Monday, October 10, 2005
I'm a sucker for a cool quote . . .
Our Man in LA brings you this special nighttime blog entry to share a little something in the cool quote department. I've always wished that I was one of those guys who could recite Byron or Shakespeare or some other great artist just from memory, just with the drop of a hat.
Well, I can't. But when I find one, I generally like to record it somewhere so it won't be easily forgotten. So here goes.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I've been re-reading James Robinson's truly amazing Starman comic book series over the past several weeks - in trade paperback collections that allow me to read each story arc together. Starman was hailed by TIME as the "best written comic book around" back in the late 90s. As I've mentioned, it's a story with a very definite beginning, middle and end. It's a hero's journey as noble and true as anything from "legit lit".
Without spoiling too many details (because if you haven't been reading this, you really should), in the end of the final volume, SONS OF THE FATHER, our hero, Jack Knight finally retires his role as super hero and seeks his happily ever after in a place other than Opal City, the metropolis he has protected, and with Sadie, his great love.
Our Woman in LA and I left Chicago last year after we both spent more than a decade there. Moving on from a place . . . and from people you love is tough to do. I've never seen the feelings you get on the day of such a move so well summed up as they are here. So I've decided to share.
So here's the quote. You can find it in Starman #80 on the final three pages, or in SONS OF THE FATHER on pages 150-152:
"I'm numb. I thought this would be more emotional. There was a time I never would have given up my city. But now the die is cast. I find I do so without the creeping terror I'd always imagined. Sadie. I'm going to be with Sadie . . . . And suddenly the city's spires, while beautiful . . . Are only that . . . .
"I take my boy to see his grandfather one last time. And all those who bore the name between my father and me. I pack the things that matter and leave the things that don't. Then I make like a banana . . . and split.
"As I feel Opal . . . my wonderful Opal ebbing away, I start to cry. But I manage not to look back.
"For I've more to see on the road ahead."
Good night and God bless, to pals and friends and family. And rest well, Jack Knight, wherever you are.
Well, I can't. But when I find one, I generally like to record it somewhere so it won't be easily forgotten. So here goes.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I've been re-reading James Robinson's truly amazing Starman comic book series over the past several weeks - in trade paperback collections that allow me to read each story arc together. Starman was hailed by TIME as the "best written comic book around" back in the late 90s. As I've mentioned, it's a story with a very definite beginning, middle and end. It's a hero's journey as noble and true as anything from "legit lit".
Without spoiling too many details (because if you haven't been reading this, you really should), in the end of the final volume, SONS OF THE FATHER, our hero, Jack Knight finally retires his role as super hero and seeks his happily ever after in a place other than Opal City, the metropolis he has protected, and with Sadie, his great love.
Our Woman in LA and I left Chicago last year after we both spent more than a decade there. Moving on from a place . . . and from people you love is tough to do. I've never seen the feelings you get on the day of such a move so well summed up as they are here. So I've decided to share.
So here's the quote. You can find it in Starman #80 on the final three pages, or in SONS OF THE FATHER on pages 150-152:
"I'm numb. I thought this would be more emotional. There was a time I never would have given up my city. But now the die is cast. I find I do so without the creeping terror I'd always imagined. Sadie. I'm going to be with Sadie . . . . And suddenly the city's spires, while beautiful . . . Are only that . . . .
"I take my boy to see his grandfather one last time. And all those who bore the name between my father and me. I pack the things that matter and leave the things that don't. Then I make like a banana . . . and split.
"As I feel Opal . . . my wonderful Opal ebbing away, I start to cry. But I manage not to look back.
"For I've more to see on the road ahead."
Good night and God bless, to pals and friends and family. And rest well, Jack Knight, wherever you are.
