A True Hero

This is an exerpt from an email that some man sent in to our local radio station today. It was so touching that they posted it on their web page. I thought I'd share it with you.

I saw an old man today, hiding from the wind against a posh Bryanston wall.

Everything he owns in one trolley, everything he dreams about frozen in that moment.

Bowing forward, begging for respite from a life which has offered him very little, the man battled for survival.

I wonder what he has to say.

I wonder if he has a family.

I wonder why he's on the street, alone, fighting for his life.

Does he ever look up at the stars, amazed at their beauty, does he ever admire the fireworks display of a highveld storm, will he let the sun rain down upon him on a glorious summer day? Will he make it that far? Chances are that the man cannot afford to enjoy the simple pleasures of life because he is too busy finding lunch in a gutter, searching for dinner in a trashcan - pushing his trolley along, hoping for a kind face in a cold world.

He is the soldier of misfortune, the gladiator of the underworld - ignored, ridiculed, pursued, haunted.

Yet, he is the one who will risk another cold shun and wave a trembling hand. He is the one who bravely takes it on the chin when gleaming 4X4's pretend he does not exist.

He has no job to strike from, no car to speed with, no agenda behind what he says. No company in which he can commit fraud, no wife to abuse, no family to murder.

Yet, HE, is regarded as a third-class citizen. This man, guilty of nothing but boldly facing adversity - is what we point at when talking about the failure of the human race. Armed with nothing but a trolley and the will to survive - he is the hero, the champion, the bastion of hope for every director, CEO, superstar and common worker in the world. For every day he survives, we can survive a hundred, for every smile he gives, we can give a thousand.

This man: cold, frozen, bowed forward . . . is the symbol of human triumph, the award-winning advertisement of unwavering courage. I will not look at the news today. I will not think about all that I want changed in my life, all that I desire, all that I've not yet achieved. Today I will celebrate being alive. Today I will admire the setting sun, honouring the courage of one man to survive winter alone. I hope summer warms his heart . . . I hope he makes it that far.