As an author I like to write about ‘ordinary’ people who
rush into hell to find justice. When
confronted by the unimaginable, they fight to survive and prevail.
My focus on the people with non-super powers might be
strange considering the fact that as a kid I watched a steady diet of all the
super hero cartoons from Mighty Mouse to Superman to the Justice League. Characters whipped out their super powers to
save the world.
Yet my first and always heroes were my parents. Every day Dad went to work at a tough,
difficult job he didn’t like to provide for his family. Mom sacrificed so her daughters could have
more than she did as a Depression-era child.
They weren’t the flashy heroes of the ‘extraordinary’ powers or moment; to me they were heroic for meeting life’s
obligations with resilience every day of their lives.
From a police officer
racing to burning car to rescue a trapped driver to the divorced mother tired
from working a thankless job but stays up late to help her daughter complete a
school project, I take heart in both those heroic efforts that make the news
and those I have the privilege of observing.
See that utility tech working tirelessly on downed lines in an area
devastated by disasters? Hero. Those
teams of Red Cross or American Humane Society heading into the eye of the storm
to help victims? Major heroes.
While many may argue super model/business woman Heidi Klum
is far from being ordinary, this past weekend she was just a mother on a
holiday with her family. When a riptide
threatened her son, she rushed into the water without hesitation to pull him to
safety. Then she went into danger again
to rescue the nanny. The look of fear
and determination on her face would resonate with any parent with a child in
danger. I know her courage and actions
will work their way eventually into a character. For now, she’s added to my ‘hero’ list.
Do you have a favorite act of heroism you saw or read about?
J
Carol Stephenson
Escape to Compelling, Heart-Racing Stories
HER DARK PROTECTOR, 2013 EPIC finalist
Website; Facebook; Twitter; Amazon Author Page
HER DARK PROTECTOR, 2013 EPIC finalist
Website; Facebook; Twitter; Amazon Author Page
