Think Out Loud [7] Heroes

I've been thinking about heroes lately. Last week, my 4 year old ran ahead while I was locking the door to our apartment. I knew he would stop at the stairs, but I heard a funny sound. My eleven year old heard it too. He ran faster than me. When I appeared on the scene, a little yapper dog was being strangled by his leash as he made every attempt to bite John. Will jumped in front of his younger brother, throwing his arms wide. "I'll protect you." Just so you know, these two are mortal enemies most of the time. I jumped up and down and clapped. The dog owners thought we were a bunch of crazies, but who cares? This was huge. The two flights of stairs down to the parking lot were spent with me letting John know that his older brother loves him so much he just saved him and letting Will know that he was so neato.

Heroes. They come in all shapes and sizes. My most memorable hero has to be the mean white kid back when I was in elementary. That's what I called him, still call him because I have no idea what his name is and he was mean and white. The only other white kid in our class and he still called me honky and haole (sounds like howly) despite being keenly aware of how much it hurt to be teased about your race. One day on a field trip to the military base, I had wandered away from the group (happened a lot). I wanted to see what a white person's church looked like (think beige). I sat in a pew near the front and spaced out on things way beyond my comprehension (also happened a lot). One of my classmate's uncles suddenly appeared in front of me. I forgot he tagged along on the field trip. I knew I was in trouble. I had heard about him. All the kids had, but on Guam when I was a kid, sexual abuse was handled in-house. I couldn't move, not even when he sat down next to me, or when he put his hand on my leg. Then the main church doors pushed open. There was the mean white kid. Harsh sunlight haloed his frame and I swear he was an angel to me at that moment, still when I think back, I hear music like the heavens opened up. "Robyn, get out here!" I flew out of the pew, out of the church. I loved him, still do. I never developed a crush on him. Hell, I didn't even try to remember his name. He never took a break from calling me names. But I saw the look on his face, he knew what was about to happen. He saved me.

Heroes.

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