I have been blessed to have met many heros in my life. My family because of how they love and welcome everyone into our enclave. My mother in law because of the compassion for all and her unconditional love to her family and friends which were many. My husband because he keeps me safe and warm to be who I am.
I admire, immensely, my wife, Robin / Harvesting Crow. She has the knack for pulling me up short when I let life get the best of me, and makes me believe it will all turn out for the best. She has done this enopugh, already, that I now go through life, KNOWING, that ALL THAT IS will provide what is needed, as long as I make an attempt! I, too, have a number of others, but none as important!
Still not sweatin' the small stuff, and it's ALL small stuff, I AM, and remain...WW
I also have a number of heros, although right now, I will focus on my hero in the business world: Bill Gates. I know, I know......some of you are probably just gasping and thinking Ms. Magic4Me is out to lunch........however, since there was a huge turn around for me at work today, seems the timing is right to mention a hero in the world of big business (I work for a very large company).
Now let me tell you what makes Bill Gates a hero to me. Remember several years back and the federal goverment was going after Gates / Microsoft about the anti-trust laws (because the big crybabies at NetScape could not keep up in the world of tech and basically MicroSoft was running over the competition) .....did any of you watch the hearings on C-Span? Did you notice something extremely unusual (even more than unusual since all the mess with Enron was also coming out).......Gates did not just send a team of highly paid attornies to Washington. NOPE!! He lead his legal team to DC.....he was there, Gates, himself got right up and did his own speaking.......he went head to head with the various government represenatives. And it came down to one great showing of an old cliche: The buck stops here. Gates got up and accepted the responsibility and the consquences for his actions. And that takes a mighty big person. In the world of big business, just how often do you find someone like that? While that did not teach me a huge lesson, it reinforced my own belief about personal integrity in the work place.
I had many heroes in my life, but most of then are death now. I am going to mention someone that still alive and I admire so much, she is 84 years now, and just about 4 weeks ago, she worked full time in an non profit agency,doing social work, helping people. she is recovering from a pneumonia. This lady is so remarcable, speaks 4 languages,she always is in full speed,she is always doing conferences and retreats, she also get other people involve in her proyects. She is so interesting to talk to her she has so many stories to tell, she was in France after the second world war. Is been to so many countries and at the same time she is so humble.What I admire most on her is her big heart, she never find faults in anyone, she champion to give children good homes, gives hopes to the ones that has not jobs and to the young one encourage them to continue going to school. She also protects wild animals and loves dogs and cats. She is now a widow, but I met her when she was in her 40's, she was a nice good looking woman and she still is. She was an instrument in my life, I follow her footsteps...She is my living heroe and I'll never could fit in her shoes. God Bless her.
My mom and my daughter. My mom, because she not only raised, protected, & loved me, she taught me how to live by her spiritual example. When it was time for her to go, she taught me how to die with dignity, love and heart. She survived breast cancer and was cancer free for 6 years. Even though she didn't smoke, she some how acquired a new primary lung cancer. She fought for the next 2 years, prepared for her death and took all of her retirement to pay off her house (that I inherited), so I wouldn't have to worry about a mortgage, and could afford to support myself and my daughter. She also bought a new car, so that my daughter would have that when she passed on. I never heard her complain, other than to say she was "a little tired". This was a lady who was the CFO for the Ga. Society of CPA's. She was remarkable in so many ways, and loved by all whose lives she touched.
My daughter, for her courage to do whatever it took to get an education. She moved 4 states away, found a nice apartment complex to work for her apt. rent, got herself enrolled in school, found a roommate, and started taking accounting courses. (this was all 1 1/2 years ago). Ga. was horrible for her, in this county, high school is about the most anyone aims for. She moved to where her boyfriend went to school, so they could see each other more. He is also very smart (just completed his 3rd year in Chemical Engineering)... She is another one of my hero's. She had the guts and drive to do what she could do in order to make a life for herself. I admire and love these 2 people more than anyone I have ever known.
