By Patty Mooney
California, USA
It’s been many years since I have had to stand on the end of Pusheck Road in Bellwood, a suburb of Chicago, waiting for the school bus, and yet I remember one special day as though it were yesterday.
HeroicStories
The stories of HeroicStories.
Bucking the Crowd
by Jeff Simms
Barnegat, New Jersey, USA
It was a nippy Fall day — our favorite kind of weather. It was Saturday and we were going to have a great time. My divorced mother, two younger brothers and I were on our way to the park at the other end of the small Jersey town we lived in. We had our football and makeshift goal posts in the back of the station wagon and our teams already chosen: us against our mother. (Don’t worry, it was only touch football.)
If That’s All You Need
By L. Harding
California, USA
It was 1972. “The Summer of Love” was gone, hippies were a rare sight, but there were still large pockets of narrow minds, filled with distrust, in rural America. More than once we met with proof of that in our travels across “the heartland of America.” Our only home was our tent, our only “real furniture” the baby’s crib, all piled atop the TravelAll. My husband and I were down on our luck, moving from one temporary job to another.
A Single Dollar Bill
By Glen Burnie
Maryland, USA
Friday, October 5th, 2001, was not shaping up to be a good day. My wife and I were already running late leaving for a trip to Pennsylvania, and she still had to stop at work for an errand. To compound our lateness, security at her office had drastically increased since September 11th, 2001. The guards wanted to search our vehicle and unpack our luggage. That would take quite some time and I objected wholeheartedly. We avoided the search by letting her walk through the gate while I sat in the car outside the facility.
One-Eyed Jack
by Cindy Robison
Taos, New Mexico, USA
When I first saw him, I was horrified. Nothing prepared me for the sight of his badly damaged eye. Martha had first told me about Rusty awhile back. He was a neighborhood dog that was allowed to roam free and he often came to her home for treats. When she saw that his eye had been damaged, she mentioned it to his owners. Their response was that they did not believe in veterinarians and they were going to just “let his eye dry up and fall out on its own.” Rusty was a beautiful dog. He stood with his tail wagging, eager for attention, while frantically pawing at his mutilated eye. I knew that if he didn’t receive some kind of medical attention he would probably die.
Represent the Positive
We all impact the world around us in various ways, and often in ways we might not even realize. My goal, and I hope yours, is to do so in some kind of positive way. Personally that means things ranging from helping people use technology, to hosting picnics with a hundred Corgis, and of course publishing … Read more
The Master of “GoodSpeak”
by Bob Burg
Jupiter, Florida, USA
Have you ever known of someone who sets an example you can learn from, emulate, and utilize for the rest of your life? Such a person is my Dad.
Because I Trust You
by Julie Conley
Grove City, Ohio, USA
My first job after college was working for a small apartment complex as a rental agent. I actually enjoyed a lot of the job, interacting with residents, solving problems, and meeting new people. The downside was working with the owner and manager. I became the resident flunky.
Kindness within Traffic Peril
Geri Winters
California
After a recent business trip, I was returning home to Northern California. Since I live a four-hour drive from the San Francisco airport, I had left my car at the airport parking garage for the return trip.
A Long, Heroic Summer
I hope summer is treating you well! When I first encountered HeroicStories, well over a decade ago now (yikes! More like a decade and a half!), it spoke to me right away. There’s no shortage of “bad” news to be had – heck, that’s what it means to be news, after all; something out of … Read more