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Grandpa and I walked to the starting position with our little grandson there among the other hundreds of walkers. We had entered the River fest walk/run of 2015.

Us walkers stood there together in one group and down the street stood the runners. Among them was our daughter and cousin. All around us we could here the loud hum of people as they visited, laughed and enjoyed themselves, waiting for the shot of the starting gun.

Out of no where, somewhere down that road, around the bend, and through the trees, came the sound of a single musical instrument, floating through the air to our ears.  "Oh say can you see....by the dawns early light."

A total hush fell over the park. Men removed their hats. Some hands crossed over the heart. Young boys and girls, men and women stood there, still....listening, backs held straight, heads held high. Some hands reached up and wiped a tear off their cheek. My hand was one of them. I can never hear those notes played without tears.

"Oh say does that star spangle banner yet wave....O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."  The music stopped....the gun sounded and hundreds of feet joined together. We were off, walking together, talking together, running together, under that cloudy cool morning. We were free to do that because our country is free. We have men and women who are ready and prepared to defend our great freedom. The beautiful red, white and blue, still waves proudly over our dear land.

Among those many runners Saturday, was five special people. I call them "my hero's." They overlooked their hardships, their infirmities, and they crossed the finished line.  They have no idea that they were a big help to me that day. They don't even know me and I don't know them. Sometimes a person gets just what you need from a stranger.

I tend to be a person who is influenced by that other people think of me or what they say about things I set out to do. I can become very discouraged easily.  I have a hard time in believing in me. So this is why these five people became my hero's. There have been a number of other people I have had the privilege of knowing who's determination has helped me in special ways, but tonight I will share my five hero's of yesterday.

One man was wheelchair bound. He joined the race with all those other healthy strong men and women. He was operating his own wheelchair. He gave it all he had, until he crossed the finish line. There were two older men who came in at the last. You could tell they were tired and you could tell it was hard to just putting one foot in front of the other, but they crossed the finish line.

It seemed everyone had got in so they were lining up the little children for the next event. All of a sudden they cleared the children off because two runners were coming in! Here they came, hot, tired, sweat dripping struggling to take the next step.  Hundreds of people were standing there at the finishing line as those two runners came running up among us bystanders and across the finish line. I stood there watching, clapping along with everyone else. I was so impressed that those two people never gave up until they had made it all the way.

Like I said, I didn't know these people and they don't know me. But I do know one thing. Those five people were my hero's. To me they won the race. They overlooked obstacles. They never "gave up". They believed in themselves. They had a high goal and reached it. They weren't afraid to try. And most of all, they didn't let "being last" keep them from finishing.

I will always admire them. I was glad I witnessed that act of determination that day.

Comments

  1. I want to see with your eyes cousin <3

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  2. Love this post! I especially love "they didn't let 'being last' keep them from finishing." Beautiful thought!

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  3. I appreciate your being able to see beyond the obvious to celebrate and cheer the winners that came in last. We don't know the challenges they faced, but we do know they crossed the finish line! Bravo! Our son Doyle was in a cross country race in middle school. He had long legs and was among the leaders. But a friend had given up. Doyle left the lead to go back and walk across the line with his friend.

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