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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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GOOD ONLY AT ARCHIE’S TACO BELLS.
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