THAT TIME OF YEAR


On Tuesday, February 10, 1998, at 11:02 PM, I file this report.

I had a scary thought today.

In between classes, for no apparent reason, I was suddenly forced to picture what would happen if my family died. Suddenly, I'm living alone and trying to figure out how to survive on my own. A two-family house that I'd have to maintain alone; school and a part-time job that just lost its founders; not to mention my Tae Kwon Do training and trying to maintain my relationship with Andrea.

Impossible to do on my own.

This is the most recent, and scariest, in a series of unexplainable emotions which have come over me in the last couple of weeks. What's worse is that it almost seems like deja vu. The last time that I felt so strange was...well...

February 8, 1997. The day I read about the upcoming death of Princess Sally.

I mentioned up front that I became a true fan of Sonic when I went to Mastermind's Sonic Fanfiction Vault and saw that button that said "Save Sally NOW!" (which is still there, BTW). Reading the news that followed was devastating for me. Normally, if I told my family about something that I followed, they could care less, especially Tracy. But when I told them about this, they were just as shocked as I was. The following weekend, I picked up my first Sonic comic, Sonic #46. Within, I watched as the Freedom Fighters started casting their doubts at one another. Knowing what was coming the following month, this was scary.


In mid-March, I picked up #47 - the issue which featured Sally's "death" - from Joker's Child Comics in Fair Lawn. The feeling that coursed through me was strange. It was a nice, pristine day in that neck of the woods. Driving through, I had the windows open, radio up, breathing the spring air...anyway. The radio that day (and for the next couple weeks) was playing some interesting songs that kind of expressed the mood of the moment.

"Nobody Knows" by The Tony Rich Project
"One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
"All By Myself" by Celine Dion
"Unbreak My Heart" by Toni Braxton
"Don't Speak" by No Doubt
"As I Lay Me Down" by Sophie B. Hawkins
"Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion

These are some of the songs that helped to magnify the emotions. The mixture of sadness, pain, depression, perhaps even anger, all mixed in with the gentleness of a spring day. Does it make you feel strange? Well, it did to me.

Well, in the last couple of weeks, the events of Sonic #57 - in particular, the goodbye scene between Sonic & Sally - has caused the strange mixture of feelings to re-emerge within me. And it's just as scary as last time. Even the radio's starting to play those songs again, and this time it's a larger list.

"I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans & 112
"Always" by Jon Bon Jovi
"I'll Remember" by Madonna
"My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion
"You Mean The World To Me" by Toni Braxton
"Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler
"Just Another Day" by Jon Secada
"Always Be My Baby" by Mariah Carey
"Fading Like A Flower" by Roxette

There are probably a lot more songs I've heard that reflect the moods. These are just some that came to mind when I wrote this. Throughout it all, though, the biggest thing I noticed is that this wave of emotions came around almost this same time last year. Just a couple weeks sooner this time. If that doesn't send a chill up your spine like it does to me, just wait until next year to see if it happens again (and knowing my luck it probably will).

Thank you for your time. I am

Brian Sapinski
The Sonic Whammy

PS: Cover of Sonic #47 by Pat Spaziante, c. 1997 Archie Publications. (Scan comes from Max's Sonic Page. His was better than mine.) Art from Sonic #46 by Nelson Ortega, c. 1997 Archie Publications. No copyright infringement is intended.

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