Desperate For A Hero

          As a child I can remember playing with little plastic cowboys and Indians (politically incorrect, I know) with horses and wagons or army soldiers in lines to do battle to defend the boundaries of my bed room. Today’s characters have changed. One just needs to take a look at Saturday morning programming or the hand-held games that have taken the place of the plastic figures. But there is one fact that has remained the same. If you remember, there was always one white horse and the figure riding that horse was going to save the world. (With all due respect, check out the pictures of General Washington, sitting high upon his white steed and if you read 1776 you will understand why.

          We have become a society obsessed with ‘hero’s, someone riding on to the world scene and solving all of the problems. From the young boy or girl dreaming of becoming a prince or princess to the video characters armed with weapons set to destroy the enemy, our hope is that someone will come to our rescue. But in real life, it doesn’t always happen.

         Sports figures and politicians, for example, are often admired because of wealth and power yet they continue to disappoint us because of their fallibilities. People who seek to gain our trust by making promises that are soon broken only add to a world of distrust and skepticism. And yet, we are as much at fault because of our desire for the hero, someone who will step in and save us.

         Recent elections illustrate my point. I do believe most candidates are very nice peo[le and will do their best to represent the people who elected him. At this point, I don’t care what political party they represent, but I encourage you to study the sound bits that followed from foes and adversaries. My hope and fear, that one person will soon change the political world!

              I went looking.  How does one become a ‘hero? I went searching for a school or college program where someone could get a degree in heroism, but found none. Maybe the USC football program! I tried to find some books or magazines or computer software that might help. Nothing. I found some crazy pictures though! Oh my!

          I find it interesting that the words ‘hero and ‘hope’ are often used in the same sentence and context. Webster defines hope as “what is wanted” and defines hero as someone “who is admired for their courage.” I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.

          At some time in our lives I believe we have all had dreams about being a hero in someone’s life, whether a family member, a friend or maybe something much larger like the country. Most who are ‘accused’ of being a hero deny it. They just stepped in and did the right thing. Perhaps that is what it is all about.

          Excuse me while I go get fresh hay for my white horse.

How looking back maybe just got easier...

   My first car was a four door 1964 Plymouth Valiant. It was light blue with big old white wall tires. I don't remember too much else about the car, only that power windows had not been invented yet and that if I went through a puddle of water, the car would stop. It seems as though there was a design flaw, that being the placement of the alternator in the engine was near the bottom of the engine block, too close to the road and when it got wet, the car would shut down. OK. Before someone else says it...it was a fair weather car.

   And who can forget that a gallon of gas was just 31 cents.

   Despite the little quirks, the car got me back and forth to college in West Virginia for several years, out on dates in Fair Lawn, N.J and most of the time, on time to summer jobs, except when it was raining of course. It served its purpose.

   Fast forward. I recently bought a new car, at least new to me. It is just a bit over a year old with low mileage and is nothing like that 1964 blue Valiant. Yes, it has power windows and I don't think it will stop running in the rain. Tucked somewhere inside the radio, I guess, is something called 'Bluetooth' that allows me to talk on my cell phone without it leaving my pocket. I don't even have to dial a number. I push a little green button on the steering wheel and this voice asks me what number I want to call. Cool!

   Heated seats are nice, especially in colder climates and rear hatches on SUV's that pop open with the touch of the key are great when your arms are full of grocery bags. But what I really like is the backup camera.

   Now I am not getting any younger and one of the things I am finding is that my mobility is not quite what it use to be. Sure. I can still swing a golf club or throw a tennis ball for the dog. I can still look in the rear view mirror or turn my head to the left or right when I am ready to back the car out of the garage or from one of those tiny parking spaces at the mall. But what I have found is that the backup camera really does help, with an addition view, although it does take a bit of getting use to.

   Put the car in 'R' and a picture immediately appears on a screen in the dashboard. Now, the first time I did this, the car salesperson was standing immediately behind the car, his face just inches away from the camera. He laughed and I screamed. He is pretty scary to look at, even in the camera.

   But after some practice, the camera has become a helpful driving tool. In the garage, I start the car, shift it into reverse, after I have opened the garage door of course, and I get a full picture of my driveway and the neighbor’s house across the street. I sure won't back into his house now, not that I ever did.

   With some degree of ease and feeling a bit more aware of those things going on around me, I now slip in and out of parking places at the grocery store, the local Dunkin Donuts and Walmart. I still adjust the rear view mirror, and look behind me to the left and the right before stepping on the gas, but the camera does add another level of safety.

   There have been a lot of changes in cars and trucks since my first 1964 Plymouth Valiant. Power window, heated seats, backup cameras are only a few of the innovations designed to make the journey through life a bit easier, more comfortable and safer.

   We know that sometimes when we drive, we need to backup in order to move forward and get to where we want to go. Life in general is like that also. That backup camera inside the car gives us not only a picture of where we have been, but also where we need to go before moving forward.

   The same holds true for life outside the car. While we don't have our own electronic backup camera, we probably have something just as good. I think we call that 'life's experiences', lessons and memories. It may not be quite like what we see on the screen of the backup camera on the dashboard of the car, the things we remember can often remind us of what's behind us, where we have been and where we are may be headed.

   And as for that new backup camera? Already I wonder how I have managed to get along without it for so long. Now how did that shopping cart get there?