A heart now stands still
April 30, 1954 - March 26, 2001

By David Yon
On March 26, 2001 Superman's heart finally stopped beating. It had begun to slow last November as he ran Turkey Trot to clinch a tie for the GWTC Grand Prix Title. It was already suffering greatly when he picked up his award at the American Legion Hall in January. It kept beating long enough to get him to Mexico and a chance to find peace within him. It brought him home to Tallahassee to his family and those that loved him. It kept going long enough to say thanks and to ask for forgiveness. But then it just simply refused to stop, clinging to some unstated hope or goal, until today. Today, Tim Simpkins' heart stopped beating.

To all of you who have walked this difficult journey of support, it is time to say thanks. You have demonstrated an incredible capacity for goodness. From the visits, to the cards and phone calls, to the Relay, to the shifts of cooking and sitting, it has been a marvelous outpouring. We can only hope that this goodness is a heart that will continue to beat far beyond today. There is much that is wrong about cancer taking apart the body of someone so strong and so young. It humbles us to know that so many answers escape us. But there is also so much to learn from it. We must learn to treasure each day and every opportunity and all of the people so special to us that fill those days and opportunities. Tim left us on his own terms and that is good. Yes, he went before he wanted to go, but he was fortunate to have the chance to be touched very deeply by so many people. I believe every act of kindness came back to him many times over in these past months. And he also had the good fortune to have the chance to say he was sorry for those times when that kindness was not there.

If we can find only one thing from this experience, I hope it is that we all find within ourselves a heart that will beat with a greater capacity for kindness and a willingness to take care of each other. To take nothing for granted. I believe that each time we do, Superman will fly a bit higher in the sky.