WEBVTT - Up, Up and Away: The Superman Heist 0:00:08.762 --> 0:00:12.522 Fireheart originals. This is an iHeart original. 0:00:18.162 --> 0:00:21.202 Everyone has a place they retreat to when they need 0:00:21.242 --> 0:00:26.402 to recharge. It could be your bedroom, your library, your porch. 0:00:26.962 --> 0:00:31.642 For Superman, it's his fortress of solitude, the retreat carved 0:00:31.682 --> 0:00:35.642 out of ice in the Arctic. For Mike Meyer, it's 0:00:35.682 --> 0:00:38.842 the basement of his home in the small town of 0:00:38.882 --> 0:00:44.362 Granite City, Illinois. Mike is in his late forties, and 0:00:44.642 --> 0:00:48.882 for as long as he can remember, he has loved Superman. 0:00:49.442 --> 0:00:51.962 He bought his first comic as a ten year old 0:00:52.242 --> 0:00:56.362 when they were just twenty cents. He loves the nobility 0:00:56.402 --> 0:01:00.482 of Superman, his desire to do good things. He buys 0:01:00.562 --> 0:01:04.362 as many comics, toys, and other collectibles as he can. 0:01:05.242 --> 0:01:09.522 It's not easy. Not a wealthy collector. Mike has been 0:01:09.562 --> 0:01:13.922 collecting Social Security for an intellectual disability since he was 0:01:13.922 --> 0:01:17.482 in his twenties. He works part time at a McDonald's 0:01:17.562 --> 0:01:22.042 in nearby Collinsville, but over time he's still amassed a 0:01:22.162 --> 0:01:28.522 pretty cool collection, over eighteen hundred items. There's stuff everywhere, 0:01:29.042 --> 0:01:32.042 but a lot of it fills the basement of his home. 0:01:32.762 --> 0:01:35.162 He doesn't get down here as often as he'd like. 0:01:35.762 --> 0:01:39.562 Mike's knees give him problems, and navigating the stairs is hard, 0:01:40.242 --> 0:01:43.122 but it's worth it so he can be near his friend, 0:01:43.682 --> 0:01:50.282 his favorite fictional character. But today isn't like other days. Today, 0:01:50.442 --> 0:01:54.082 when Mike turns on the light, he's astonished to see 0:01:54.482 --> 0:01:59.202 the shelves are practically bare. The comics, the toys, the 0:01:59.322 --> 0:02:05.282 decades of collecting gone. Someone didn't just rob Mike of 0:02:05.322 --> 0:02:09.522 his stuff. They robbed him of the one thing that 0:02:09.642 --> 0:02:13.882 brought him most of his happiness. Thinking of Mike in 0:02:13.962 --> 0:02:17.762 that moment, you wish you could tell him what happens next, 0:02:18.482 --> 0:02:22.442 tell him that something amazing is going to come out 0:02:22.442 --> 0:02:26.922 of this. But right now, all Mike can do is 0:02:27.042 --> 0:02:32.682 wonder what happens when you lose everything that matters. Welcome 0:02:32.762 --> 0:02:37.282 to Very Special Episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm your 0:02:37.282 --> 0:02:50.162 host Danish Sports and this is Up, Up and Away. 0:02:51.042 --> 0:02:54.682 Hey, everybody, it's Jason English here. We've got something a 0:02:54.682 --> 0:02:58.162 little different this week. A couple of years ago, a 0:02:58.202 --> 0:03:01.282 lot of the people who work on this podcast Very 0:03:01.282 --> 0:03:06.642 Special Episodes made another podcast called Stealing Superman. Dana hosted 0:03:06.682 --> 0:03:10.722 that one. It was written by Jake Rosson, Josh Fisher, 0:03:11.082 --> 0:03:14.562 John Washington, Beheid Frasier, All the greats who work here 0:03:14.762 --> 0:03:18.122 behind the scenes worked on that as well. Stealing Superman 0:03:18.322 --> 0:03:21.322 is about a comic book heist that takes place at 0:03:21.402 --> 0:03:25.922 Nicholas Cage's bel Air mansion and follows the decade long 0:03:26.042 --> 0:03:29.402 odyssey to get his comics back. During that show, we 0:03:29.442 --> 0:03:33.682 made a bonus episode about a different Superman heist that, frankly, 0:03:33.762 --> 0:03:36.682 not a lot of people listen to. You put bonus 0:03:36.762 --> 0:03:40.042 in the title, and I guess people feel it's safe 0:03:40.082 --> 0:03:44.002 to skip. But it is a wonderful story, a great 0:03:44.042 --> 0:03:48.122 standalone episode, and now that we're getting a nice audience 0:03:48.202 --> 0:03:50.842 for what we're doing over here, I wanted to re 0:03:50.962 --> 0:03:54.842 up that as a very special episode. If you haven't 0:03:54.842 --> 0:03:59.242 gotten around to Stealing Superman yet, that's okay. There's no spoilers. 