples,” said Wester- a self-described promoter talks faster than a speeding :t. “I have seen him take adults make kids out of them. I’ve him with the mentally re ed and become their hero, seen the eyes of kids widen r they see someone who can and who can’t be hurt by gs,” Westerfield said. “He st be alive.” he vision of turning Metro- is, a city of 7,000 perched on ing hills along the Ohio Riv- hto a major tourist attraction ras very much alive in the early 970s. n January 1972 Metropolis — the only town bearing that name in the U.S. Postal Service’s directory — officially adopted Superman as a resident. The Rev. Charles Chandler, a Baptist minister, donned the caped costume and performed several stunts before national newspaper, television and radio reporters. “We got excited about that and said, ‘Well, what else can we do?” said Clyde Wills, editor of the weekly Metropolis Planet. In 1973, a corporation made up mainly of residents purch ased $250,000 worth of stock to create a venture called “The Amazing World of Superman.” They began planning a museum, shopping complex and theme park. They paid $50,000 for the use' of Superman’s name and, in the summer of 1973, a museum was opened in a converted skating rink. Three months later, the cor poration ran out of money, the museum closed and its contents were put up for auction. “Thingsjust pretty much died after that,” Wills said. “Every body was upset about losing the money they invested, and Su perman was just pretty much a dirty word around here for sev eral years.” Wills said most of the bitter ness about the failed venture among the townspeople has died. Superman still adorns signs leading into and out of town and on the city’s water tow er. There is a big “S” outside the Planet office, the chamber of commerce has a talking Super man telephone booth, and there is an annual “Superman Celeb ration” on the second weekend of June. Texas flag stays popular United Press International DALLAS — Texans use the Lone Star state flag to stir martinis, hawk real estate and top oil derricks and skyscrap ers. They even fly them on Cadillacs. “If it’s not there you get a naked feeling,” says business man Lou Kronberg. Flag makers and promo ters say no other state has such a fixation on its most visible symbol. “You can’t go down the street without seeing the flag,” businessman Lou Kronberg said of the flag. Other state flags are an “impossible complex of scales kinko's copies IAT J! iDk. mH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WELCOMES YOU The Episcopal Student Center would like to welcome tudents to our Wednesday Evening Eucharist (6:00 m.) followed by supper. St. Thomas Episcopal Church welcomes you to the Sunday Celebration of the Eucharist 8:00 a.m., 9:15 am., 11:00 a.m. Student Center Chapel (St. Judes) open 24 hours study space and TV room open until 10 p.m. daily. 902-906 Jersey St. — South edge of Campus 696-0774 or 696-1726 ft PUI PROFESSOR! PUBLISHING Here's how it works : Professors organize a selection of class readings (check copyright law for legal use of material) and drop the master off at Kinko’s. Kinko’s will - - Duplicate it - Assemble Custom Notebooks - Distribute them to your students at a reduced rate Our Professor Publishing Plan is available at no cost to you or your department. Give us a call for more information 201 College Main 846-8721 5 0k. FIRST SESSION SUMMER INTRAMURAL PROGRAM • Slowpitch Softball • Volleyball Triples • 3-Man Basketball • Tennis Singles • Handball Singles • Racquetball Doubles • Golf Singles ENTRIES CLOSE TOMORROW AT 7 P.M.! Come to the IM-RJEC Sports Office, I 59 E. Kyle or call 845-7826 for further information! RECREATIONAL SPORTS or figures of justice,” said Kronberg, owner of Flags and Flagpoles, a firm stocking one of the nation’s largest flag in ventories. But the Texas flag “is a very powerful graphic design in strong colors.” He said he sells customers ^tmy^Jlagsforinartin^^lasses and 30-foot-by-50 Hags, which can cover a house and must be displayed from 100- foot poles. He said he shipped a con tainer load of flags to Norway last year for a western-style celebration and regularly sends items to fashionable Paris boutiques. “You must remember that Texas was a republic,” said Jay Moore, general manager of San Antonio’s American Flag Sales Center. “The flag carries a specific meaning for many people, a sense of history and independence.” Wednesday Night is 50 c Margarita Night at Margaritas by the glass 5(T Margaritas by the pitcher *6°° Buy a pitcher & we’ll throw in an order of nctchos for $1.00 Culpepper Plaza 696-7773 5*30 PJAAofc VIA ''Wednesday never Vasled qo qood.. Tot onVj V2..9S 'sou ftetZTacos and aWWve RegdVat feun&os 'you can eat. VAo coupons ate necessary .. .\us\.youand 'jour appe\i\.e,eNerf'NondeduY9jednesday \n June from VIA \.o V.tA \w-Yvouse. sersAte. Yrvc\u<Xrc\q potto. qood>*fltt\ wrey ottvox ottes. GOOD ONLY AT ARCHIE’S TACO BELLS. oc*0\ SouttY Texas Kvevme, 3 -WO VtotOY Wwmey Woa«\, eoWe^e StaWocv