Life Is Beautiful, Life Is Full Of Heroes

Just like you, I have many heros.  I have historical heroes, like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, etc.  I have military heroes like George Rogers Clark and my twenty nine American Revolutionary ancestors.  I have sports heroes like Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson, I have family heroes like my mother, my husband, and my daughters.  What I want to share though, are what I call ordinary heroes.  These are many times the greatest heroes of all.  To become an ordinary hero to me, it requires a person to stand toe to toe with LIFE and overcome the obstacles that are thrown at people, through nature, politics, or health.  They are people that face things bravely without taking the easy way out and giving up.   Let me share what I mean by describing three ordinary heroes.

The first one is a young Chinese man, probably in his early twenties.  I will never forget the images that I saw on June 4, 1989.  Television aids us in expanding our experience, and on this day I watched in awe as this brave, seemingly small, very young man, defied huge military tanks, and he would not move out of their threatening path.  The world was witness that day of him waving his arms, and refusing to move.  The event was the Tiennaman Square Massacre in Beijing, China.  A group of young students were protesting the government’s human rights policies, or the lack thereof.  It was also an open defiance of the People’s Liberation Army Troops.  And finally,the protest of the Chinese Communist Government.  Finally, some men, or soldiers charged in and dragged him out of the way of the tanks.  No one knows what happened to him, or even what his name is.  It is supposed that he was incarcerated in a prison or jail as a political dissenter.  Did he survive his ordeal?  No one has ever answered that question.  Hundreds of others did not survive that day as they were massacred in the streets of Beijing.  The young man will probably always be anonymous, but in my eyes he is not forgotten.  I can recall that scene just as vividly today, as I saw it in 1989.  It was the start of slow changes in China, and this young man sacrificed so much for what he believed in.  He is one of my favorite heroes.

My second hero is a woman John and I met in Cheyenne.  It was a Sunday afternoon, and we had traveled to Cheyenne on our Harleys.  It was a nice fall day and we just wanted to get out for ride.  We parked our bikes in front of Hardee’s and went in for a break.  There was a couple sitting there enjoying the afternoon and we got to visiting with them.  She was the same age as I, and she was in a wheelchair.  You could tell she had had some hard knocks in life.  One of her legs had been amputated due to diabetes.  She was very outgoing and jolly and pleasant to visit with.  The man was her ex-husband and he still looked after her and took her out occasionally for an ice cream cone.  She told us about the wheelchair ramp he built for her, and how she had to be careful going down it because it was so steep.  She chuckled as she described her technique for doing that.  It was sort of like hanging on for dear life to the sides of the ramp.   He said, “Well, there IS a fence at the bottom and that would stop you if you got to going too fast.”  She came back with, “Yes, but I don’t really want to look like a WAFFLE.”  We all laughed at her good humor.  She could find something humorous to share with everyone, and she was a fast thinker, too.  I never saw her again, but I will always remember her brave way of facing what life had dealt her.  As I climbed on my Harley to leave, I thanked God for the blessings he has given me, especially my good health.

My third hero is an older lady that John and I observed in Fort Laramie, Wyoming.  We had recently bought our Toyota Chinook and had taken it out on a camping trip to test it out.  We pulled into the little campground in Fort Laramie and set up our camp.  Across the campground we noticed an older couple camping in their tent.  It was in the fall, and the weather was pretty cool.  This didn’t seem to bother this couple though, they slept on the ground in their sleeping bags.  He must have been in his late 80's and she was not far behind him.  We chatted with the owner of the campground and she said the couple had been camped there for about a week.  They were from back east and had decided to make one last trip across the country.  They had collected coins for years and this was how they financed their trip.  They sold coins as they went.  She said that they were the toughest people she had seen in a long while.   

The next day as we were preparing our breakfast in the Chinook, we watched as the lady brought out her camp stove and pots and pans and set them up on the picnic table.  She was very methodical in her meal preparation.  She had apparently done this many times before.  I was impressed with how she had everything in order and moved so efficiently as she cooked.  I will never forget the sight of that lady, carrying on her cooking in rather inconvenient conditions.  She had a nice countenance and seemed to be perfectly happy with her lot in life.  I am sure she had handled many challenges in life — and she had survived.

  

These are the kind of people I like to remember.  I don’t know their names, or where they live, but they made an impression on me and in a way became a lesson for me.  They were brave, met the challenges life dealt them, and kept on trying.

No -- This Can NOT Be Happening Again One Year Later

On December 14, 2012 I wrote this very same story. 

How can it be that in one year later, history repeats itself so precisely.  The only saving grace is that December 13, 2013 did not take as many lives as were wasted at Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown, Connecticut.  Oh how I yearn for the days when you sent your kids to school and you were reasonably sure they would come home at the end of the day.  I can not imagine having to live with the thought that I might not ever see them alive again.  How can we be proud as a species when this is the outcome of so many social and materialistic errors.

Social because some young people have grown up without developing empathy for others. Materialistic because possessions have become the main focus of many people.  I believe it goes hand in hand. Things trump people, and that is a terrible thing. Things like electronic gadgets, huge houses, luxurious living, expensive clothes.

I remember listening to Joseph Campbell saying that when society does not have heroes it is destined for bad things.  When the word "Thou" is replaced with "You" it relegates people to a lesser role. And then one step further, when people become an "It" rather than a "You" we are apt to see some terrible actions.  Childen that torture animals is a good example.  There is no feeling for another living creature in that sort of act.  A fetus in the womb is easier to kill if it is called an "It" rather than a "You".

I pray that our civilization finds a REAL hero, REAL soon.  I look around and don't see any on the horizon, but may the Lord send us one.  I am nearing the end of my mortal life, and I have memories of a different time.  Not an easier time, but a more honest time.  I am one of the lucky ones and I am so grateful for that.  I can't change society, no one person can.  But I can enjoy my memories and pray that the young people now will find something to remember other than things like December 13, 2013 at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado.

We are in deep trouble and I pray to God (or whatever higher power you pray to) to help us and save us from ourselves.   Patj

Abraham Lincoln And His Team of Rivals

If you think you know everything about Abraham Lincoln, everything about the Civil War, everything about the Emancipation Proclamation, think again.  This book reveals so much about the behind the scenes events and happenings of our 16th President.  Abraham Lincoln is my biggest hero so I am naturally prejudiced when it come to him.  After reading this book I am even more of a fan of his.  He was definitely one of those rare indivduals that was born with a unique brain and personality.  We are all unique, of course, but sometimes there is a person above all others, and Abraham Lincoln was that. The beginning of the book described the early political life of Lincoln -- and his political rivals.  For a short time I felt it was sort of dull and uninteresting, but as I continued, I started seeing the overall picture and it became fascinating as I learned of the various personalities and egos of these men.  Lincoln was so incredibly wise, and knew human nature so well, that it seems like a well orchestrated symphony as he managed and soothed and controlled the many personalities of his Cabinet.

If I had to pick one thing I liked about this book, it would be the way I learned more about a humble, competant, brilliant and good man.  Of course, it doesn't take much for me to love Abraham Lincoln, but this book gave me insight I had not known of before.

The biggest compliment I can give is, "As the book neared the end, I read slower and slower because I didn't want it to end.  I am a naturally slow reader, but I was almost at a standstill at the end."

If you have a chance to read Team of Rivals I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  I especially want to recommend the last few paragraphs of the book and the story of Leo Tolstoy's experience.  It is very telling of the world view of Abraham Lincoln.
Patj