I have many heros but my uncle whom is no longer in this world stands out. No he never invented anything that helped the entire world, he wasn't rich so he never gave millions to charity, What he did do was make me feel as if I mattered, when I didn't matter to my own father or mother. We shared a love of horses, he was a very kind and gentle man. In my entire life and I spent alot of it in his prescent, I never once saw him angry, I never once heard him say anything bad about anyone. I never heard him swear and I never knew him to be unkind to anyone or anything. He was a man who had been a prisoner of war in world war II, yet I can never remenber him ever being bitter. His only son had very spastic ceribal palsay, and through my aunts and uncles devotion to his care lived to be 32, as an infant, diaper changes and all. yet I never ever heard my uncle say a negitive thing about it, even when he died and my uncle cried so, he never said why me. Another hero is my daughter whom has managed to rise above her life. She had a very tough childhood and yet she has managed to rise above, not feel sorry for herself and make a good life for herself.
I have many heros but my uncle whom is no longer in this world stands out. No he never invented anything that helped the entire world, he wasn't rich so he never gave millions to charity, What he did do was make me feel as if I mattered, when I didn't matter to my own father or mother. We shared a love of horses, he was a very kind and gentle man. In my entire life and I spent alot of it in his prescent, I never once saw him angry, I never once heard him say anything bad about anyone. I never heard him swear and I never knew him to be unkind to anyone or anything. He was a man who had been a prisoner of war in world war II, yet I can never remenber him ever being bitter. His only son had very spastic ceribal palsay, and through my aunts and uncles devotion to his care lived to be 32, as an infant, diaper changes and all. yet I never ever heard my uncle say a negitive thing about it, even when he died and my uncle cried so, he never said why me. Another hero is my daughter whom has managed to rise above her life. She had a very tough childhood and yet she has managed to rise above, not feel sorry for herself and make a good life for herself.
Have several heroes, but feel I must talk of my Grandma Latchaw. In 1939, at the age of 37, she became a widow, her youngest child, my Mom was only 17. Grandma went to work for a woman as her housekeeper/nanny and when that job ended after the woman's children were grown, Grandma found her way to another family. She worked until age 70. Several years ago, I received a box of items that belonged to Grandma, where I discovered the paper she got from the Social Security Admin. when she retired in 1972, for the remainder of her life(8 years) she lived on the grand sum of $85 per month. She always gave us kids $5 on our birthdays and always had time to listen to us or share her memories with me. We shared our birthday celebration every year and I miss her so much, still> Her life must have been very hard and yet I never remember her without a smile and I never heard her say a mean word against anyone. If I can be half as good as Grandma was, I'll be successful in this life.
My stepmother came to this country in the late 1940's, after WWII, from what is now Pakistan. She eventually moved to a small town, in a county that calls itself a "kingdom". She was an Oxford-educated nurse, who graduated at the top of her class. She accepted a position as Director of Nursing at a state mental hospital in that small town, in that "kingdom" county. She was not prepared for the prejudice (because she was a "foreigner") she would face as word got around that she was to be director of nursing. This was early in the 1950's. She was a tiny woman, about 5 feet tall, and weighed about 100 pounds. She had heard that the employees of the mental hospital were going to stage a protest the first day she was to work. There was a two-block area to be travelled down to the entrance of the hospital complex. The employees of the mental hospital lined this two-block area on either side, with signs against her, and they were shouting cruel things. She had her husband stop the car just before they reached the two-block area. She got out of the car and began to walk down the middle of the street. She said nothing, just kept her eyes on her destination. The employees began to shout louder and wave their signs higher when she first began to walk, but as she progressed down the street, they gradually became quiet, and then began to put their signs down. When she made her way into the complex, the employees who were involved in the protest quietly dispersed.
Her first acts as Director of Nursing were to discontinue the practice of hosing down the patients for their "baths"; she removed the paients that were being kept in the underground tunnels that connected the various buildings of the hospital complex; and she granted "grounds" privileges to the patients who were not a danger, so they could enjoy the nature around them.
When she retired, almost 40 years later, the general assembly of the state issued a resolution honoring her years of service to the mental patients and to the hospital.
On a personal level, she taught me a mother's unconditional love. Although she had only one daughter, she treated my sister and brothers and myself (all six of us), as though we were her own. She made all the difference in the world for us and as I told her once, I do not believe I would have ever really known my dad if it were not for her. Her body passed away last year on March 10. Her spirit and her love are alive in our hearts, and I will never forget her love and her courage.
My husband is also my hero. This once vibrant and active man is slowly being robbed of his body's abilities. He is an old soldier and he faces a devastating neurological disorder with dignity and humor. His smiles and chuckles seem to be magical as he endures this suffering.
