The truth behind the heroes mask

The truth behind the hero's mask

Pam arrived home from her job at the bakery, where she worked from 6 am to 2 pm five days a week. As was her routine, she picked up her four-year-old from day care on her way home, rushing because she had to pick up the twins from school at 3:30 pm. She turned on the television for her four-year-old son, Alex, and ran to the laundry room to pull clean clothes out of the dryer when she heard a crash coming from the kitchen. She dropped everything and headed for the sound, fearing the worst. She found her four-year-old standing on a stool at the kitchen counter, and the cookie jar in pieces on the floor. Alex began to cry when he saw his mom coming. She scooped him up in her arms, reassuring him it was just an accident, and everything was okay.

She looked at the clock, and it was nearly 3 pm. The school was just a ten-minute drive, but she needed to clean up the broken jar, change her clothes, and pack a snack for her son because they would be at the school for a while. Today, she was not just picking up her eight-year-old twin girls and going home. She was staying for a conference with the girls' teacher.

Pam got Alex into his car seat and headed for the driver's door. Just then, her neighbor came running over and told her she was having car trouble, and could Pam drop her off across town at her doctor's office. Pam knew it was a little out of her way, but she felt she could do it and still be on time, or close to it, for her teacher's appointment.

After dropping her neighbor off, she drove into the school parking lot at 3:35 pm. She and Alex met the twins in the hallway outside of their classroom, and a few minutes later, the girls' teacher came out and invited them into her room. The twins, Cadence and Patience (known as Cady and Patty), took Alex to the back of the room, where there were some toys to play with, while Pam talked to their teacher.

They talked about how the girls were doing academically and socially. The teacher, Mrs. Brown, said they were doing very well, and she was pleased with their progress. Then Mrs. Brown told Pam about an assignment she had given to all the students. She felt that, because the kids had such a great interest in superheroes, she could make a fun project using them. She asked the kids to draw their favorite superhero and write about their superpowers. Mrs. Brown said that Cady and Patty had the same superhero and asked if they could work together. Mrs. brown then showed Pam the paper the girls had handed in. At the top of the page, it said, "MOM IS OUR SUPERHERO." Under that was a drawing of Pam in a Superwoman-type costume. The writing under the drawing said, "Our mom works hard every day – She is smarter than anyone – She always fixes things for us – And she always kisses our boo-boos."

Pam wiped a tear from her cheek as she looked at the paper and listened as Mrs. Brown talked. She told Pam that being a single mom and juggling all the things she was doing while providing a safe, nurturing environment for her children certainly made her a superhero.

Pam looked at her and then at her children, and said, "The Truth is, I'm just a mom, not a hero.",

She thanked Mrs. Brown, gathered her children, and they left the school. When they got in the car, Pam asked them if they wanted to stop for ice cream.

Patty said, "Mom, we haven't eaten yet. What if it spoils our dinner?"

Pam replied, "It's okay, tonight is a very special night. After ice cream, we may stop at Pisano's Pizza Palace and pick up dinner."

The girls giggled and Alex shouted, "Oh, boy!"

When they arrived at the ice cream place, they parked and walked up to the take-out window to order. Pam ordered a scoop of soft serve vanilla in a cup for Alex and a small vanilla cone for herself. The girls both wanted SpongeBob on a stick. After receiving their ice cream, they walked over to one of the picnic benches to enjoy their treat.

They saw a man sitting under a nearby tree with a tattered backpack and wearing dirty, shabby clothes. Patty asked Pam if there was something wrong with the man. Pam told her the man may be hungry and possibly homeless.

"You mean he doesn't have a home to go to?" asked Patty.

Pam said, "I don't know for sure, but it looks that way."

Pamed suddenly turned from Patty. "Where's Cady?" She saw Cady standing in front of the tattered man, holding her SpongeBob ice cream out to him.

Pam yelled, "Cady!" And ran over to her. The tattered man seemed to shrink back sheepishly as though he may have done something wrong.

Cady said, "You said he might be hungry, Mom, and I wanted to give him my ice cream.

“Yes, Cady, you are absolutely correct.”

Pam walked closer to the tattered man and began to talk to him.

She said, "This may sound a little strange, but my children are having ice cream before getting their dinner tonight, which is unusual, but it's a special night. I'm assuming that you might like to have a good dinner before getting ice cream."

She then fished a $10 bill out of her purse and held it out to the man. She told him it wasn't much, but she hoped it would help him a little. He tentatively reached out and took the bill, his eyes never leaving hers, and said nothing.

Pam turned to Cady, took her hand, and said, "Cady, you're my little hero."

Cady giggled, "Mommy, I can't be a hero, I'm just a little girl.

Pam ushered the children into the car, and they headed for Pisano's Pizza Palace. Pisano's was a take-out place, but it also had a small area with a couple of tables where people could wait for their pizza. Pam and the children sat at one of the tables after ordering and played a game of "I Spy," which the kids loved. When their pizza was ready, they collected it and went out to the car. Pam saw right away that the car had a flat tire. She bit her tongue so as not to curse in front of her kids but felt a little deflated herself.

One of the pizza delivery drivers drove into the lot and parked next to Pam. He took in the situation immediately, jumped out of his vehicle, and asked Pam if he could be of service to them. Pam readily agreed and opened the trunk for the jack and spare tire. The deliveryman had a pizza-carrying case. He told Pam to put her pizza in it to keep it warm while he changed the tire, which he said would take ten minutes. When he finished and closed the trunk, Pam tried to offer him money, but he refused.

He said, "Ma'am, just consider us a full-service pizza place."

She laughed and was about to take her pizza out of his case, but he told her to keep it for the drive home and bring it back any time she was in the neighborhood. Pam and the children thanked and hugged the man, then said their goodbyes.

Before getting into the car, Pam turned back to the deliveryman and said, "Young man, you are truly our hero tonight."

The pizza deliveryman replied, "The truth is, I'm just a pizza deliveryman, not a hero."

The truth behind the hero's mask is that heroes are usually ordinary, everyday people who were at the right place at the right time and stepped up to fill a need for someone else. The real heroes of our time don't wear capes or spandex body suits. They don't all rush into burning buildings to save someone. They are not faster than locomotives, and they don't leap tall buildings in a single bound. They are those who show up in the most mundane situations and say, "May I be of help to you?"

The truth is that heroes come in all sizes, ethnicities, and genders. She may be nurturing and teaching her children while calculating the amount of fuel it will take a rocket to reach the moon, for NASA. He may work a forty to fifty-hour week, but still volunteers to help coach his son's little league team. The truth is, the real heroes are all around us, and we don't always recognize them. We are not blind to who they are because they wear masks; we can't see them because of the masks that we wear.