0:03:59.322 --> 0:04:04.002 It's truly its own story, and I hope you enjoy it. 0:04:04.442 --> 0:04:13.002 Over to you, Dana, There's no doubting a Superman was 0:04:13.082 --> 0:04:17.802 Mike Meyer's favorite pop culture character. His parents took him 0:04:17.802 --> 0:04:21.722 to see the first Christopher Reeve movie in nineteen seventy eight. 0:04:22.282 --> 0:04:26.282 His most prized possession, a twelve inch tall Captain action 0:04:26.402 --> 0:04:31.282 doll with Superman's costume, was acquired not long before Mike 0:04:31.562 --> 0:04:35.442 likes to draw too, and Superman was always taking shape 0:04:35.442 --> 0:04:39.602 on paper, his pencil forming a cape and the s. 0:04:40.322 --> 0:04:44.482 One of his dogs was named Crypto, after Superman's pets. 0:04:45.042 --> 0:04:49.522 If you knew Mike, you knew he loved Superman as 0:04:49.602 --> 0:04:52.802 much as he did when he was a boy, and 0:04:53.202 --> 0:04:59.482 eventually that turned out to be a problem. Before Mike 0:04:59.562 --> 0:05:03.042 started working at McDonald's, he held a job at another 0:05:03.122 --> 0:05:07.482 fast food chain, Hearty's, in the nineteen nineties. While he 0:05:07.562 --> 0:05:10.602 worked there, he struck up a conversation with a coworker 0:05:10.962 --> 0:05:17.242 named Jerry, and naturally, the talk turned to Superman. Mike 0:05:17.322 --> 0:05:21.202 and Jerry lost touch for a long time. Then in 0:05:21.282 --> 0:05:24.722 August of twenty eleven, Mike ran into Jerry at a 0:05:24.762 --> 0:05:28.802 comic book shop in Granite City. Jerry remembered Mike and 0:05:28.882 --> 0:05:31.882 his collection. He asked if he could come over and 0:05:31.962 --> 0:05:35.922 see it. Mike wasn't sure. It's not that Jerry was 0:05:35.962 --> 0:05:39.042 a bad guy, It's just that they weren't really friends, 0:05:39.722 --> 0:05:43.522 and maybe something about Jerry didn't seem right. So Mike 0:05:43.602 --> 0:05:50.762 said he was busy, sorry, maybe another time, But Jerry 0:05:50.922 --> 0:05:54.522 wasn't taking no for an answer. He got Mike's number 0:05:54.602 --> 0:05:58.642 and called him. Couldn't he please please come over and 0:05:58.722 --> 0:06:01.682 take a look. He was in the neighborhood, he could 0:06:01.722 --> 0:06:06.282 come right over. Mike said, okay, and a few moments 0:06:06.362 --> 0:06:10.482 later Jay showed up. He wanted the tour, so Mike 0:06:10.562 --> 0:06:14.722 showed him everything. The comics of which he had hundreds, 0:06:15.082 --> 0:06:18.762 all the way back to issue number ninety nine, the toys, 0:06:19.242 --> 0:06:23.242 the action figures tacked to his wall, the lunch boxes 0:06:23.242 --> 0:06:28.162 and posters and shirts, even the handsown Superman costume Mike 0:06:28.202 --> 0:06:32.842 had tucked in his closet. Jerry was impressed. He left, 0:06:32.962 --> 0:06:35.962 and Mike thought that was the end of it. Maybe 0:06:35.962 --> 0:06:38.882 he even felt some pride in showing off his collection. 0:06:39.962 --> 0:06:44.362 The next night, Jerry was back, this time with his girlfriend. 0:06:45.122 --> 0:06:47.602 He wondered if Mike would like to watch a movie 0:06:47.762 --> 0:06:51.922 all three of them, and Mike, being a non confrontational 0:06:52.042 --> 0:06:56.682 kind of person, said fine. He noticed Jerry got up 0:06:56.722 --> 0:07:01.482 and left during the movie, leaving Mike and his girlfriend alone, 0:07:01.522 --> 0:07:04.962 but he didn't think much of it. And then two 0:07:05.122 --> 0:07:08.802 days later, Mike went into his basement expecting to find 0:07:08.842 --> 0:07:13.202 everything the way it always was, everything arranged, everything in 0:07:13.362 --> 0:07:17.802 its place, but it was all almost gone, and it 0:07:17.882 --> 0:07:22.802 was obvious who had done it Jerry, his supposed friend. 