Proud Grandmother; A Grandson's Big Risk — or Bravery

15 January 2010; Mechanicsville, Maryland, USA --

Posted by Grumpy, but a story written by the Grand Mother:

Some time ago, I wrote about a Grandson who stopped his work to rescue a baby bird  who was being hunted by a poisonous snake(see Bird Brain, Wondrous Intelligence).  Climbing high in a tree, he was able to grab the snake by the tail and hurl it to the ground where his friend killed it.  Bravery or Big Risk?  The Mother bird allowed him to continue his work, installing windows near the nest where her baby was located — after the snake was destroyed.

Life moves on and now I have an addition to this story about this Grandson, with the one told to me recently by my oldest son.  It will be up to the reader to determine if this one was bravery — or was it a big risk?

_______________________________________________

A WOULD-BE HIGHWAY HIGH-JACKING!

After a hard day at work, installing custom windows at two locations, Ray and his supervisor were heading home on the crowded freeway.  Ray was driving the truck at about 60 mph, imagining the smell of a good, hot meal, which would be waiting, and the happy smiles of a little boy who was happy his Daddy would be home to play with him.  Suddenly a number of cars were applying brakes, changing lanes abruptly, and some even were heading to the ditch.

"What in the world is going on?" asked Ray's supervisor.  They had slowed considerably when Ray spotted the trouble.  A man was in the center of the roadway, trying to car-jack a vehicle. He tried getting in with an older man — he tried with a young lady — and he was still running up to slowing cars, trying to get inside. 

Ray sized up the situation and said, "Let's stop him!"

They pulled off the side of the road and stopped.  Then the supervisor yelled, at the man, "What do you think you are doing?"

The would-be car-jacker looked up, startled, and then started running away into the nearby woods like a streak of lightning.  Ray said, "You scared him away.  We could have had him!"

They pulled back on the freeway and continued home safely.  They were sure that calls had been made to notify the police of the problem, but they did not stay to find out if anyone came.

_______________________________________________

Even though my "Mother's heart" skips a beat when I realize the potential danger they faced — the heavy traffic plus the distraction of the car-jacker's activities — yet they were willing to try to stop him from harming anyone.  They took the time to stop — to delay their trip home — put off the warm shower they had been anticipating to soothe their tired muscles from a day of hard work.  They are the epitome of the American citizen who cares about what happens in their country.  They do not fear standing alone, if necessary, to stop a wrong.  I am thankful the ending was quick and no one was injured in an accident or from any physical confrontation.  I am proud to know that my Grandchildren value their country and are willing to defend what is right.

When my son, Ray's Dad, was younger (perhaps a pre-teen at that time), he observed some kids crawling around on the roof of an elementary school.  He quickly ran home, called the police and told them what he had seen.  When asked for his name, he responded he would rather not tell because he feared they may retaliate.  The police assured him they would not reveal his name — but, in fact, they did.

The boys had entered the school and were preparing to do some vandalism when the police located them.  They found out who had called — and threatened they would get even.  Our son responded that was fine with him; he would call his friends and would meet the vandals anytime and anywhere. The confidence that he exhibited, deterred them from further confrontation. 

Because my son was willing to interrupt what he was doing and make the report, the school did not have extensive damage.  These values were passed on to his children.  I am proud and honored to be the Mother, and Grandmother of these brave men.

I mentioned to my son that I wished more people were aware of things like this to motivate them to stand up for what is right.  He told me, "That is why I am telling you — you'll tell this story to everyone!"

And so now I have! 
Signed,  —  by a proud Mother and Grandma