Ordinary Heros

There are times when our offspring embarrass or exasperate us, and other times when they do us proud. I have boys like that. Years ago my second born was on his way home from a late night working at a local restaurant. It was winter and the snowmobiles were out riding the drifts and snowbanks. As Dave and his friend rounded a curve in the friend's car an individual on a snowmobile ran into them. The wounded man lay in the middle of the road, unable to move and vulnerable to approaching traffic. Dave thought quick, and though he knew the injured ideally shouldn't be moved, he gently linked his own arms underneath the man's shoulders, pulled him out of the road, and waited until the ambulance arrived.

Yesterday Ben witnessed another accident. While most people pulled their vehicles around the scene and continued without stopping, Ben stopped his truck, turned on the flashers, and got out to see if the injured woman was okay. Because of his experience riding with the local ambulance crew, he was able to let her know someone was there and ask her a few questions. Thankfully, though she initially looked incoherent, she knew who she was and what had happened. The police officer who eventually arrived on the scene however, was not impressed. He told him to stop trying to be a hero and leave or he'd give him a ticket. He had no idea that Ben has any experience with an ambulance crew and Ben had left his EMT jacket home hanging on a hook. I'm sure Ben just looked like a nosy kid to him, but I still think he's a hero.