Everyday Heroes

The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life. – The Dalai Lama

This past weekend, Sheri and I participated in a road rally called GG2H (Golden Gate to Hollywood). There were about 70 luxury and exotic cars (Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, Aston Martins, etc.) and we went from Golden Gate Bridge to Hollywood. I want to give you some details about an incident that happened during this rally but mainly want to focus on what we saw and learned about some courageous people, which really impressed me.

Our route took us down Hwy. 101 to Atascadero where we had lunch and then continued on Hwy. 41, 58, 33 and 166 to Hwy. 5 just north of Grapevine. This 125-mile stretch of two-lane rural highways is great if you want to go over the speed limit since there are hardly any cars on them! We only encountered two cars, which they courteously pulled over for our caravan.

We were in the first five cars in the caravan and were enjoying this drive a bit over the speed limit :)) After a while, I noticed that I could not see any of the cars behind me. The last part of Hwy. 58 was very twisty and was hard to see anyone behind us. We finally got to some straight sections and pulled over at a gas station and waited for others to catch up.

While we were waiting, we saw several fire trucks and ambulances going up toward the area we just had come from. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling wondering if anything had happened to our caravan.

Finally, several other cars came through and we all gathered at the gas station. This is when we learned one of the cars (a Nissan GT-R) had skidded off the road, rolled several times and landed on its roof in a ravine. The car behind it (a souped-up Mercedes Benz C-63 AMG) immediately pulled over and the driver ran out to help. Since it was a hot day (about 98 degrees) and our cars were hot from going fast, the brushes under the Mercedes caught on fire and immediately engulfed the car in flames and burned it completely. The fire jumped to both sides of the freeway and caused a large brush fire.

Others also stopped and started to help. People went down the ravine, broke the windows and pulled the driver and the passenger out. Some tried to put the fire out on the Mercedes with their small fire extinguishers but were not as successful. Since there was no cell reception in this area, some people drove down the hill to an area where they can call 911. The two people in the rolled over car were taken to the hospital and thankfully only suffered some cuts, bruises, and nothing serious.

This incident changed the atmosphere of our rally. During the reception, dinner, and after party everyone was talking about this incident and showing their concerns about the people that had suffered.

I think adversity and/or crisis shows the true character of a person. During a crisis, people do band together and it is when our true humanity shows. As the result of this event more friendships were formed and brought many people closer.

In this road rally incident, I learned how there are so many everyday heroes. These were people that we may not necessarily think as “heroes”, but when the situation arose, they forgot all about themselves and rushed to help others. They were willing to run down a hill toward a car that might catch on fire at any time. They were willing to put their own lives in danger and pull injured people to safety. They were willing to watch their own car go up in flames while they were trying to help others. They were willing to put their own inconvenience aside and become a part of a cause to help others. They were willing to pull together and provide encouragement and assistance to others. They were willing to give up their own fun and pleasure and become concerned over someone else’s loss. These are everyday heroes amongst us!

People do extraordinary things every day, especially during crisis. They share their time, resources, and affection. They show incredible strength and courage. We have seen numerous examples of this during several recent disasters in this country. These people inspire us by their examples and I witnessed many of them during this rally.

Of course, we should not need a crisis to band together and show our true humanity. Friends can help each other in times of adversity – and even strangers can rise to act of heroism when the situation demands it. If we can help friends or even strangers in times of adversity, why can’t we help someone right now, when there is no adversity? What small thing can we do today for someone, even someone we don’t know?

Let’s not wait.