A Real Hero

The topic of heroes has been in the news a lot lately, but I care not to enter the contemporary debate. I do want to mention that when I was a boy, we had heroes and we lauded them. Batman, Superman, and cowboys wearing white hats were just of few of the people young boys looked up to. Slowly these gave way to professional wrestlers and moves stars who couldn't control their alcohol and drug abuse. Let me tell you about a real hero and if disagree, I'll meet you outside.

Last night, I was watching television in our daughter's old bedroom while my wife did the same on the couch in the living room. Without looking her way, I became aware that she was on the telephone with our Baby Girl. I knew that because several times I overheard her attempt to say something but fail to get her word in edgewise. A sure sign, I've seen it before.

I got up to get a glass of cold green tea and walking through the living room allowed me to hear my daughter's voice coming out of my wife's cell phone. She was loud and sounded highly emotional. That and the look on my wife's face told me that something had happened, something was amiss, something was wrong.

After getting my tea, I resumed watching TV knowing full well I would get a blow-by-blow of whatever the conflict had been as soon as my wife got off the phone. It wasn't long before Penny walked in and told me the story.

That very day Zane, our eight year old grandson, came inside and told his mother, our daughter, Andrea, that Aiden, a neighborhood kid, was in their pool and had a couple of other boys with him. Their pool is an above ground one, but the largest above ground pool made. It has a concrete bottom, is forty-one feet long, and one end that is eight feet deep. This is a real pool and not something for uninvited and unsupervised children to be in. 

Andrea shot out the back door, scolded Aiden from the pool, and then began to look for the other boys. At first she didn't see them, but then there they were drowning on the bottom of the deep end! She immediately jumped in and attempted a rescue but got in trouble herself and was in danger of drowning. 

Then a hero appeared.

The hero jumped in, dove to the bottom, and pulled one of the hapless youths to the surface where Andrea could hold him above water at the edge of the pool. The hero went again to the bottom and rescued the other victim who had no chance without help. 

By this time, Paul, our son-in-law, was outside, dragged the boys out of the pool and began CPR while the ambulance made its way to the scene. Thank God both both boys survived. And thank the selfless hero whose life-saving action that day will most likely never be seen on TV or written in magazines as "brave." I know what you're thinking. No, it wasn't our grandson who saved two lives yesterday; it was our ten-year old granddaughter, Caitlin, the best person, the sweetest, the most loving person I ever knew. If you want to know what a real hero is and what she looks like, I have lots of pictures.

My hero and I enjoying chips at No Way Jose.