Ever since Cody was 3 years old and drew web all over himself and declared himself to be Spiderman, we have been fans. Ok, I am more of a fan by association, but Cody is a big time fan. I was really surprised that I liked the Spiderman movies. They were really good. In the first movie, Uncle Ben tells Peter "With great power comes great responsibility." Words of wisdom I wish our government leaders heeded more.
In the second Spiderman movie, Aunt May tells Peter,
"I believe there's a hero in all of us."
The Riverside housing addition was built down by the old Navy base back at the beginning of World War II to house the families of those stationed there. It was never meant to be more than a temporary housing situation. Once the war was over, it was supposed to have been torn down, but it wasn't. Some 40 years later, the houses were still there, and still occupied. That was where the poor folks lived. The really poor folks. It was also where the problems that always seem to follow poverty ran rampant--alcoholism, drug use, broken homes, prostitution, crime. We called those who lived in Riverside river rats.
Mike was a river rat. He was poor. He didn't have many opportunities to advance himself. He wasn't very intelligent. When class rankings came out, he ranked 274th out of 365 students. While he was not bad looking, he didn't exactly turn heads as he walked down the hall, either. He wasn't athletic. He was tall, but he was a bit on the chubby side. He wasn't academically inclined either. He was just in school to graduate then survive the best he could. He drank and used drugs. He wasn't exactly anyone's idea of a hero.
We were friends for a while. We didn't date or anything like that, just talked between classes. We eventually drifted apart. We had nothing in common. We couldn't even find enough in common to carry on a decent conversation.
One day, just as school let out, I was walking toward the exit where my mother usually waited to pick me up. Nicholas Demary grabbed my arm and pulled me into the cafeteria. He wanted to get his books, he said. Once there, he said he wouldn't let me go until I kissed him. For some 20-30 minutes, he kept me there because I refused to kiss him. Finally, some teachers walked by in the hall outside, and I was able to get away. My mother had already left by that time, so I had to walk home. I spent the whole time looking over my shoulder, afraid that Nick might follow me, but he didn't. When I got home, my mother asked me where I had been. I lied and told her I'd stayed behind to help a teacher.
Now, if I were picking up my child in a place where I knew he was supposed to be, and he didn't come out the door, I wouldn't just go back home. I'd go find him. But maybe that's just me.
After that day, Nick made my life at school a living nightmare. He was always threatening me, saying he was going to take me out behind the field house and teach me a thing or two. Or he'd get me behind the band hall and show me what's what. I dreaded going to school, but I was afraid to tell anyone. I was afraid it would get back to my mother, and of course, she would blame me. She'd say that I must have done something to give him ideas.
Mike's last class of the day was right next door to mine. We would sometimes stand in the hall talking until the bell rang. Since we had so little in common, we never really had much to talk about. "Look, there's my buddy Nick", he said to me that day. Mike turned around just in time to see the look of disgust on my face. "What?" he asked. "Has he been giving you a hard time?" I simply nodded.
The last thing I saw as I turned to go into my class was Mike charging across the hall and slamming Nick against the wall. I don't know what Mike said to him, but Nick never bothered me again after that.
Mike and I lost touch after graduation. I don't know what became of him, or what he made of his life. He may not have changed the world, but I'll never forget him for what he did for me that day.
The day he was my hero.
That's what I find attractive in a man.
3 comments:
Did you ever read (not see the movie) "The Outsiders"? Your story reminded me of that book. Susan Hinton, who wrote the book, was from Tulsa and was just a teenager when she wrote it, but it is good.
No, I haven't read that one. Perhaps I should.
It is a short book, but one that is sometimes required reading for freshmen high school students. The movie that was made back in the 80's was like the Brat Pack who's who list. The movie of course was not as good as the book. I think you would like it - so would Cody.
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