0:07:24.402 --> 0:07:28.202 He reported the theft to police, but he didn't really 0:07:28.322 --> 0:07:31.362 know much about Jerry, just that they had worked at 0:07:31.402 --> 0:07:34.882 Harty's years ago, and that he drove a silver car 0:07:35.322 --> 0:07:39.442 When he apparently filled up with thousands of dollars worth 0:07:39.802 --> 0:07:45.282 of Mike's Superman collection. Someone tipped off local reporters, and 0:07:45.442 --> 0:07:49.922 pretty soon Mike was giving interviews, expressing regret that he 0:07:50.042 --> 0:07:54.722 had ever let Jerry into his house, his fortress, that 0:07:54.842 --> 0:08:03.722 the things Jerry had taken had meant a lot to him. 0:08:04.002 --> 0:08:06.882 Keith Howard was one of the people who read about Mica. 0:08:07.642 --> 0:08:10.482 The story had been picked up by local newspapers in 0:08:10.562 --> 0:08:14.722 and around Granite City and in nearby Saint Louis, Missouri, 0:08:14.962 --> 0:08:18.082 and already people were trying to contact Mike to send 0:08:18.122 --> 0:08:22.202 him things. Keith was a nurse and a fellow Superman fan. 0:08:22.762 --> 0:08:26.002 In fact, he had taken to making personal appearances in 0:08:26.082 --> 0:08:30.162 costume at the Saint Louis Children's Hospital with a costume 0:08:30.202 --> 0:08:34.842 tailored after his favorite Superman, George Reeves. Keith saw the 0:08:34.882 --> 0:08:38.802 story on the super Friends of Metropolis Facebook group, which 0:08:38.882 --> 0:08:42.602 keeps Superman fans in touch with each other before, during, 0:08:42.722 --> 0:08:47.122 and after the annual celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, every year. 0:08:47.802 --> 0:08:51.642 One of the group's members, Don Janie, posted the story 0:08:52.082 --> 0:08:52.802 here's Keith. 0:08:54.122 --> 0:08:59.882 I just kind of got a gut feeling that, you know, 0:08:59.922 --> 0:09:02.122 this is our wrong thing to happen, and the fact 0:09:02.202 --> 0:09:06.002 that he had this metal challenge made just that much 0:09:06.002 --> 0:09:06.802 more despicable. 0:09:09.082 --> 0:09:12.242 Like most people who heard the story, Keith felt it 0:09:12.282 --> 0:09:16.882 in his bones. Burglarizing someone is one thing, but someone 0:09:16.962 --> 0:09:21.482 as trusting as Mike and sealing a collection of Superman 0:09:21.602 --> 0:09:26.242 stuff it was ugly. Keith had never met Mike, never 0:09:26.322 --> 0:09:29.682 heard of him until the story, but he decided something 0:09:29.722 --> 0:09:32.202 ought to be done about it, so he made a 0:09:32.242 --> 0:09:33.922 post of his own in the group. 0:09:35.082 --> 0:09:38.202 I said, how would you guys feel if we took 0:09:38.282 --> 0:09:41.602 up a collection and people could just give what they 0:09:41.722 --> 0:09:44.402 want to get? Maybe send a card, send a note, 0:09:44.802 --> 0:09:48.242 if you have a Superman Action figure that you've got 0:09:48.282 --> 0:09:52.162 land around that you wouldn't mind donating, or just anything, 0:09:52.282 --> 0:09:54.202 you know. Just kind of threw that out there. 0:09:55.282 --> 0:09:59.722 Just getting some unwanted comics or inexpensive toys would have 0:09:59.762 --> 0:10:04.082 been plenty generous, but that's not what happened. The first 0:10:04.162 --> 0:10:06.442 thing Keith got took him by surprise. 0:10:07.282 --> 0:10:11.602 So we set up a time and I then posted 0:10:11.682 --> 0:10:15.522 to everybody that here's my address, and posted on our page. 0:10:16.202 --> 0:10:19.722 That address got out to people that I have no 0:10:19.802 --> 0:10:22.642 way of knowing how they got it, and all of 0:10:22.682 --> 0:10:27.922 a sudden, within three four days, I got my first delivery. 