In the Midst of Heroes

By Kevin A. Ewing

In the world we live in there has always been a need for heroes never more than now. We spend so much time waiting for heroes, never realizing we are in the midst of them. All we have to do is to look for them.

We live and work with heroes everyday and never see them because we simply aren't looking for them. This book is about every day people who would never consider themselves heroes but they are just the same. They go about their lives being heroes but not being seen as the heroes they are. Every story in this book reminds us to look for the heroes in our midst. Every hero we notice makes our lives richer and better. In the frightening world we live in, where everywhere we turn we see so much that is wrong. It is easy to miss that things are not so bad. It is easy to miss that we are in the midst of heroes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463434243

Kevin A. Ewing

Kevin Ewing was Born August 5, 1958 in North Tonawanda New York Mr. Ewing lived in California & Washington State. He now currently lives in Georgia. Kevin has enjoyed many Careers such as production controller, salesman, financial planner, pest & weed controller, funeral insurance salesman, footwear assistant manager & manager, middle school special educator, high school special educator, author He has been a special educator teaching life skills to Middle School and high School students have for the last fifteen years. His Education is as follows: Santa Barbara City College- AA Degree Washington State University – BA Education’ Central Washington University M Ed His college Associations: Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa Mr. Ewing has been married for 29 years to his lovely wife Reva. He has four children.

Book preview

THE RANCHER & THE LAMB

WHEN WE LOOK FOR HEROES we rarely think of looking to the country to ranchers and farmers but they are good ones to look at if we are looking for heroes. What they consider just part of a days work is what the rest of the world would consider doing heroic acts. They look out after animals that need help and helping neighbors known or unknown is not just a good idea it’s a tradition. They would be annoyed if it was suggested that they are heroic in any way yet along the way if they ever do anything heroic it’s just payback for when heroic things were done on their behalf.

A grizzled old rancher from Nevada tells a story about the time he helped a lamb and in return was taught a life lesson that he would never forget. He has never considered what he did heroic but he considers what he got in return pure magic. He calls it a magical moment. When he shares his story he feels like he is sharing a miracle. Even sharing the story is an act of a hero. Sometimes magical moments don’t have to be experienced directly to experience magical moments. Sometimes just hearing about a magical moment that someone else has had can make it your magical moment too. He begins by saying that most of his life he has worked with cattle. He is good with cattle but he has never had a cow teach him a lesson unless it was about stubbornness. For the last few years he had decided to branch out a bit and raise lamb for wool. He has a flock of about a hundred sheep.

He says that when the story occurred he had to do a chore he hated to do and that was to maintain and repair his miles of fences. He broke it down to checking on twenty mile segments of fence. The fence he was checking on was miles from the nearest main road. On that day he came to a part of the fence that looked like it was stretched funny for about a hundred yards or so from where he was. He took a slow walk checking on the fence as he went. He got to where he thought the fence was stretched funny and found that a young lamb had his head stuck in some barbed wire. He figured that it had to be dead because the lamb was not moving or making a sound at all. There were sheep and lambs near by that were all bleating so loudly that he could hardly hear himself think but the lamb was silent and still. He says that when he knelt down to see if the lamb was alive the lamb was so still that at first he wasn’t sure if it was indeed alive but as he got closer to the lamb he found it was breathing in and out, alive and well but not making a sound or any movement at all. As stuck as that little lamb was there wasn’t a mark on its body anywhere. This little lamb did not have a mark on his body so that other than being trapped in the fence he was without blemish, without a mark.

The rancher had some wire cutters with him and in an act of seconds he snipped the two wires that held the lamb captive. He says that the moment he freed the little lamb and set him on his feet the lamb began to bleat and to run towards the flock. The rancher said that he looked up and saw a ewe run to the lamb. As he tells the story this grizzled old cowboy always has tears trickling down his face when he says, With all the sheep and lambs bleating the noise was even more deafening then when he first arrived yet the ewe recognized the voice of her lamb. When they came together the ewe went over every square inch of her little lamb to make sure that he was alright.

What really touched the old rancher’s heart was that when the lamb was really in trouble he never made a sound. He says that he is like that when he gets in trouble too often. When he gets help it is because of the love of others. It was only after the rancher helped the lamb and freed him from the fence that he cried. He would say that he was like that too. We make the loudest sounds when help is closest.

