I received a call yesterday from News 12 telling me that I have been nominated as a "Hometown Hero". Of course I was honored, and a little shocked. I have been fighting for CCB for the last four years with little fanfare and even less income. Not that I started out needing the former or expecting the latter. But just now, when I have started embarking on other ventures in distant waters to keep myself afloat, having found living aboard in a landfill for the last four years less than romantic, I get a heart warming call from the local news telling me someone has noticed and called me a hero.
I am no hero. Heros save lives, champion lost causes and either die or win, stand on the decks of a rolling battleship and say things like, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead". I just want to make my my home state a better place to live, work and play.
I've never been shot at, directly (although there were a couple of near misses in the landfill from duck hunters and the occasional target shooter). I have not been successful in my cause, CCB is far from done. And my charging call is "No child left ashore", doesn't have the grit of a seasoned old fighting sailor does it? I don't even have a tatoo!! No sir I am no hero.
But I AM for my home, my state and my waters. And I will not quit until we are successful. And maybe just maybe someday, I'll get paid to do what I love: build docks, teach kids and sail boats. That may not be too heroic and I wasn't sure I would keep flogging this pony much longer having hit the wall too many times. But when one of your neighbors thinks enough to call the local TV station and say "You gotta meet this boating guy" and they come out listen to you opine about how great it could be if we just had few more dollars. That's the good stuff. And it gets even better when one of your kids says, "That's MY Coach" and another person says "Great Job Chris, You deserve it".
For the first time in my life I had over 22 likes and 10 comments on a Facebook Post I wrote. When I saw that number I felt like some kind of rock star tweeting about my breakfast and everybody loving it, only it was my post saying I am Hometown Hero. For that one moment I felt like I could have been Brad Pitt, without money, fame or good looks.
So maybe I am not a hero, but it's nice to be treated like one. And when you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, I am doing this thing because it needs to be done and my neighbors deserve it, you know your on the right path.
So thank you to whomever nominated me, and thank you to everyone who wished me well, congratulated me and otherwise treated me nice today. Thank you to News 12 for telling my story and giving CCB a leg up. And thank you for taking the time to look at the story- that I think shows one thing if nothing else, I need to lose 10 pounds before next summer. Cheers!
P.S.
Here is the story if you missed it.