0:10:27.962 --> 0:10:30.762 And it was an envelope like they had an eight 0:10:30.882 --> 0:10:33.762 x ten in it, and it was from Noel Neil. 0:10:34.402 --> 0:10:37.722 She was the Lois Lane from the TV show Adventures 0:10:37.722 --> 0:10:40.162 of Superman and she was still alive. She was like 0:10:40.242 --> 0:10:44.922 eighty nine back then, and it was a autographed picture 0:10:45.082 --> 0:10:49.122 of her with George Reeves in costume, and she signed 0:10:49.162 --> 0:10:52.322 it Noel Neil, Lois Lane or Lois I think it 0:10:52.442 --> 0:10:56.802 quotes to Mike. And I was like, oh my gosh, 0:10:56.962 --> 0:10:59.922 I don't even have one of those. And I was 0:10:59.962 --> 0:11:03.322 just like, oh man, this is we we just I mean, 0:11:03.362 --> 0:11:05.882 they came out swinging already. This is such a cool 0:11:06.642 --> 0:11:09.562 first gifts. And if that's the only gift that he gets, 0:11:09.602 --> 0:11:11.602 I'm sure he would treasure it forever. 0:11:12.202 --> 0:11:14.162 But that was far from the only gift. 0:11:15.042 --> 0:11:18.242 And so then the next day there was like three boxes, 0:11:19.082 --> 0:11:21.562 and then the next day there'd be three or four 0:11:21.562 --> 0:11:25.322 more boxes, and every day I'd come home, there would 0:11:25.322 --> 0:11:28.202 be boxes and boxes laid up outside my door. 0:11:29.042 --> 0:11:31.722 It wasn't just fans sending in stuff either. 0:11:32.682 --> 0:11:38.802 DC Headquarters has sent me two big, heavy boxes. One 0:11:38.842 --> 0:11:42.202 of them was a run like a series of comics 0:11:42.922 --> 0:11:46.402 that was run from like I don't know. This box 0:11:46.602 --> 0:11:53.362 had to be maybe twenty four long and sixteen wide 0:11:54.402 --> 0:11:59.202 and sixteen tall. Maybe it was full of comics. And 0:11:59.242 --> 0:12:01.722 they said those were all the comics in that run 0:12:02.122 --> 0:12:05.042 of stories. They were all brand new. They were all 0:12:05.042 --> 0:12:09.122 wrapped in the the plastic that you wrapped comics in. 0:12:09.962 --> 0:12:13.602 And then the other one was a bunch of like collectibles, 0:12:13.682 --> 0:12:19.002 figurines and plush dolls and the little bubble heads. I mean, 0:12:19.002 --> 0:12:22.042 there were some really expensive stuff in that other box too, 0:12:22.962 --> 0:12:25.722 that came from DC Headquarters. How'd they find out, I 0:12:25.762 --> 0:12:26.202 don't know. 0:12:27.562 --> 0:12:31.642 Something about Mike's story resonated with people the way it 0:12:31.642 --> 0:12:36.002 had resonated with Keith. More than eighty boxes of stuff 0:12:36.042 --> 0:12:38.362 poured in from everywhere. 0:12:40.522 --> 0:12:45.322 Things were coming from all over the world. Am I 0:12:45.322 --> 0:12:47.122 mean When I say all over the world, I mean 0:12:48.042 --> 0:12:52.602 pictures painting, Like people were painting pictures of Mike because 0:12:52.602 --> 0:12:56.042 they saw an image of Mike in the newspaper, and 0:12:56.082 --> 0:13:00.282 they were coming from like China and Brazil and Chile 0:13:00.642 --> 0:13:04.522 and the Netherlands, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this 0:13:04.602 --> 0:13:08.082 isn't just local. This story has got international. 0:13:08.682 --> 0:13:11.962 And as it piled up, Keith began thinking about what 0:13:12.122 --> 0:13:14.482 he was going to do with all of it. He'd 0:13:14.482 --> 0:13:17.722 give it all to Mike, of course, but how. 0:13:18.202 --> 0:13:20.442 So I just kind of broached the idea, you know, 0:13:20.602 --> 0:13:25.162 how cool would it be if this guy got a 0:13:25.282 --> 0:13:29.402 visit from quote Superman bearing some gifts of some sort. 0:13:29.522 --> 0:13:32.002 And I said, and says, I lived so close, I 0:13:32.042 --> 0:13:35.002 can show up as Superman. I'll do all the legwork 0:13:35.042 --> 0:13:38.162 here locally, I'll find where he is at, and I'll 0:13:38.202 --> 0:13:39.242 deliver these gifts. 