THE HERO

Now playing: "Hero" from the movie Footloose

...
Where have all the good men gone,
and where are all the gods?
Where's the street wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
...
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
...
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
...

My friends always arrived at the `Doughnut Shop' restaurant before I did. We would meet there every day after work and discuss what young men usually discuss - adventures. We would analyze what was an adventure and what was just `life'. It was important to us that we combine enough adventure into our lives to maintain that feeling that we were alive.

When I arrived the conversation was in full swing with each person offering his opinion. I could see that but could not quite hear what was being discussed. After getting myself a cup of coffee I joined my friends who filled two booths with a few sitting nearby at the counter. This was a small restaurant built like a hallway with booths. It worked well for us because we were a large group. Too large to sit together in any restaurant that didn't cater to banquets.

I asked what was being discussed. "We were discussing what we would do if a Tornado was headed this way", said one friend. This was stretching reality a bit for me. There had been no Tornadoes pass through Detroit Michigan in my lifetime. Some much further south in Monroe but never close enough to do more than blow a storm or two our way.

Another friend joined in with, "I would go to my parents basement with some good books and some food". Another friend said he would go to the school to get into the tunnels under the school where the track team was allowed to run in the winter. The idea being that a commercial building is stronger than any home.

Then my friends, who had all expressed their opinions, asked me what I would do. I said, "I would get into BEAST and outrun it". BEAST was my car. My car was the fastest street machine for several cities around the northern suburbs of Detroit and everyone knew that.

One friend said that wouldn't work. I replied that Tornadoes only travel at 80 mph. Another friend said, "OK, what if it was a hurricane. They travel at 150 mph.". I said, "I would get into BEAST and outrun it".

Everyone sat in silence for what seemed like several minutes and then the decision was made that we needed a new topic and another round of coffee.