A BIG/LITTLE THING: Being an Everyday Hero

 An old woman was in Trader Joes, on her phone, asking for help and clearly not getting it from the person on the other end of the line. Five people strolled by. I watched for a minute, debating whether I should get involved. Finally, I walked over and asked, "Do you need help?" She did.

 THE SCARY WOMAN

 The lady said a woman outside had accused her of hitting her car and she was afraid. I went to the parking lot with her. The sun was shining, it was the middle of the day, and I was going to talk to another woman, so how bad could it be? It was bad. It was a big/little thing. The tall, young, well-dressed woman pacing the concrete was on a rant that shocked me.

 I put my new friend in her car and told her to lock the doors before I faced the angry woman. She screeched, and screamed, and pointed to the cars. I told her I would listen if she lowered her voice. My adultish demeanor held no sway, so I let her go on while I checked things out. Hers had a noticeable scratch, the old lady’s had a slight crumple in the bumper. It seemed the damages did not match, but forensic certainty is best left to fiction and real cops. I called the cops.

BETTER HANDS THAN MINE

When the officer arrived, I waved and smiled at the still-shaken lady in the car as I left. She was safe, the furious woman had worn herself out, and the cop was in charge. While I shopped, I thought about what had happened. I am not particularly brave, and I'm really good at turning a blind eye, so why this moment? The answer was clear. I had seen my future-self: old, alone, and invisible.

I COULDN'T SHAKE IT

I sent an email to Steve and called a friend but I only told them what happened, not what the incident represented. I didn't want to admit that the thought of being alone and afraid is something that haunts me. I think there are quiet ghosts that follow all of us, ones that don't creak the floorboards or slam the doors, but live in our private hearts. We fight the fear with the decisions we make and the truths we carry. I realize that facing up to hidden fears is a constant theme in my work; bravery, conscience, and consequences are topics that have driven my writing. Josie Bates is the personification of that fascination.

WHAT WOULD JOSIE DO?

 Josie isn't haunted by things that go bump in the night, but by what it means to do the right thing when the world says otherwise. Sometimes the result of good deeds are to her benefit, but often the result is not what she intends. In Hostile Witness Josie reluctantly represents Hannah and that commitment saves them both in many ways. Yay! But in Privileged Witness, not only is Josie hurt by her own choices but so are the two women who needed her help. In The 9th Witness, Josie decides to take on a post mortem plea for help from a woman she didn't know and is put in a position that threatens everything she loves. Strangely, this decision leads to the happiest Witness Series ending ever. Lost Witness, brings it full circle, proving heroism is learned behavior. Hannah and Billy do Josie proud by bravely intervening in a harrowing situation.

TAKE AWAY

Life is about choices. I wonder if either of those women at Trader Joes would do anything different given the chance. I wonder if the small good deed I performed had any consequences. Did the old lady feel better for my presence? Did the younger woman regret making a mountain out of a mole hill? I'll never know. Was I an everyday hero? No. I was just someone who noticed and made a choice. I didn't walk by. I bet you wouldn't have either.