0:13:39.882 --> 0:13:42.962 Keith reached out to Bill Smith, a friend of Mike's, 0:13:43.242 --> 0:13:45.322 and told him what he had planned to do. 0:13:46.682 --> 0:13:49.682 Bill told me that Mike worked as a I think 0:13:49.722 --> 0:13:53.762 the title ist porter for the McDonald's in Collinsville, which 0:13:53.842 --> 0:13:58.282 was literally like fifteen minutes from my house. And I thought, oh, 0:13:58.322 --> 0:14:01.642 how cool would it be to make this delivery at 0:14:01.682 --> 0:14:04.602 his work? So I called them, and I talked to 0:14:04.642 --> 0:14:08.882 his manager, this young lady, and explained again who I was. 0:14:09.162 --> 0:14:11.402 Everybody's kind of always you know, apprehensive to talk to 0:14:11.482 --> 0:14:14.562 you first. But the minute they heard what our intent was, 0:14:15.082 --> 0:14:18.002 everybody just overwhelmingly was like, oh my gosh, this is 0:14:18.042 --> 0:14:20.922 so cool. So she broke down crying. She was in 0:14:20.962 --> 0:14:24.722 tears the whole conversation, and I said, I'm anxious to 0:14:24.722 --> 0:14:27.842 meet Mike. You know, I've talked to his friend Bill 0:14:28.042 --> 0:14:32.042 and this story. You know, it was ugly. Bill even 0:14:32.042 --> 0:14:34.802 told me, you know, Mike just feels so depressed. Bill's 0:14:34.842 --> 0:14:37.322 hoping that this kind of brings him out of that depression. 0:14:38.482 --> 0:14:40.842 And Keith wasn't alone. 0:14:41.002 --> 0:14:43.442 In the meantime, I've got a couple of people on 0:14:43.882 --> 0:14:49.562 my page, this Facebook Superfrins page that had volunteered to 0:14:50.162 --> 0:14:52.482 dress up in costume and be there to make the 0:14:52.522 --> 0:14:55.882 delivery as well, including Don Chance, the guy who shared 0:14:55.922 --> 0:15:01.362 the post. So I said, okay, let's go ahead, and 0:15:00.922 --> 0:15:04.402 you guys. One of the guys was taking pictures of everything. 0:15:05.322 --> 0:15:08.402 And there are about five of us, including my daughter 0:15:09.162 --> 0:15:15.642 who dressed out a Supergirl, that went to make this delivery. 0:15:15.842 --> 0:15:17.522 This will be the first time I've ever met Mike. 0:15:18.402 --> 0:15:21.482 They're expecting us. He doesn't have any idea that we're coming. 0:15:21.682 --> 0:15:24.602 Thank goodness, you didn't stumble the process on the internet. 0:15:25.962 --> 0:15:29.602 Just a couple weeks after the darkest day in Mike's life, 0:15:30.202 --> 0:15:33.002 Keith pulled up to the McDonald's. 0:15:33.362 --> 0:15:36.042 And we get there and there's some news media there, 0:15:36.162 --> 0:15:40.922 and the store people are just all like, oh my gosh, 0:15:40.922 --> 0:15:43.722 that's so cool. And we take pictures at the front 0:15:43.762 --> 0:15:48.842 counter with Mike and he's I don't know him well 0:15:48.962 --> 0:15:51.922 enough to know how to read his reaction. Later he 0:15:51.922 --> 0:15:55.842 would tell me that it was just like the greatest 0:15:55.842 --> 0:15:58.562 thing that he'd ever experienced, and how depressed he was 0:15:58.602 --> 0:16:01.882 prior to that, and then for him to see Superman, 0:16:02.042 --> 0:16:05.002 you know, he kept calling me Superman standing right there 0:16:05.642 --> 0:16:08.162 in his store and telling him that he was there 0:16:08.162 --> 0:16:11.722 to make delivery was just more than he could process. 0:16:11.802 --> 0:16:12.082 You know. 0:16:12.882 --> 0:16:17.722 Keith showed up with everything, the dozens of boxes they 0:16:17.722 --> 0:16:21.482 were all for him, a bunch of awesome things given 0:16:21.482 --> 0:16:26.602 to him by complete strangers. Mike was overwhelmed. Keith helped 0:16:26.642 --> 0:16:29.282 him take it all back to his house with multiple 0:16:29.362 --> 0:16:34.802 cars full of Superman items, a caravan of generosity, and 0:16:35.042 --> 0:16:38.522 little by little, Keith got to know more about Mike 0:16:39.122 --> 0:16:43.802 that deep down he identified more with another pop culture character. 