Not All Heroes Wear Capes

What makes a hero? Obviously they don’t have to be jumping building to building by a spider thread or leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

My romantic heroes come in a variety of forms, oh wait, they aren’t all men either (often referred to as heroines). Some of them wear uniforms like Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services, or Military; I haven’t written about Fire Fighters… yet. Many of my heroes wear everyday clothes, or business suits. Some of them, like Lon (Bartlett’s Rule), are just like “everyday” folk, he’s a writer who saves Paige both emotionally and physically. And in true role reversal, Dave (Karma Visited) saves Annie, literally; then in the sequel to that book, Annie (Annie’s Karma) saves Dave’s life.

Dramatic actions aren’t always what make a person into a hero, not in books and not in real life. In the recent deep-freeze out in the Midwest a concerned woman took out her credit card and rented motel rooms for several homeless people who could have frozen to death on the street. Other people serve hot food to the needy, volunteer time to walk dogs at the animal shelter, adopt an orphaned child, donate blood, or a myriad of different things.

Heroism isn’t always a dramatic act of bravery, although that certainly fits the bill, being a hero can be a mindset, a desire to help others and to put others first. While some heroic gestures may seem “safer” than others a hero always puts himself/herself out there even if it’s not the most convenient thing to do.

“Just do right. Right may not be expedient, it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. It brings you the kind of protection that bodyguards can’t give you. So try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity. Take up the battle. Take it up. It’s yours. This is your life. This is your world.” ~ Maya Angelou

Please share what your concept of a hero is in the comments below.

The Survivor, The Monsters & The Giants

…a humorous (semi) fictional tale

THE SURVIVOR

Dear Diary,

It’s been a few weeks since I found shelter.

I was beginning to give up hope, there were too many times that I had to burrow through that white icy stuff. Finally I found a haven, it took a while but I eventually thawed out. But it was time to go out and explore this new world that I found refuge in. And I had to forage for some food, there were only so many bugs my palate could tolerate.

So I cautiously ventured out and it was TERRIFYING. I encountered two huge hairy monsters. Unaware of the danger they posed, I fell victim to one of them — he grabbed me with his mouth using his sharp teeth, I could smell his fetid breath as I dangled in fear of my life. Suddenly we were facing a second monster, his eyes fastened on my swinging body. The first monster wasn’t going to give me up and he took off in a fast gallop and I jerked violently side to side. He got far away from the other monster and dropped me penned into a corner and as he batted at me I was sure I was going to be ripped to pieces.

I was desperate and I darted to the side and managed to allude him, I ran for my life only to come face-to-face with the other monster. I thought quickly, there were places to hide and I quickly lunged under something big and shiny nearby. Both monsters ran after me trying to reach me with their sharp talons. I pinned myself to the back wall as far out of their reach as possible. The monsters began keening, a sick and high pitched wail, it hurt my ears. Their cries for support, for help, were soon answered.

She was a giant with fuzzy feet and some kind of radio transmitters on her head. That big object was obviously too big for her to move and she left for a moment. While the monsters stood watching me to make sure I couldn’t escape, the giant came back with a light that she shined into my eyes nearly blinding me and a metal claw in her hand. She tried and nearly succeeded in grabbing my body with her claw, but although I felt the cold metal brush me, she didn’t manage to grab me to pull me towards her. She finally gave up and left me to the watchful glowing eyes of the two monsters.

It was finally daylight when one of the monsters left and the remaining one seemed to close his eyes. I ran, but the monster guarding me woke and leapt after me. I darted under something else, but not before I saw the second monster returning followed by a bigger giant who walked with three legs, one of them was a long narrow stick that he seemed able to detach from his body. Unlike the woman giant his head was shiny, maybe a solar panel that fueled his energy now that the sun had come up? He bent before the object and stuck that long stick leg under it and chased me from side to side. I managed to jump over the stick leg and found an opening away from where the giant and the two monsters were crouching.

I escaped and ran back to my camp, far from their sharp talons, metal claws and long stick legs. I’ll have to settle for eating a few more bugs for now, but I am safe. It will be a while before I venture out again.

~~~~~~~~

ONE OF THE MONSTERS

Dear Diary,

Yay, Mommy bought us a new toy and I found it first. My brother wanted to play with it but I ran all the way into my room with it.

Man, it moves so fast. I couldn’t even see where it got wound up. I couldn’t catch it and neither could my brother. It got stuck under the big chug-chug machine where Mommy throws dirty laundry and I guess the wind up ran out because we couldn’t get it out. Even Mommy tried.

Someone must have found a way to wind it up again. I dozed for just a few moments and it whizzed right past me. I ran after my new toy, and my brother and my Daddy came into the room from the other side. Dang it, the toy changed direction and went right under Daddy’s chair. We were trying to reach it when it whizzed out the other side and right into the kitchen.

Now it’s stuck behind that big thing in the kitchen where Mommy keeps the food. Maybe it will come out again.

~~~~~~~~

THE WOMAN GIANT

Mark, there’s a mouse in the house!

The Survivor

The Monsters