Are There Heroes?

“I wish we could have a hero, but we don’t seem to be able to have any anymore.”

-Matt Speers

Are There Heroes?

Matt Speers is a Captain in the United States Marine Corps.  He commands more than one hundred men.  I say command, but that’s wrong in a way.  I should say he leads them.

 “Their parents lend them to me and it’s my job to make sure they become men of honor.  It’s amazing to see some of the decisions a boy of 18 will make.  I don’t know why I’m surprised.  I made the some of the same silly choices when I was that age.  It’s my responsibility to demonstrate the right path so I can send them back to their families as great men when they leave the service.”

When I was listening to Captain Speers speak to me I found it difficult at times to pay attention to my driving.  He was sitting in the seat next to me and there were times when all I wanted to do was stare at him.  Can such men still be walking amongst us?

He has served at two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.  He’s also getting himself and his men ready to be deployed again for another tour.  I know how hard he’s working to be prepared.  He spends weeks in the deserts of California without communication to the world you and I live in.  He’s totally immersed in training and caring about the men he lives his life with.  I felt honored that he was spending time with me searching for a home in the mountains of Utah.

On one misty, cool spring day we walked along a street between homes and I asked him what he thought about one particular history-making-general.

“I wish we could have a hero, but we don’t seem to be able to have any anymore.” He said.

I can understand why he said what he said. 

I looked over through the mist and to my right to look at him as he spoke to me; the cool breeze brushing lightly across my face.  And, what I saw was a real hero.  He isn’t some myth created by a popular culture.  He isn’t a self absorbed, self promoting person working to build himself up in the eyes of everyone in the world!  He’s a man of principle.

A hero is someone who has recognized true principles and is willing to live in conformity.  They’re a person who goes out and does the right thing every day even though nobody else will ever know what’s being done.  It’s someone who gives their life to the benefit of others to nurture them and guide them to the best of their ability; someone who’s willing to live out in the middle of nowhere in order to be in a position to teach lessons that can’t be learned in the “center of it all.”  Perhaps most of all, it’s someone who will just go out and do the right thing when it’s hard, uncomfortable or unpopular.

I continued walking on a sidewalk in a popular Mountain Resort Town in Utah on a cool, misty day.  When I looked to my right again, I was finding it harder and harder to see the hero at my side.  The weather wasn’t worsening.  The increasing mist was in my eyes as a result of the opportunity to be walking with a truly great man.

A Generous Irishman

“I want to buy this for a friend of mine.  She has a 7 year old daughter and they need a place to live.”

-      Dominic Larkin

A Generous Irishman

When my phone rang about noon I had no idea what kind of generosity I was going to witness.  I told the caller that I would meet with him to walk through the home he was calling about in an hour and a half.   I gathered my things and made my way down to my car so I could drive the distance and arrive with plenty of time to spare.

When I pulled up to the house, the caller was already waiting in front.  He stood just less than six feet tall, had longer graying hair and was wearing a sort of safari hat with a chin string hanging down from its sides and looping down toward his Adam’s apple.  He was driving a large pickup truck and was smiling as he greeted me.

When I heard his voice it took me a minute to have the words he was speaking register in my brain.  He was from Ireland and his English was slightly different from what I was used to hearing.  Still, a momentary lag was all I needed to become fully present with this intriguing stranger.  I invited him into the house.

He became an active inspector was soon as he walked through the door.  He asked me question after question as he demonstrated his genuine interest.  He was thorough.  And, when he was mentally satisfied he became more affable and began to open a window into his purpose.

“I want to buy this for a friend of mine.  She has a 7-year-old daughter and they need a place to live.”  He explained.  “She was married and her husband left her alone with their daughter.  He just abandoned them and hasn’t given any support at all.  They don’t deserve to live on the street.”

“I need to make sure I can get them into a place and still have enough money to fix it up so it will be a nice home for them.” He continued.

I stood looking at him through new eyes.  The old ones I was looking through were not prepared to see a plain old Irishman turn into an angel in broad daylight.  I also had to put a mental pace-maker into my heart.  It was starting to beat way too fast; you know, the way your heart pounds when it gets an emotional rush.  After making these two adjustments I just gawked while listening to the rest of his tale.

“My friend also has another friend who is homeless.  This place would have enough room for everyone.  Yes.  This will make a nice home for them.”  He said contentedly with his Irish accent.

“Room for everyone. . .”  I pondered.  “I think we’ll need a lot more people like my Irish Angel if we’re going to make room for everyone!  Yes.  Room for everyone; perhaps if we work together and show our generosity it can happen!

Doing the Right Stuff

“It’s important to take the time to see what people really need rather than just taking them some brownies.” -  Elayne Pearson

Doing the Right Stuff

Elayne and I were standing near a huge barbeque grill after a long night of cooking and serving food to our neighbors.  We served about 450 hamburgers and hot dogs to hundreds of men, women and children; many of whom were dressed in colorful costumes.

But, one costume was black and exceptionally tall; we estimated that this Grim Reaper was standing about nine feet tall!  It hovered and walked.  It talked and entertained.  The children ran under its tree branch arms as if they were dancing under a deciduous tree in the cool October evening.  And, as our night came to a close we still had not discovered the identity of this disguised character.

As Elayne was talking with me, I thought of how much this unidentified Grim Reaper was the perfect example of what she was describing.  Our annual October Neighborhood Gathering is designed to get all of us together so we can reconnect and look each other in the eyes without the impediments of windows and electronic devices.  It allows us to get to know each other better; to find out what’s happening in the lives of those we share our town with.

Many times we live with and around people for years without really getting to know and understand anything about them.  Their identity remains a mystery.  As we talked about what more we could do strengthen our community Elayne said, “It’s important to take the time to see what people really need rather than just giving them some brownies.”  

There are people living around us who are struggling to care for their children, who are jobless, and have debilitating illness.  If we don’t know who they are and what they’re facing they live alone.  If they live alone then they aren’t living as part of our community.  To make them part of our community we need to embrace them and as we embrace them, something magical happens to all of us.

The magic appears to us in the form of the disappearance of perceived separation between individuals.  It creates compassion; a sense of well being that swells in our hearts.  Heartfelt gratitude then grows, from the fulfilling friendships we enjoy, and we become part of something larger than ourselves.  We become a real community that wants to be more giving, kind and more willing to be forgiving and loving.  When that happens it is much easier to do more of the right stuff.

Doing the right stuff is something each one of us can do.  It doesn’t take a lot of money.  It is simply accomplished by opening our eyes and taking small steps to open our hearts.  Open hearts allow us to work together to solve the pressing problems our friends and communities are facing.  Now is the time for us to mobilize as individuals.  Now is the time to reach out.  None of us need permission to go out and do good; to do the right stuff.  So, let’s go out and give of ourselves today.