Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved things that glowed in the dark, an affection likely spawned by drifting off to sleep in my childhood bedroom under the comforting glow of my Aurora Monster Model Kits.
In 1978, I added a new bit of glow kitsch to my collection with the addition of a pair of green-hued rocks—advertised as pieces of Kryptonite to tie in with the recently released Superman film starring Christopher Reeve.
In that film, Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor sardonically describes Kryptonite (which is lethal to all Kryptonians) as a "little souvenir from the old hometown" before cruelly wrapping a necklace adorned with a Kryptonite bauble around the Man of Steel's neck.
Fun Fact: Kryptonite made its first appearance in the Superman radio show before becoming a staple of the hero's comic book lore.
I must have seen that first Chris Reeve Superman film a half-dozen times over the harsh winter of 1978 (its score by John Williams remains one of my favorites). At some point around that same time, I stopped into the Keltsch Pharmacy at the Rogers Market shopping center in the 5500 block of South Anthony Blvd near Paulding Road in Fort Wayne.
The items stocked around the drugstore's checkout area are designed to influence impulse purchases, and the display featuring Kryptonite rocks certainly worked its magic on me. I headed home that day with two pieces of phosphorescent Kryptonian rubble, which, during playtime, I would often place in close proximity to my Mego Superman action figure.
45 years later, I no longer have that Mego Superman, but I do still have those two "little souvenirs" from Kal-El's hometown. They rest on the corner of the nightstand in my bedroom, where each night I sleep under their comforting glow.
