"A man needs heroes"

[meltintall3]

As promised, the NaNo'08 conversation on heroes, wherein my various characters munch on carrots and do a lot of talking that may or may not arrive at a conclusion.

We all brought supper, and sat around the picnic tables talking about stuff. Since the picnic tables are scattered, some people brought blankets and sat on those instead.

It was the munching stage. (That's when the sandwiches and hot dogs or whatever are gone, and people are eating chips and Cheetos and baby carrots and Oreo cookies.) Greg asked, "So, guys, what's a hero?"

Phillip was quick to reply, "A hero is someone who does something extraordinary. Like kill one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey."

"Someone's been reading Judges," said Carl.

"Who did that? And why?" asked Greg.

"Sampson did, in the Bible," said Phillip. "He was supposed to be delivering his people from oppression."

"Isn't Sampson that hair dude who liked girls?" asked Greg.

"Yes," said Carl. "That's one way to describe him."

"And didn't he fail?" asked Greg. "Why are you using him as an example?"

"Well, because he did judge Israel for twenty years. And he is inarguably a larger-than-life sort of character. Which is another characteristic of a hero," Phillip said.

I said, "I'd be more inclined to think of, say, St. George and the Dragon as a hero."

"Don't you mean heroes?" teased Yacob. "Or was his name George AndtheDragon?"

"You know what I mean," I told him. "St. George killed the dragon and saved the town."

"A hero is someone who does something at great risk to life and limb," suggested Yacob. "George could have been slow cooked in his armour. Mmmm, yum. Roast knight for dinner. Not too bad once you peel off the wrapping. Kind of like a baked potato."

"But on the other hand," said Carl, "He did have the prospect of marrying the princess, and she was supposed to be the most beautiful maiden in the land."

"That wouldn't have done him any good if he was dead," said Yacob. "He didn't get her until the deed was done. And who says heroes don't need rewards, same as any other penny-pinching mortal?"

"The Philistines would have killed Sampson and the men of Judah," said Phillip. "He risked his life to do his deed."

"He started that quarrel," said Carl.

"You haven't said what you think a hero is yet," said Phillip. "So quit poking fun at the examples."

"A hero," said Leah, "Is someone who gives his word and keeps it: "Even if I found it on the road, I would not take it.""

"And someone who stares into the face of certain doom and does it anyway because the job was entrusted to him," I added. "Which, I suppose is still rooted in keeping one's word."

"I thought a hero was someone who came out ahead, despite the mounting odds," said Melissa. "Faramir ended up more than half dead. And what was the thing he wouldn't take?"

"The Ring," said Leah and I together, then rolled our eyes. "Here is a chance for Faramir, Captian of Gondor, to show his quality."

"Blegh," I added. "What a waste of a perfectly good line."

"Oh," said Melissa. "You were talking about Book Faramir."

"Yup," I said.

"But heroes do end up dead, sometimes, in real life," said Leah. "What about the band on the Titanic? They played while the ship was sinking and gave up their places in the lifeboat. They were heroes. So were the chaplains."

Yacob reached for a carrot. "Why do you ask, Greg?"

"Oh, I was just curious as to what you guys thought," Greg said.

"Did we satisfy your curiosity?" asked Yacob. "'Cause I'm sure we can dig up more examples from our collective memories. For instance, there is the boy hero of Harlem, who stuck his finger in the dyke. "Courage consists of hanging on one minute longer," he said, and kept hanging in there for one minute more, and then one more minute, and then one more…until help came."

"Oh!" said Melissa. "A hero is someone you look up to; a role model."

"Those are more everyday sort," I said. "Hero has a sort of golden quality, while role model is… oh, I don't know. Oak or something sturdy."

"But a bit brittle, too," said Yacob. "Role models are only human, after all, while a hero is an ideal and ideals are perfect."

"But we call them heroes," said Melissa. Then she added, "Sometimes."

"But rarely to their faces," said Carl. "Or if we do, we don't mean it the same way."

"My hero," I sighed, looking at my husband.

He pulled his baseball cap down over one eye and held a carrot between his first two fingers. "No trouble at all, ma'am. All in a day's work."

We laughed.

"What do you think, Greg?" asked Yacob. "Have you a definition you'd like to add for scrutiny?"

Greg shook his head. "I think you guys covered everything I thought of, plus examples. Thanks."

"No problem," said Phillip. "Say, Carl, you still haven't said anything about heroes."

"A man needs heroes. He needs to believe in strength, nobility and courage," quoted Carl. He straightened his cap and sat up. "Louis L'Amour wrote that. In my opinion, a hero needs courage above all else. Courage to do what's right. Courage to keep his word when it's easier to break it. Courage to win when it'd be easier to lay down and die. Courage to know it's okay to die that others might live. Courage to believe that there is a happy ending beyond their part of the story—and that they will see it. …Quoth Sir Launcelot, "But if I shall refuse an adventure because I find it perilous, then I am not like to undertake any adventure at all." How's that?"

"Fine, fine," said Yacob. "How do you keep those quotes in your head?"

"They stuck with me," said Carl. "They may not be exact, but that's the jist I gathered when I read them. Oh, and I copied them down. Writing something is said to help it stick in your memory."

"Really?" said Greg. "Anyone got paper then? I liked that first quote and I'd like to remember it. Or would typing it into your cell phone count, do you suppose?"

"It'd count for keeping the words fresh until you can write them into a journal or something," said Carl. "Though, I must warn you, keeping a collection of quotes is addicting. You can't have just one."

"Hear, hear," I said.

"You too?" asked Greg.

"Carl started it," I told him. "He was standing in the bookstore, book in hand, typing on his cell phone. I asked what he was doing and why. For some reason, he doesn't carry a notebook in his purse… Anyway, a few days later, he gave me a copy of Jan Karon's tie-in book, the one supposed to be Father Tim's quote journal. It's at my parents, but I can lend it to you, if you'd like."

"Sure," said Greg. "If you wouldn't miss it, that is."

"Carl has his own copy."

"Right. Well, he might have given you his."

"Not a chance. The first is the better of the two," said Carl. "The other has repeat quotes."

"Sure, I can see how that'd be annoying," said Greg. "But why the book?"

"Mostly as an example of what can be put in, and to provide a few quotes to get one started. Pick the ones you love, and copy them in, and then your book won't look so lonely and you'll be inspired to keep adding. It's more fun to read the more you have in there."

"Ah," said Yacob. "Simple pleasures from a man living a simple life."

"Have a carrot," suggested Carl.