Superman and Cleveland

I had an appointment in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago and I thought I’d take in the Superman exhibit at the Cleveland Public Library while in town. It’s a rather comprehensive  enterprise with a lot of it coming from the collection of Mike Curtis the current writer of the Dick Tracy strip. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth your time.

One day in elementary school I was given the task of alphabetizing the encyclopedia set, and when I got to the S volume I came across an entry for one Jerome Siegel. It said the he was one of the creators of Superman, and, even more revelatory, that he lived in Cleveland. The thought that someone from where I lived could achieve something like that gave me hope that maybe, possibly, somehow it might be within the bounds of imagining for me.

While at the Superman exhibit, I saw Jerry Siegel’s typewriter in a showcase. And when I walked around to the other side…