The Hero Never Gives Up

Newton's Third Law of Motion

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Desire:

They desire the swings, the feeling of flight, the feeling of freedom, released from the chains of the classroom. They long for the independence that Icarus, Chanute, Bleriot, and the Wright brothers searched for.

Need:

But what do you do when your legs are not quite long enough to reach the ground? What if you lack the upper body strength to pull yourself up into the swing after jumping backwards in that futile attempt to jump start your flight into the heavens?

Hero:

A hero steps forward and says those words not unlike the countdown given for an Apollo or Mercury rocket launch, "I'll push you." He is forty-two inches tall, no taller. Out of one-hundred and thirty first graders he is the smallest, but he is a hero. He grabs hold of the chains, braces himself and charges forward into battle against inertia and gravity. He propels the fortunate mortal seated in the swing to freedom and beyond. Surveying his grand accomplishment he watches and waits. One, Two, Three seconds, an eternity, a moment frozen in time and then Newton's Third Law returns the swing to its starting point and beyond, right into our astonished hero. Lying on the ground, the hero shakes himself free from the earth's gravity wondering what has happened.

Not to be defeated, he again takes his position at the swing's chains and using all of his thirty-eight pounds he again attempts the impossible and launches another child into flight. Again the countdown, and again the swing returns, dashing our young, brave soul to the ground.

What does he do? Does he quit, does he give up in his quest to help the poor helpless beings trapped by their wingless bodies? No! A third time the scene is replayed exactly as it has been twice already, and a third time he gets up ready to fight the brave fight again. If not for the bell returning us to class I have no doubt he would still be at it.

So many would see such and respond, "Stupid kid," but we need heroes like that.

May his boldness, his daring, and his determination never be stifled.