This is a love story with two heroes, the rancher and the ewe. This is a story that is as old as time that reminds us of another book about a creator and his son. We are in the midst of heroes even when we are out on a ranch.

HERO WHEN NEEDED

ALITTLE GIRL ABOUT TWO YEARS old is in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. She is crying. An older gentleman named Norm notices the little girl as he walks by her while on an errand for his wife. He approaches her and asks her if she is lost. She nods her head up and down then begins to move away from him. Norm follows the little girl and asks, Have your Mommy and Daddy told you to never talk to strangers? She nods her head up and down again and starts to run from him. Norm notices four things: 1. He notices the mall office is one hundred yards in the direction that the little girl is running. 2. He thinks that the little girl’s parents wisely taught her not to talk to strangers and Norm was definitely a stranger to this little girl. 4. He also observed that in spite of her fears that she was a brave little girl, not saying a word but running from him. In his mind he quickly came up with a plan to help the little girl.

He follows the little girl but not too close so that he doesn’t frighten her even more than she already is but guides her to the mall office. When she gets close to the mall office he catches up to her and points to the office and says to the little girl, There is help there, they will find your Mommy and Daddy. She looks to where he is pointing and sees uniformed security people through the window and begins to cry loudly enough for her whole body to shake. Norm opens the door. She walks in and he can hear her speak for the first time. She says, I’m losted. He quietly closes the door and walks back to the main part of the mall again.

Norm walks about fifty feet when he first hears two voices calling out a name then sees a very distraught man and woman looking for something. He approaches them and asks, Have you lost your little girl? They reply in unison, Yes, have you seen her? He says, I did and I know where she is now. She is in the mall office. You have a very brave little girl. I saw her crying but she not only wouldn’t talk to me, she in fact ran from me. To insure her safety I guided her to the mall office. It is very good that you taught her not to talk to strangers. You have taught her well. The mother starts to cry and she says, I can’t thank you enough. Just then over the loud speaker comes the announcement, Attention Mall Shoppers, we have a lost little girl in the mall office. She is two and a half years old and answers to the name of Kitty. Please come and get her. Her mother and father sprinted to the office.

Norm leaves the mall and drives down the road to a hardware store to buy a part for his lawn mower. As he leaves the store he notices an elderly man walking fast one way for a block, hesitating looking one way, then another way and turning around and walking quickly back the same way he came. He walks back to where he began and repeats what he did at the other end of the block. He then walks quickly back again.

Norm approaches the man and says, Hi my name is Norm, what’s yours? The man looks at Norm with eyes wide with confusion. He says, My name is John, yes it’s John. Norm asks, Are you lost John? John says, Well when I started out I didn’t think I was lost but now I don’t remember where I am going. He pauses and continues, or where I came from either. I just know that where ever I am going to it’s important.

Norm asks John, Do you remember your address or your telephone number? John says, I think I do, no I guess I don’t I should know it though but I just can’t seem to recall either one. Did you bring your wallet with you, Norm asks John? He says, I don’t know, I must have but I don’t know. Norm asks John, Do my a favor touch the front pockets of your pants. John touches his pockets. Norm asks, Did you feel your wallet when you touched your pockets John? No, no I didn’t, John, says. Norm touches John’s left hand and left leg and says, Take that hand and feel your back pocket of the leg I just touched. John touches his back pocket. Norm asks, John do you feel your wallet? John says, I think so. Try and pull it out John," Norm says. John reaches in to his pocket and with effort pulls his wallet out.

Norm asks, John would you mind if I looked through your wallet to see if I can find telephone number or address? John shook his head no. Norm very quickly finds John’s emergency card with the important information on it. Norm felt fortunate to have found a card with all John’s important information on it. His card included John’s address, telephone number and caregiver’s name.

Norm calls the telephone number he found on the card and asks to speak to the caregiver. Norm identifies himself explains what is going on with John. John’s caregiver expresses relief that Norm found John and gratitude for his kindness towards John. The caregiver explains to Norm that they had been looking for John for the last four hours, and could not thank Norm enough. He told Norm that he wasn’t that far from the hardware store and that he would be there to pick him up and to thank Norm in person in five minutes. The caregiver was there in three minutes.

