The will is free;
Strong is the soul, and wise and beautiful;
The seeds of godlike power are in us still;
Gods are we, bards, saints, heroes, if we will!
— Matthew Arnold
Zax on Thank You, Wesley Autrey: God Bless Him.
As abnormally warm as it’s been this winter we still have had a few snows. Off-and-on snow this past weekend; by the time it was over about a half-foot came down. I almost always stay out too long when I shovel, the Perfectionist Snow Removal Company has strict quality control guidelines. I bundle up pretty well, but should put on two pairs of socks instead of one, and I could use better work gloves.
Anyone who is out in the cold too long knows what it is like: You start losing feeling in your fingers and toes, and your face starts to freeze. Then comes the pain, which I’ve always thought was puzzling: “If I’m going numb, why does it hurt?”
And usually — not always, but usually — as I force myself to finish up before limping half-frozen back into the house I think to myself “14th Street Bridge:”
(Praise be to Google and Wikipedia: I’d never thought to look up these details before.)
25 years ago, the anniversary was just this past Saturday.
What makes someone do something like that? How do you keep passing the rescue line to others as your body goes numb? What is it like to freeze to death?
Every now and again the death of a Medal of Honor recipient will be noted in the newspaper. If you’ve never read about any of these men, you should.
- Medal of Honor citations
- Congressional Medal of Honor Society
- Cpl. Jason Dunham, USMC, the most recent recipient.
Mr. Autrey’s situation was not that of a military person in battle, but the way he acted — reflexively, without thought to his own safety — is similar to what many of those men did.
Mr. Williams’ situation was different as well — not a split-second or battlefield decision. He had time to think. What was he thinking about? He wasn’t a firefighter or a police officer. He was a bank examiner. Like Mr. Autrey he had children.
If the time ever comes for me I wonder if I will make the right choice. Will it be a choice? Or will it be a reflexive action? What will I do?
What will you do?
