A Time for Quiet Heroes

I'm tired of it.  I really am.

I'm tired of turning on CNN and hearing about people at their most vulnerable being preyed upon by the animals this - any - society produces.  I'm tired of hearing how people of privilege and power failed in their duties.  I'm tired of hearing about the worst in humanity.

It's time for the best.  It's a time for heroes.

When we were kids, "hero" meant Superman or Green Lantern, who would singlehandedly end a crime wave or deliver medical supplies and food or - hey, even fix a burst levee.  But we're not kids anymore, we don't read comics (we buy them, carefully encase them in plastic, store them for a few years and wait for their value to appreciate, and how much of a metaphor for "lost innocence" is that?), and we've learned not to believe in superheroes.

But I still believe in heroes.  I see them and hear about them every day.

Our lives are filled with what I call Quiet Heroes ... people like Spoonie , who has just signed up at a clinic providing free medical services to people displaced by Katrina who have been temporarily shipped to Houston, where she lives.  It's something she'll do in her "spare" time - she just gone back to school, studying to be a Nurse Practitioner, and you just know that "spare time" in a medical studies program is like a superhero - something you want to believe in but just doesn't exist.  But still, she's doing it.

There are others - doing whatever they can to help by giving blood or whatever money they can spare ("spare money" - see above re: superhero").  Or, like John Boy,  they're spearheading fundraising efforts on behalf of friends, or relatives, or on behalf of people they don't know and will never meet.

Think about that.  People are giving money - not just pennies, but hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars, to people they will never meet, people who will never be able to thank them, people who they would pass on a busy street without a second glance or who, in different circumstances, might cause them to involuntarily tighten their hold on their purses or glance around to make sure their kids haven't strayed too far away.

This disaster will produce millions of Quiet Heroes, and in the end the problems will be solved not by the politicians, but by the irresistible tide that will be produced as each tiny droplet of good joins with others to form a stream, then a river, and finally an ocean.

I want to add a drop or two.  I want to be a Quiet Hero.  So, I'm doing what I can:

A few years ago, I wrote a book.

I'm a touring performer, and it seemed like a good idea to have a book to sell when I finished a show.  I sold a fair number of them, too.  In fact, I only have a few dozen left.

It's not a bad book, if I do say so myself.  It has a bunch of the columns I've written over the years, plus the scripts of my two one-man shows.  People have told me it's pretty funny stuff, which is good, if, you know,  you want to call yourself a humorist.

Read more about the book here.

So, here's the deal:  if you think you - or someone you know - might be amused by the book, e-mail me (Nilbo99 AT hotmail DOT com ) and order one.  It'll cost you 20 bucks (normally, if I was selling to someone from the US, I'd work out a price that reflected the exchange rate, but in this case, for reasons that will become clear if you'll be patient enough to read one more paragraph, I'm not going to do that).  Plus, let's throw in two or three bucks for shipping.  Autographs (I'll sign the book) are free.

Every penny from every book that gets ordered from now till they run out will go to a family I know who have had their lives turned upside down by That Bitch Katrina. 

(Aside:  would it ever suck right now to be a woman named Katrina.  Imagine the frigging bad jokes, snide remarks, clumsy comparisons, and "clever" references you would have been enduring for the past few days.  God.)

My friends are Amanda B. and her husband Scott.   

Amanda is a kind soul.  Her blog has been one of my favourites for quite some time - she's a terrific writer, she's funny and smart and sometimes bitchy and snarky and opinionated - which are all qualities I like in a friend.  She's one of those people who you'd take an injured animal to and know she'd gather it under her wing and nurse it back to health.  And that's not one of my clumsy analogies:  she actually DOES shit like that, which ... whoa.

Katrina caused extensive damage to their house.  They're not completely sure what their employment situation will be in the weeks and months ahead, because for one thing, they're not sure exactly where they'll be living.  It has to be an agonizing time for them, and as a friend of hers, I feel that. 

Here's Amanda in a nutshell:  as she spends her time now figuring out how to rebuild their house, their lives ... she's posting things like this:  "I’ve been thinking that I’d like to set up a “Christmas in New Orleans” web site to help raise money for the kids (and adults). They could all use a present from Santa." 

I mean ... jaysus.  Talk about your Quiet Hero.

Some people who care about Amanda and Scott have set up a blog to exchange information, co-ordinate support (moral and practical) and see if we can make a difference to this one family.  It doesn't replace donating to larger organizations doing wonderful work, like the American Red Cross.  It's something else we can do.

There's a quiet hero in all of us, and if there was ever a time to let her or him out to see the world, this is it.  So, buy a book.  Or a t-shirt.  Or a pair of thong panties with "My Squirrel Wants Some Nuts!" emblazoned on them.

Or figure out how you can give - blood, money, help in any way.

If we take it upon ourselves - each one of us - to do something small, our collective efforts will dwarf the bad that has come from Katrina. 

Good will triumph over evil.  And if there's anything we should have learned from those comic books we read when we were kids, it's that.

Comments

[eclectic]

Sign me up. My email is [email protected].

[Squirl]

I just sent you an e-mail for a book. If my money can't help people then what good is it? Thanks so much for being one of the Quiet Heroes!

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

If I can be a Quiet Hero at the same time I'm bein' a Noisy Villain, then sign me up.

[Laura]

LOL, I've read this book alright, it's exactly what we need at at time like this. GREAT Idea Nils!

I would never have learned what "Hurry Hard" meant, save for this book!
And i'm still demanding you credit the chapter on page 8 to ME. ;P~

;))

[Nils]

Well, I freely admit that Laura's dog Buddy inspired the piece on Page 82, which lauds Buddy's skills at opening doors and suggests that his breakthrough ought to set the standard for dogs everywhere. I am willing to concede her point that the piece on page 8 (entitled Male Pattern Stupidity) was inspired by her eye-rolling over her husband's purchase of a boat. But Laura ... what about the piece entitled "PMS - According to Bill"? Are you claiming credit for that, too ...?

[Laura]

no no no, I never associate with anything PMS related unless there are copious amounts of chocolate involved and a guys head is sitting on a platter at the same time.

or his dick. chopped off.

(just depends on the mood).

[Amanda B.]

You are a hero. Most often heroes are the last to know who they are.

[John Boy]

Great post. I'm surprised I haven't been coming here before. I've added you and your daughter to the list.

[Ern]

I can count on Nilbo The Wise as usual to cut through the crap. I'm tired of the sensationalism of the news media myself. I wrote a little about it, but not nearly as well as you, I fear.

[MrsDoF]

You are so right about the name Katrina. The gal who sits next to me in my Music Appreciation class at HCC says she's had a really rough week.
Another friend goes by Trina, so most folks don't make the connection yet.
I sent an e-mail for info about a book purchase!

[Torrie]

People, I have read the book. It is great.
BUY IT!

[David Zinger]

Well done Nils,
I have used my blog to give my two cents worth for every word I write on my blog until the end of the year for Katrina relief. I love your personal touch. Take care and carry on caring.