The 31-year-old who inhabits this room today has the same tall build, the same dark hair and mustache. But the Norm Constantine whom his mother recalls as a "great conversationalist" cannot talk. The Norm Constantine who wore a fuzzy lion suit and delighted crowds with his handsprings and one-armed pushups cannot walk. For his room is in a Somerton nursing home, and Constantine, partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, can communicate only in limited ways.
Eight years ago, it took a hit-and-run driver mere seconds to turn Constantine's highly promising future into a slow and painful struggle toward the unknown.
But Constantine's cause has never ceased to inspire. To this day his family hears of people choosing to work with the handicapped because of Norm. To this day his family receives letters from strangers, cards that might come with a $5 bill inside.
As Richard Dorman, associate executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association, said of Norm Constantine, "His is a story that should not be forgotten."
*
One Saturday evening last month, Norman Constantine and his family were honored at a dinner-dance benefiting the Keystone State Head Injury Foundation, an advocacy and support organization.
But tributes are nothing new to the Constantines. It is selflessness that seems to drive them.
Cy and Eleanor Constantine, married 39 years, run an advertising specialty business out of their home in the Bell's Corner section of the Northeast and are, their daughter Lori Madvedoff says, "the busiest people on the Earth." Cy Constantine is also a magician who entertains handicapped youngsters and senior citizens.
The Constantines raised three children. Norman, their youngest, displayed exceptional energy early on. At 12 he began studying karate. His brother, Ray, thought Norm might try that for a while and then drop out, but Norm stuck with it. He was active in scouting. At 16 he went backpacking through Europe with Ray.
