The Last Hero

The sun was going down but that last bright light of the early evening shown bright on Bubbie’s face. It showed a weariness. The lines were less lines and more crevasses and the skin on his face seemed to hang just a little looser like its musculature had given up its support. He was talking about some issues at work that were unseemly and his lament in having to go along with it to, “be a good employee.” But the sadness in his eyes told the story of a man caught in a day and age of which the ethics that he was raised are as burry as the early Technicolor films of his childhood. There was an era when the heros of the big screen were rough and tough, but stood strong on principle and always chose dignity over dishonor. There was John Wayne in so many roles, Clint Eastwood, even Burt Reynolds in “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.” Even if they were on the wrong side of the law their principles were noble and their resolve strong. These stories were born of the American spirit, the stories of which had been past down for nearly 200 years. Principles mattered, courage mattered; ethics mattered. The noble manner of their onscreen heroics translated into many a young man’s internal daily dialogue. I could virtually see that dialogue playing in the back of Bubbie’s mind; the movie flicker in the back of his eyes.

I suppose that this is the invisible line we all trip over at some point in our lives; that tipping point when our experiences and ideals don’t match with the world we live in. And I bet that if you asked Bubbie, he’d wonder about the ethical or positive influence of role models that kids have today; rappers, video game characters, or Harry Potter. Are these the heros that will influence, and program the leaders of tomorrow?

I hope for Bubbie’s sake he doesn’t let his guard down. I hope he sticks to his ethics and lives his life on the terms that have seen him through his wonderful life. I pray that he finds the strength to do the right thing as he knows it, and I know if he does...when he does, he has the resolve to see it through. He is the last hero.