hero | The Linden Chronicles

Patrick Jones, author of The Wolf's Moon Book 1 The Linden Chronicles and Family

Christmas’s are a time to rejoice.

The last several Christmas’s I saw a great deal to lament.

Chuck, a friend who I valued as a brother, went to God’s keeping a cold Christmas morning.

The following year, Bill was assigned to help guard the streets of Heaven with his newest commanding officer – Saint Michael.

This year, my younger brother went to coach all the children who left us but for their shining smiles. In Heaven, you never lose a soccer game. If need be, Tim will change the rules. He never was a man to disappoint a child.

As for me, many things turned my head from the dark to see light of the Christmas season.

My wife is always excited about Christmas. She passed that excitement on to our son and daughter, and on to our four wonderful grandsons as well as our one and only beautiful grand-daughter.

The light of Christmas does not just radiate from the eyes of children waiting for Santa.

No, that light emanates from all people who wish to project the love to another person.

One day, what now seems a hundred years ago and only like yesterday, my son asked if I ever had a hero growing up. Sadly, I never did.

Now I can honestly say, I have a great many hero’s. They are called my family.

As I stood in the hall of the Bourbon Missouri Elementary School, I noticed papers taped to the wall.

Outside of Ms. Harmon’s first grade class were all the papers of who their hero’s were.

On first thought, one might think that at the age of six or seven they would name a favorite Super Hero. You know, Batman, Superman, or even Spiderman but not so. Not one of the aforementioned characters were to be seen.

One student wrote that her hero was her father because he brought home a deer to eat.

Another wrote how their hero was a doctor who saved their life after the helicopter flight to the hospital.

Still yet, one wrote how his mother saved him from electricity.

No Super Hero’s at all. Each here was a person that the students interacted with each day.

At a first graders age, they understand who true hero’s are to them.

Remarkable.