As the caregiver left Norm got in to his car and drove home. He fixed his lawn mower and cuts his lawn. As he finishes cutting his lawn he looks over at his neighbor’s yard and thinks that their lawn could use a cutting. He brings his lawn mower over to his neighbors and cuts their lawn too. His neighbors are older than he is. They are a healthy happy active couple that is always on the go. They are very particular about everything they do, the way they dress, the way they keep house and their yard. Nothing is ever out of place, not usually. Their yard is always kept beautiful. Their flowers and shrubs are always weed free. Their grass is never longer than ¾ of an inch high, until today. He realizes that he has never cut their lawn before. His neighbor Bill never has anyone else cut his lawn because he enjoys doing it himself. Norm doesn’t think he has even seen his neighbors in a week. This seems odd as they always seem to be doing something and are not inside much. Norm has a bad feeling about them.

Norm goes to the front of their house and looks inside through the front window. Their home is always immaculate with everything in its place, always until today. From the window it looks as if there are things on the floor. Norm walks up to the front door and rings the doorbell but there is no answer. He rings it again and still there is no answer. He tries the doorknob and the door opens. He walks inside. As he walks in to the living room he gets a clearer picture of what he noticed outside. There are newspapers and magazines scattered around the easy chairs and couch. When he looks in to the kitchen he sees dirty dishes in the sink. There is something definitely wrong. He calls out their names, Bill, Lillian are you OK? Lillian comes out in to the living room in bare feet. Her hair is uncombed and her eyes look like she hasn’t slept in a while. She is wearing a housecoat that has three big food stains on it.

She reaches out, hugs Norm and starts to cry. She says, Oh Norm I am so glad that you are here. Bill is so sick. He became really sick about seven days ago. We went to his doctor. He was given medicine that at first seemed to be working. The medicine really helped him for about three days but then on the fourth day he took a turn for the worst. Since then he has become more and more sick. The day before yesterday he became really bad. Now he is as sick as he has been in his entire life. I think he even has a fever now. He needs to be in the hospital I know but every time I tell him that I think he should go to the hospital he gets upset and says no. Will you check on him and tell me what you think Norm? Her tears fall silently as they walk towards the bedroom where Bill is.

Norm walks in to Bill. It is easy for him to see that Bill is very sick. He approaches Bill and gently holds his hand. Bill’s hand is so warm it almost feels hot. Norm says, Bill you’re pretty sick. Bill weakly says, I know Norm I know. Norm says, We better get you to the hospital as quickly as we can. I’m calling 911, you OK with that? Bill sighs a long sigh and says, Yes Norm, you do that and thank you." With in ten minutes an ambulance picks Bill up.

Norm was a hero for at least three times today. He was a hero when he was needed for three reasons. 1. He was a good observer. 2. He is a man who knows what it is to care. 3. He acted on what he observed. Not everyone we meet are heroes but everyone we meet could be. We are in the midst of heroes we just have to look for them.

A TINY HERO

RUTHI WAS A LADY THAT everyone wanted to meet. She was four feet eight inches tall, weighed eighty-five pounds and had small hands and feet. She had big blue eyes that seemed to be almost too big for anyone her size. They gave her a look of perpetual astonishment. What little hair she had was as white as snow with a tiny bun on top of her head. Her voice matched her size, small quiet and high. Ruthie was a tiny woman but her spirit made you forget that she was so small.

She was not impressive at first glance but after even a few minutes of visiting with Ruthi it was hard to pull away from her. Inside that small body beat a heart bigger than she was. At ninety-seven years of age her kindness and warmth was well known throughout the city she that lived in. Even just mentioning her name to the many who knew her would bring a smile. She was everybody’s friend.

When she had visitors she always looked directly at them and always had a lot of questions about the world around her that she hoped her visitors could help her understand. Ruthi’s exposure to the world around her was limited as she had not been to a lot of places or had a lot of experiences. She was interested in everything anyone who visited her had to say. She had a way of making her guests feel like they were experts on everything. An example of this was when she asked one of her friends what pizza was. She had a hard time even pronouncing the