Wednesday, October 7, 2020

My Newest Hero

For what it's worth, I think the US needs a lesson in who is a hero and who is not.  People are very free to call people heroes who are merely doing their jobs.  Those people who go over and above what is expected may be considered heroes, but let's look more toward the Salt of the Earth to consider whom we really revere and admire.  

I have a former student whom I will call David (because that it is name).  I had him as a senior in high school.  I remember very little about him in those days except that he was not a problem in class.  Also can't remember, nor do I care, if he was a good student or a slacker.  Not sure how it happened that I am one of his friends on Facebook now, but I am sooo glad I am!  His wife is also one of my kids.  They are living the kind of life I wish I'd had!

My roots were in the country at my maternal grandparents' farm, even though I never really lived there.  Most of my life, when we weren't overseas--weekends, holidays, and a few times when Dad was overseas without us for the Navy--was spent on that family farm that had been in the family for 150 years.  I never knew my father's parents.  They both died before I was around.  My father loved his in-law's.  Called them Mom and Dad.  I never knew anything else.  My father would have died for them.  My parents retired to that farm when my grandmother died.  Before that, we were at that farm at least twice a month so Dad could tend his HUGE garden.

My dad grew up hungry, in poverty.  He never, ever got over that feeling, long after we were financially okay.  Everywhere we lived, he had a garden.  He also hunted pheasants, squirrels, and rabbits.  In my early years, there were chickens on the farm and my dad was the executioner for Sunday's meal.  I grew up in that atmosphere.  At the farm, he could have a HUGE garden.  Seriously.  The womenfolk canned produce in an un-air-conditioned house each September, trying hard not to drip sweat into the food we were canning.

There were some funny moments.  Once, when Mom and I had grown weary of picking bushels of green beans and had plenty in the freezer, we were actually pulling the plants.  Dad came in from the garden with a handful of green beans and said, "You missed a few."  We didn't have anything to throw at him, but might have, if we did!  Also, although we had zucchini squash coming out the ears, Dad would go to his favorite tavern where SOMEONE would always bring him a couple of zukes, which he would bring home.  Mom was beside herself with what to do.  Use 'em or lose "em, I guess.

But I'm digressing.  Back to David.  Dave and Britany live in the country in Morgan County, IN.  David is a true sportsman.  Here are some of the things I love about the Dave I know now:

Dave is:

*A major gun owner, for hunting.  Not once has he said a word about worrying that the govt will take his guns away because he's not stupid about them.

*A fisherman, nonpareil.  He has a boat.  Every chance he gets, he is on Lake Monroe, catching fish, big time.  Even when he vacations out of state, he fishes...and is quite successful with it.  He fills his freezer with fish caught over the year, then sometime in the fall (about now) he will invite a raft of people (including me) to bring a chair and a dish to share for a huge fish fry.  He also encourages people to bring their instruments for impromptu jam sessions.

*A family man.  He has two teenage children that are totally included in his fishing/hunting adventures.  

*A gardener.  He keeps a big-ass garden like my dad did.  Cans the excesses and gives away what they can't use.  (I am the recipient of some of that.  After my dad died, I lost a source of home-grown tomatoes.  I am so grateful for every single one that comes my way!)

*An outdoors food scavenger.  Dave goes out mushroom hunting every spring and always comes back with a bunch of delectable 'shrooms.  Last week, he came home with a paw paw.  I didn't have a clue that paw paws were a real thing!

*A union electrician.  He isn't working now because, as he said, when the pandemic hit, he was deemed an essential employee.  "I disagreed."  He is using his assets and resources to support his family  successfully. 

*This one is really special to me:  David is a liberal.  That's not enough to endear me to him, but here is what is:  he expresses his political opinions in all honesty and without profanity.  I can "follow" him without risking my personal standards.  I also know that I don't have to support him because he is informed...he knows what's going on, and does not back down.  He doesn't need me to validate his knowledge.  I'm just glad he is who he is!

There aren't all that many success stories among my students--at least those that I know of--so I rejoice that I have a friend named Dave who brightens my days. 

      

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