0:16:46.762 --> 0:16:49.882 We got to be decent friends after all of that, 0:16:50.322 --> 0:16:53.002 and he would open up to me and he would 0:16:53.042 --> 0:16:57.042 share some thoughts that he had about himself and his 0:16:57.122 --> 0:17:00.522 life and who he was. And Mike was a kind 0:17:00.522 --> 0:17:05.602 of a sad person. Unfortunately, Mike, he always wanted a girlfriend. 0:17:05.802 --> 0:17:07.922 He had had a girlfriend, you years ago. The things 0:17:07.962 --> 0:17:12.362 didn't work out, and he was he was lonely, and 0:17:12.522 --> 0:17:15.642 he shared that with me. And Mike sort of lived 0:17:15.682 --> 0:17:19.162 in the fifties and sixties. Still in his house were 0:17:20.442 --> 0:17:26.642 all sorts of DVDs of Popeye and the Monsters and 0:17:27.802 --> 0:17:32.682 you know those old TV shows, obviously Superman and Batman, 0:17:33.522 --> 0:17:36.482 and he said he would just watch that over and 0:17:36.522 --> 0:17:39.522 over all the time. He said, you know, you know 0:17:39.602 --> 0:17:42.402 who I really connected with and who I feel like 0:17:42.642 --> 0:17:47.002 I am most like. He said, I feel like I'm 0:17:47.042 --> 0:17:52.842 like Herman Muster, just kind of big and clumsy and misunderstood, 0:17:53.802 --> 0:17:55.722 and that he would do the laugh, you know, Herman 0:17:55.842 --> 0:17:58.362 Muster had a kind of a unique laugh and he 0:17:58.802 --> 0:17:59.882 imitated very well. 0:18:00.602 --> 0:18:03.122 Keith left thinking that would be the end of it, 0:18:03.722 --> 0:18:14.442 but it wasn't. There was another twist coming. Mike's friend 0:18:14.602 --> 0:18:18.442 turned foe, Jerry, turned out to be a serial offender, 0:18:19.002 --> 0:18:22.002 just a month or so after stealing Mike's collection, he 0:18:22.122 --> 0:18:25.202 was accused of robbing an elderly man he was supposed 0:18:25.202 --> 0:18:28.762 to be doing renovations for. That led to the police, 0:18:29.122 --> 0:18:33.002 which led to their discovery of Mike's stolen Superman items. 0:18:33.482 --> 0:18:37.882 Authorities were able to return virtually everything Jerry stole from him. 0:18:38.802 --> 0:18:42.322 Now Mike had a problem, although for a Superman fan 0:18:42.882 --> 0:18:45.202 it was the best kind of problem to have. 0:18:46.442 --> 0:18:49.682 So you got eighty five gifts from us, this many 0:18:49.922 --> 0:18:52.802 gifts from Cleveland, you know. So now he's got like 0:18:53.242 --> 0:18:57.402 extras of everything. And he calls me up one day 0:18:57.402 --> 0:19:02.242 and he says, Keith, I am starting to feel guilty. 0:19:02.362 --> 0:19:04.842 You know, I got all my stuff back, and you 0:19:04.882 --> 0:19:07.802 guys all gave me stuff, and some people didn't know 0:19:07.842 --> 0:19:09.562 what the others were given. I got two or three 0:19:09.602 --> 0:19:12.442 in the same thing, and I just have so much. 0:19:12.522 --> 0:19:16.722 Now I just feel guilty. And I said Mike, first, 0:19:16.762 --> 0:19:20.722 please don't feel guilty. Those people gave because they wanted 0:19:20.762 --> 0:19:23.602 to give. It made them feel good to give. They 0:19:23.602 --> 0:19:26.442 didn't realize they were giving you duplicates. So if you 0:19:26.482 --> 0:19:29.242 want to sell those or give them away, by all means, 0:19:29.562 --> 0:19:31.922 do what you want with them, and don't feel guilty 0:19:31.962 --> 0:19:34.842 about them, and he said, yeah, yeah, I don't know. 0:19:34.882 --> 0:19:36.402 I don't know, I don't know. 0:19:38.522 --> 0:19:41.522 Nobody who donated to Mike wanted any of it back, 0:19:41.642 --> 0:19:44.802 even after his collection had been returned to him. They 0:19:44.802 --> 0:19:47.482 were happy to see him with all the Superman stuff 0:19:47.482 --> 0:19:51.402 he could fit in his house. So Keith made a suggestion. 