By Kathleen M. Muldoon
Yvette Silver ysilver@erols.com
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When I was a kid, I had two heroes. One lived in a book and the other in a doghouse. Let me introduce them.
My book hero was Jo March, the second daughter in the March family in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Although she wrote this book as fiction, Louisa based the story on her own family, and she was “Jo.” I read Little Women a dozen or more times, and each time, I, too, became Jo. I liked everything about her-she hated wearing fancy clothes; she hated those times when she was expected to act like a young lady; and, more than anything, she wanted to be a writer. Aside from the fact that I didn’t live during the Civil War like Jo, I felt we were practically twins. Knowing that the real Jo, Louisa May Alcott, realized her dream of becoming a writer made me think that perhaps I, too, might someday write books. So Jo was my hero.
One dictionary defines hero as “A person looked up to by others because of great achievements or fine qualities.” That seems to apply to the many heroes I’ve had in my life except, perhaps, for Sarge, my other childhood hero. After all, animals are not “persons” (but don’t tell that to my cat, Prissy). In my opinion, since some animals also have fine qualities and great achievements, they can be heroes, too. So meet Sarge, a golden retriever I knew when I was 12.
I first met Sarge when he came to live with Donna, a friend who lived in my apartment complex and attended a school for blind children in the next county. I only got to see her on weekends because she lived at the school during the week.
One day after her mom brought her to our apartment, Donna shared exciting news. She had been matched with a “seeing eye” dog and would soon be bringing him home. Then, she said, she would start going to the public school in our neighborhood in the fall. When Donna brought Sarge home, she explained that he was a working dog and that we shouldn’t try to pet him while he worked.
All summer, we watched Donna practice with Sarge. He knew just when to allow Donna to cross our busy city streets. He took Donna places that before she could only go to with her mother’s help. Whenever Sarge wore the special harness, we knew he was working. But when Donna sat on the steps with us and let Sarge rest, we knew we could pet him and love him for the special dog he was. Sarge became my hero because he allowed Donna the freedom I had always taken for granted.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They can be famous, such as athletes and rock stars, or they can be quiet heroes, known only to those whose lives are touched by their special qualities and achievements. That’s the important about heroes-if they are athletes or rock stars, we should consider them heroes because they have something more to offer. David Robinson, for example, the great basketball player now retired from the San Antonio Spurs, is considered a hero by many San Antonians, including me, not because of his athletic ability, but because he has contributed his time and talents in the community and has given poor children new hope through an excellent education at his Carver Academy. Wow! Now that’s a hero.
I’ll bet you have heroes, too. If you’d like to share some information on your hero, let Action know about that special person/animal/character. Email a paragraph to action@unitedspinal.org or mail it to:
KIDS IN ACTION
United Spinal Association
75-20 Astoria Boulevard
Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177
Perhaps you’ll meet some special heroes in future issues of Action. In the meantime, remember that you can be a hero to someone else.
Kathleen M. Muldoon is a children’s book author and writing instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.
