Tuesday, January 9, 2007

HEROES IN OUR MIST — by Steve Nadis

Wesley Autrey, the New York subway hero, who lay on top of a man stricken by a seizure as a train passed overhead, said he “just did what anyone would have done in that situation.” I personally am skeptical. I think that Autrey did something that only one in 10 million people would have done. In other words, he did something that nobody else in New York City would have done had they been in the same situation, standing there on that same subway platform with two young children in tow. It’s remarkable to think about.

That said, a friend of mine engaged in some heroics of his own yesterday, though perhaps not on a scale rivaling Autrey’s feat. My friend was hit by another car in Cambridge and heard a girl in that car yelling: “Let me out!” My friend (call him S.) chased after the other car and cut him off in front of the Starbucks on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Shepard Street. He then got out and asked the girl if she was OK and if she wanted to get out of the car. She said she was fine. The driver, a man, could have shot my friend dead were he so inclined. Fortunately, he was not the trigger-happy type. Nor was he Dick Cheney on the quail range. As a result, my friend emerged unscathed from this potentially violent situation. Like Autrey, he didn’t stop to think about it. He just drove his car like a wild man in pursuit of a possible perp. For a few moments, in other words, he acted just like a cop.

Posted by Snake at 05:43:51
Comments

8 Responses to “HEROES IN OUR MIST — by Steve Nadis”

  1. The whole post is dizzying to me. Maybe I’m too tired.

  2. That’s not a criticism of you Snake. I think I lost my brain at work today.

  3. Snake says:

    It wasn’t taken as a criticism, WFW, though I tend to agree. It is dizzying.

  4. Daphne says:

    What’s dizzying is how many of us would have stood by, waiting for someone else to take action. It’s the old Kitty Genovese story: we hope that someone else will do something. Three hearty cheers for S.and Mr. Autrey!

  5. Snake says:

    Well put, Daphne. Despite what Tina Turner said, we DO need another hero.

  6. guttersnake says:

    you know, it is shocking what ordinary men and women will do if the opportunity or perhaps circumstance is laid before them. I’ve seen it on more than one occasion. What troubles me is the amount of people in a society such as America who rebuke the opportunity to look within themselves to see just who or what they are.

    Was it Tina Turner who sang that song “I Need A Hero” from the Footloose sound track? That is one of my favorite songs!

  7. Snake says:

    Hey GS, she sang “we don’t need another hero” in “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (never saw it).

  8. guttersnake says:

    ah yeah, that’s right… good pop culture reference!

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