0:19:51.882 --> 0:19:54.082 And I said, well, let me tell you what I do. 0:19:54.202 --> 0:19:56.562 I said, I go over to Saint Louis Children's Hospital 0:19:56.602 --> 0:19:59.282 because I work at Barnes as a nurse in the 0:19:59.282 --> 0:20:04.682 operating room. Every Wednesday, it's every two weeks or every month, 0:20:04.962 --> 0:20:08.442 they have bingo for these kids. And I've been going 0:20:08.482 --> 0:20:12.722 over there like twice a month, sometimes twice a month, 0:20:12.802 --> 0:20:15.122 mostly at least once a month, and I dressed up 0:20:15.122 --> 0:20:19.082 as Superman and I call bingo and it's so cool, 0:20:19.162 --> 0:20:22.162 I said. You know, they have a camera and kids 0:20:22.202 --> 0:20:24.282 will be in therapy or they'll be in their room 0:20:24.322 --> 0:20:26.082 because they're too sick to come down to the big 0:20:26.122 --> 0:20:30.002 playroom where we're at doing the bigo day. So they're 0:20:30.042 --> 0:20:33.442 watching me call off the bingo and then they'll call 0:20:33.482 --> 0:20:35.922 the room and they'll say I got bingo, and so 0:20:36.002 --> 0:20:38.122 then we'll run the board and yeah, yeah, that's bingo. 0:20:38.442 --> 0:20:41.122 And so then the camera pans over to this table 0:20:41.162 --> 0:20:44.082 that's got three tiers to it, and on every tier 0:20:44.402 --> 0:20:49.282 there's all these donated gifts. And I said, Mike, I 0:20:49.362 --> 0:20:52.562 thought just came to me, and this is just an idea. 0:20:53.162 --> 0:20:55.602 I said, I can talk to these guys and ask 0:20:55.682 --> 0:20:57.962 them if they'd be okay with it. But maybe you 0:20:58.002 --> 0:21:00.962 could come with me to one of these bingo days 0:21:00.962 --> 0:21:02.922 and you could bring a couple of those things that 0:21:02.962 --> 0:21:05.442 you got as extra. And so if you've got like 0:21:05.522 --> 0:21:08.402 extra comics that are new went nice, and maybe like 0:21:08.442 --> 0:21:11.282 you've got like two or three of the same action 0:21:11.402 --> 0:21:13.762 figure and you want to donate that to these kids. 0:21:14.402 --> 0:21:16.442 How did you feel about that? He said, Oh, it's 0:21:16.482 --> 0:21:17.362 a wonderful idea. 0:21:18.602 --> 0:21:22.482 At the end of twenty eleven, Mike and Keith went 0:21:22.522 --> 0:21:27.602 to Saint Louis Children's Hospital bearing gifts, a lot of gifts. 0:21:28.242 --> 0:21:31.522 Keith was in costume, but Mike was the hero, wearing 0:21:31.522 --> 0:21:35.082 a Superman T shirt and a big smile. They played 0:21:35.122 --> 0:21:39.162 bingo with the patients, handing out prizes. That something so 0:21:39.402 --> 0:21:43.762 good had come out of what happened was indescribable. Maybe 0:21:43.802 --> 0:21:47.202 Mike saw flashes of himself in those kids. Maybe he 0:21:47.322 --> 0:21:50.802 turned some of them into lifelong Superman fans that day. 0:21:51.442 --> 0:21:53.922 So I called them and they said, sure, yeah, come on. 0:21:54.682 --> 0:21:58.322 So one Wednesday we went up to Sales Children's Hospital 0:21:58.322 --> 0:22:01.322 and we called Bigo and I introduced the group there 0:22:01.362 --> 0:22:04.762 to Mike, who was the reason why all that Superman 0:22:04.882 --> 0:22:07.082 stuff was there, and he was given that to them, 0:22:07.602 --> 0:22:11.362 and they just showered Mike with love, and Mike felt 0:22:11.362 --> 0:22:13.402 like the king of the world that day. And I 0:22:13.522 --> 0:22:17.322 just loved it because here's a guy who just stood 0:22:17.322 --> 0:22:21.202 a couple of months earlier, was depressed, felt big and 0:22:21.282 --> 0:22:25.602 clumsy and unloved and everything was going wrong for him. 0:22:26.122 --> 0:22:29.642 To now people are making a fuss over just being 0:22:29.682 --> 0:22:33.282 around him. They have special events and people come and 0:22:33.402 --> 0:22:36.562 turn up for it to meet him. 0:22:36.922 --> 0:22:40.122 Around the same time, Mike had gotten an invitation to 0:22:40.202 --> 0:22:44.562 visit Cleveland, Ohio, the home of Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, 0:22:45.002 --> 0:22:48.602 the co creators of Superman. A comic book store owner 0:22:48.722 --> 0:22:51.802 named John Dudas offered to pay for the trip. 0:22:52.282 --> 0:22:55.202 And I was like, oh my