Sunday, September 11, 2005
What A Hero Looks Like
My God, what an incredible story...
The author is John -- a resident of central Texas, a retired 25-year veteran of unspecified armed forces... and the owner of a 30-year-old Army truck (which the Army calls an M35A2, he calls "deuce and a half", and the likes of me would simply call "big mother truck").
When the lights went out in the Gulf of Mexico, he took it personally -- his Best Buddy, the friend-for-life he made in the US Air Force, lived in Biloxi, and could not be reached.
John decided, on his own initiative, to get the Deuce ready for a long haul, load it to the gills with food and supplies, and head out into harm's way. Immediate objective: find his buddy, make sure he's okay, find out if he needs anything. Longer-term objective: help out some of the suffering thousands who need help.
The result was an unforgettable journey. Please do go and read about it. (Hat tip: Citizen Smash.)
The attentive reader will note many reasons and opportunities for this man to have turned back, or not to have gotten started in the first place. None of them mattered. He set out to do a job, did the best he possibly could, and went home only when he had no choice.
I've never met John, nor am I ever likely to do so. But if I'm ever lucky enough to see his face, I'll know what a hero looks like.
