Hero Schmero

Something heroic.  Hmm.  What the heck does that mean?

The Cambridge Online Dictionary describes heroic something which is "very brave or great."  Doesn't sound like me at all.

There was a guy I worked with at Arnaud's  who told people, for a few days at least, that I saved his life. We'd been setting up a dining room, joking around and eating appetisers we'd stolen found from the banquet in the next room.  He started laughing at something and all of a sudden began wheezing and coughing and got this panicked look on his face.  I went behind him, gave him the Heimlich and out flew a nasty piece of half chewed vol au vent.

"Dude, you saved my life," he said, and proceeded to tell people.  All well and good until management started asking why he was eating the vol au vents.

I don't know that I did anything "brave or great" ... I just didn't want to have the guy croak and have to work the banquet by myself. 

So I've dismissed this as a heroic deed.  You just do the best you can with what you know, and I happened to know the Heimlich Maneuver.

One of my favourite Life Clubs workshops to run is called "You are Your Own Hero."  It's all about looking at the qualities you admire in others and realising that you have them within yourself.  Rather than ask myself all the workshop questions again ('cause I'm lazy, have to teach all day, and had lesson plans to prepare), I decided to email some of my own heroes and ask what I've ever done that's heroic.

(And one of the things I admire in my heroes is modesty.)

My 16-year-old nephew said, "you're always there for your family."  I suppose that is a heroic deed for a teenager, as there probably was nothing more I wanted, when I was 16, than to get away.  And now that I live 4,000 miles away, I've probably succeeded.  But being so far away, I wonder if I'm really "there" for them?

One of my best and oldest friends (who just whomped the shit out of cancer) said, "staring down the barrel of the medical gun for all these years and not letting it get in the way of living your life well is pretty fucking heroic."  Again ... you do what you have to do (and she'd be the first to agree with me on that ... some of us are just lucky.)

And then there's my sister, who is pretty much one of my biggest heroes. She said, "You've shown sooo many people that barely even know you how to laugh keep and going in the face of (pick one) dysfunction, disease, discrimination, terrorism.   You listen, and even hear people.  I like this about you the most."

Hero schmero.  We're all just doing the best we can.

Comments

[Cat]

I once witnessed a colleague of mine almost choke to death on a piece of steak at a corporate thing before a waiter did the necessary. Must be pretty much part of the job description! She was a very annoying colleague, but I was glad he saved her - I didn't know what to do, and seeing her slowly turning blue was more than a little frightening.

[Angelalala]

I spent a horribly long time after my first aid course desperate for someone to choke so I could test my skills.

[Laura]

interesting that you left out the other suggestions i gave you - like that one about allowing me to practice my amateur oral techniques on you in our adolescence... brave. very brave.

perhaps would be even braver now that i'm wearing orthodontics, but you are still one of my heros! always will be! xoxoxo

[Laura]

oh. suppose i should clarify who i am a bit.

i'm his old friend. not his sister...or nephew for that matter!

[bob]

Um, thanks for that.

[Diego Robbins]

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Magruder High School, Rockville, MD. Army JROTC
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