gosh, you guys can't 0:22:55.402 --> 0:23:00.042 be serious, and he said yeah, and we've included airfare 0:23:00.082 --> 0:23:04.122 for two all expenses paid. Three days We've got your hotel, 0:23:04.602 --> 0:23:08.922 we've got your meals, we've got your transferation. And whilst 0:23:09.002 --> 0:23:12.482 Mike gets here, I have six other comic bookstores in 0:23:12.642 --> 0:23:16.162 the area. All have donated a fifty dollars gift certificate 0:23:16.802 --> 0:23:18.882 that Mike can go, and we will take you to 0:23:18.922 --> 0:23:21.442 all six of these comic stores and he can spend 0:23:21.442 --> 0:23:25.522 that gift certificate in every comic bookstore that donated. 0:23:26.522 --> 0:23:30.202 Mike was excited. He really wanted to go, but Mike 0:23:30.282 --> 0:23:33.162 worried his close friend Bill Smith might not be able 0:23:33.202 --> 0:23:34.082 to accompany him. 0:23:34.402 --> 0:23:38.042 At one point, I pulled Mike aside and I said, Mike, 0:23:38.082 --> 0:23:39.962 I want you to know that in one of these 0:23:40.002 --> 0:23:45.242 boxes there are airline tickets for two to go to Cleveland. 0:23:46.282 --> 0:23:50.762 And he said, I've never flown before and I said 0:23:51.162 --> 0:23:55.522 I wondered about that. Yeah, I said are you Are 0:23:55.562 --> 0:24:00.762 you still interested in going? And he said, well, yeah, 0:24:01.042 --> 0:24:03.562 who am I going to take. I said, well, I 0:24:03.562 --> 0:24:05.522 talk to your friend Bill Smith. I know you're good 0:24:05.522 --> 0:24:08.202 friends with Bill. Maybe Bill kids and get some time 0:24:08.242 --> 0:24:12.802 off work and he go with you. He kind of 0:24:12.802 --> 0:24:15.962 paused and he said, you're like George Reeves to me, 0:24:17.162 --> 0:24:19.362 and I said, well, that is the costume I'm were 0:24:19.362 --> 0:24:22.682 and he said, yeah, I recognize that costume. He said, 0:24:23.402 --> 0:24:26.242 I never got to meet George Reeves, obviously, but he said, 0:24:26.522 --> 0:24:28.602 in a weird way, I feel like I'm talking to 0:24:28.642 --> 0:24:33.002 him standing here talking to you. And I said, I 0:24:33.002 --> 0:24:34.602 don't know what to say to that. Mike. I mean, 0:24:34.642 --> 0:24:37.602 that's it's flattering that that you know, you would think 0:24:37.602 --> 0:24:40.082 that I look enough like him, and and but I 0:24:40.122 --> 0:24:42.842 get it, I know what you mean. And I said 0:24:43.042 --> 0:24:44.842 I did. I've had a number of people tell me 0:24:44.922 --> 0:24:49.002 that I sort of have brought that childhood character back 0:24:49.042 --> 0:24:53.882 to life for them. He said, what about you? And 0:24:53.962 --> 0:24:57.442 I said, what do you mean? He said, well, you 0:24:57.482 --> 0:25:00.362 know that remember that episode where Superman takes that girl 0:25:00.362 --> 0:25:04.322 and he flies her around and he gives her like 0:25:04.362 --> 0:25:06.442 a tour from the air. And he said, I know 0:25:06.522 --> 0:25:09.802 you can't live, but if you flew with me to Cleveland, 0:25:09.802 --> 0:25:12.042 it would be kind of like that episode with that girl. 0:25:12.922 --> 0:25:17.962 And I said, Mike, if Bill can't go, I'd be honored. 0:25:18.202 --> 0:25:20.602 I'd be honored to go. And he said, I think 0:25:20.602 --> 0:25:23.722 I'd like you to go. And I was like, wow, 0:25:23.842 --> 0:25:24.922 I just met Mike. 0:25:27.082 --> 0:25:30.322 Mike and Keith went to Cleveland and got the full tour, 0:25:30.802 --> 0:25:34.162 They saw the boyhood home of Jerry, saw the tributes 0:25:34.202 --> 0:25:37.922 to Superman. Mike even sat down at the same table 0:25:38.202 --> 0:25:42.442 where Joe Schuster used to draw Superman, and the community's 0:25:42.442 --> 0:25:46.242 affection for Mike didn't stop there, not even close. 0:25:46.962 --> 0:25:51.962 Brandon Ralth from Superman returns back in two thousand and six. 0:25:52.322 --> 0:25:57.842 He finds out about this Mike story and he is 0:25:58.362 --> 0:26:02.642