My Un-Known Hero!

Heroes pass in and out of our lives whether we know it or not.  Often we don't acknowledge their acts that create that hero status in our heads.  We may thank them - and I certainly hope we at least do that!!!, but how often do we feel as though we haven't said - much less done, enough?

In March during my last semester in college I managed to destroy my left knee during a ski

Ok, I didn't exactly ski like this.  But this is rather cool!

trip.  It required surgery, and recovery with therapy would be at least six weeks.  However, the last thing I wanted to do was withdraw from school my last semester.  My orthopedic surgeon said we could postpone the surgery so long as I planned on having it soon after graduation.  Being the accident happened in early March and graduation was in May, I had to hobble around on crutches for eight weeks.  

It's amazing how you can experience people's mettle when it comes to hobbling on crutches.  I had one student dash out in front of me and accidentally kick my left crutch from me. In order to keep from falling I caught myself on my bad leg.  Ughh, the pain was shot up my knee just about causing me to pass out.  Did he turn to see if I was ok?  Nope, but others grabbed me to keep me from falling, and just stood me up until I seemed to get my barings back.  Their kindness and concern really meant a lot to me.

But, and this is a big but!! - there was this one young man that I will never forget.  I wish I could say I knew his name, but alas I cannot.  All I can call him is my dark-haired hero.  What he did was about the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.

Superman is missing the umbrella!!!

During that last semester I had one late afternoon class.  One particular rainy evening after class I hobbled outside, stopping under a overhang on the building just watching the rain pour from the heavens.  Obviously my hands were busy, and well, quite frankly, I didn't have a handy dandy umbrella that hooks onto crutches. I stood under that overhang for about ten minutes just hoping the rain would ease some.  I was parked across the street, but it may as well have been on the other side of campus.  I was destined to get  soaked just trying to make it to my car.  

As I stood there watching the rain, this young man exited the building.  He wasn't in any of my classes, I didn't know him from Adam.  But he looked at the rain and then at me. "Just waiting for the rain to stop," I said, answering his silent question.  

"Where's you car? he asked me.  

"Across the street."

"Oh." was his response.  He put his ball cap on his head and headed out into the rain toward his vehicle.  

I didn't expect much more than that.  Just making friendly conversation with the injured student. Yet, what happened next completely took me by surprise.  After he reached his vehichle, he thew his books into the front seat, closed the door, opened the back door, pulled out and umbrella and ran back toward me, unwrapping the strap around it.

"Ready?" he asked me as he opened his umbrella above my head.

"Really? Thank you so much, thank you so so much!"  I said.  He took my school bag from my shoulder and began walking behind me to my car, all the while covering me with his umbrella.  Bless his heart, it was so small, it only covered me - all the while he was getting wet, but he didn't seem to mind.  He stood behind me keeping the umbrella over me as I unlocked my car, and crawled into my seat.  He put my book bag behind me in the back seat, took my crutches and put them in behind me too, but within my reach.  I thanked him again as he closed my door, and soon he dashed off to his own vehicle, started it, and drove off.

I sat in my car for a minute just in awe of what had happened.  In the ten minutes that I stood under the overhang, several students exited the same building, pulled out their umbrellas and mosied on their way.  I can't blame them, I really didn't expect anything from them.  The former guy in my blog, quite frankly, exhibited what I had come to expect from many of those students.  They were younger, and displayed attitudes of "step aside, I'm coming through."  But the attitude of the dark-haired young man with the umbrella left me humbled -  feeling like I had many of them figured so wrong.  Yes, the one guy caused me to lose my barings when he kicked my crutch out from under me, but others around me held me up - keeping me from falling.  On the rainy afternoon, many saw me stand under the overhang, but only one returned to help me.  Would I do the same?  I learned from my dark-haired hero.

Indeed I graduated in May.  And for one week I was actually off the crutches and was able to walk across the stage to receive my diploma; but the next week

Always a Horned Frog!!  Graduation, 1998!

surgery was indeed scheduled, and boy am I glad I waited.  It was most painful!!

I never saw that young man again, and highly highly doubt he reads my blog. But he became my hero that particular day.  Not surprisingly, to this day I think fondly of a certain rainy day in April, during my last semester at TCU - just because of what this young man did.  To me it was a most selfless act; he didn't know me, I didn't know him. But he treated me like one would expect a gentleman would treat a lady (just shy of throwing a coat across a water puddle).  I had no doubt that young man was raised well, and with that kind of training, it gives me pause to say he was my un-known dark haired hero!