Subscribe Here
Support HeroicStories
Sample Stories
Purchase
HS Resources
HS Community
About Us
Full Site Map
Our Sister Sites:
|
HeroicStories #765: Finding the Courage to Fly
Reaching more than 42,000 subscribers in 118 countries, this is...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HeroicStories #765: 3 April 2009 www.HeroicStories.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--+-- This Story Originally Ran as #324: 22 July 2002 --+--
Finding the Courage to Fly Story Editor:
by Annie Stephanski Joyce Schowalter
California, USA
My sister and her family live on the east coast and we rarely get to see
one another. During one telephone call in 2002, I mentioned that I might
fly to see them during their Spring Break. But after the call, I changed
my mind. I had a tiny nursing baby and a potty-training toddler, and my
husband wouldn't be able to fly with us due to his work schedule.
There was no way -- especially with tighter air travel rules after the
September 11 attack -- that I could get my children and all of our gear
onto and off of an airplane. However, my sister and her gang were so
excited at the prospect of our visit, they cried the next time we were
on the telephone together.
Then I thought of my HeroicStories newsletters, and of all the kind
people out there in the world, and I decided to go ahead and fly, hoping
that I'd have good luck.
Many people made our trip easier. When the officer at the metal
detectors saw the two children, a double stroller, a car seat and me, he
told my husband that he could get a pass to help us through security and
to our gate. The airline personnel also took one look at us and wrote
the pass that allowed my husband to help us through. We had no idea that
this was possible, since now you must show a boarding pass to get
through the checkpoint. We had assumed I'd be on my own.
Once down the jetway, a flight attendant saw us and was instantly upon
us. She took my toddler by the hand, lifted the car seat with her other
hand, and saw them both to our seats. While I was folding the stroller,
two other passengers offered to help.
Our seatmate, Raina, was an angel. She colored pictures with my toddler,
shared her tray table with us, and held the baby while I made restroom
breaks. She was helpful and kind beyond all that I'd hoped. She even
carried the car seat off the plane for me when we landed.
As luck would have it, once we were on the ground my 2-year-old fell
deep asleep and could not be roused. The lady across the aisle carried
my sleeping toddler off the plane and placed her in the stroller for me.
Of course, my sister and her children were there to meet us with hugs
and kisses. It was a wonderful visit for us all.
Without the assistance of these sympathetic strangers I don't know how I
would have managed. I had visions of all three of us, myself and my two
little ones, curled up and sobbing in our seats. That didn't happen
because people were willing to help. Thank you to all of them, and
thanks to HeroicStories for making me think it was possible to find
compassionate strangers on my journey.
----------==========----------o----------==========----------
This issue was made possible by HeroicStories' Readers.
You can join your fellow readers here:
http://www.HeroicStories.com/fund.html
----------==========----------o----------==========----------
In "Brother Ed" (#764) Jayleen left an abusive marriage, with two
children and $5 -- her sole possession until a local Jesuit priest
donated everything she needed for her new apartment.
Anne in South Carolina found the story inspirational. Anne: "I'll devote
a large part of next week to cleaning out 'stored' items and donating
them to my church. Right about the time you think you are down, a story
like this comes along and refocuses you -- to count your blessings so
you won't have time to think about what you don't have. This poor lady
was blessed to find Brother Ed. Thanks so much for sharing."
Our readers have been discussing stories where the writer is the hero.
In our last issue, Sheldon in Mexico (former HeroicStories author) said:
"These stories often seem to describe an epiphany for the writer. Many
people, sadly, don't know the joy of helping someone just because they
can. Anyone who's had the privilege to be on the receiving end of a
random act of kindness knows how much better that act made our world."
This touched a chord with Carol in New Jersey. "I use a walker to get
around because of severe pain from arthritis in my hip and knees. I
often allow folks to hold doors opened for me or help me with my walker
getting it back in my car's cluttered back seat. I hadn't realized how
much people need to be needed. Gee, I guess that's why I chose nursing
as a career!"
Nita in Tennessee wrote: "I've been a subscriber for several years and
thoroughly enjoy your stories. Today I accidentally hit the
'unsubscribe' button as I opened today's story. I immediately panicked,
and before reading even a word, I re-subscribed. You can't imagine my
relief when I got your confirmation within seconds. I need to read the
kind of stories you print. Too much bad news bombards us every day, and
reading about small kindnesses gives a lift to my spirit and fills my
heart with hope. Thank you for the sunshine you spread. And please don't
unsubscribe me unless I email you and beg!" We can't "interrupt" the
automatic unsubscription process. So you did the right thing, to
re-subscribe. Just remember to reply to the confirmation email! That has
to be done for it to go through. We'd hate to lose you.
DELIGHTFULLY HEROIC NEWS STORY: We have another truly heartwarming news
story for you. It's especially attuned to the times we live in, and we
hope will serve as an inspiration to other people in the same position.
Our last news hero was a truck driver. This time, it's a CEO of a large
organization pondering the economy, and what this means in terms of
layoffs. We'll leave you to find out the details, simply revealing that
it has an ending worthy of HeroicStories: http://tinyurl.com/c7gh9l
Sheila Crosby, Comments Editor
Joyce Schowalter, Networker in Chief
Co-Conspirators to Make the World a Better Place
COMMENTS about stories are always welcome -- please include your first
name and location: [contact information]
SUBSCRIPTIONS to HeroicStories are FREE. Just two seconds to sign up
here: http://www.HeroicStories.com (to UNSUBSCRIBE, see the end of
this message).
TO SUBMIT A STORY, see our submission guidelines, tips and information
at: http://www.HeroicStories.com/submit.html
CONTRIBUTE to support HeroicStories: http://heroicstories.com/fund.html
PUBLISHED BY HS & Son, Inc., PO Box 55213, Seattle, WA 98155, USA.
HeroicStories is a trademark of HS & Son, Inc. Newspapers can get
the stories as a regular feature column for FREE. For details, send
your paper's editor to http://www.heroicstories.com/column.html
Copyright 2009 http://www.HeroicStories.com -- All Rights Reserved.
All broadcast, publication, or copying to the WWW, email lists, or any
other medium, online or not, is prohibited without prior written
permission from HeroicStories.
However, permission is granted to circulate this publication via manual
forwarding by email to friends providing that the text is forwarded IN
ITS ENTIRETY, from the "Reaching more than" line on top through the end
of this paragraph, and NO FEE is charged. We request that you forward no
more than three copies to any one person -- after that, they should get
their own subscription.
--
Distribution sponsored by Lyris Technologies, Inc. <http://www.lyris.com>
|
|
May not be copied, stored or redistributed without prior, written permission.
"HeroicStories" is a trademark of HeroicStories. Site maintained by Acorn Heads.
http://www.HeroicStories.com/backissue5.html
last updated: May 2005