Heroes at the blog party
MCF invited a bunch of people to his blog party party this week, asking only
that we bring our five favorite heroes. I tried to come up with five marriage
heroes, but I realized that a hero isn't really a hero without a huge obstacle
to overcome,
and
the biggest obstacle in marriage is one's own self. Legends arise when a person
goes above and beyond the call of duty. But how does one go above and beyond
after pledging to love, honor, and cherish a spouse for as long as you both
shall live? A man who loves his wife extravagantly is like a man who never
robs banks.
He
is
honorable and noteworthy, but he has merely done as he ought and nothing more.
Those who know him will respect and admire him, but they will not write songs
or novels about
him.
Unfortunately,
this
means
that
there
are
few
if
any
standouts
in
the
area
of
marriage.
Anyway, here are five heroes I picked for random reasons:
Jacob
I picked Jacob as my one marriage hero because
as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
I cried like a baby all through my wedding ceremony, so I can relate. Fortunately, my father-in-law did not make me work seven years for the privilege of marrying his daughter, then liquor me up and trick me into marrying one of Mrs. Happy's brothers (she has no sister). Even if something like that had happened (::shudder::), I would have gladly worked another seven years for her. That's what Jacob did, and though he was never anything close to a perfect husband, he adored her until the day he died.
The Heckler
No one remembers The Heckler. I even stumped both MCF and Jerry with
my description of this comic book character when I was trying to remember his
name. (When it comes to comics, you simply can't out-know either of those guys,
much less both. But I've done it twice. The other time was with the character
of Azrael from Teen Titans.) Anyway, his book lasted for seven issues. In his
private identity, he was a timid diner owner. When he put on his costume, his
personality
changed entirely. He
had
no
superpowers other than some extra agility; he simply liked to be in the thick
of
whatever
ruckus
might
be
happening. He plunged head-first into chaos armed with nothing but competitive
determination
and a devastating verbal wit. If I were a superhero, I would be something like
The Heckler.
C. S. Lewis
I call him a hero because his work demonstrated to me that an intelligent,
educated, and deeply philosophical man can also be a deeply devoted Christian.
Ralph Hinkley
It's a little presumptuous for anyone to create a fictional character and call
it The
Greatest American Hero. I like this guy, though. He's a teacher upon
whom some aliens bestow a special suit that gives him powers that in many
ways are even cooler than Superman's. He recognizes the privilege and the
responsibility that come with owning such a suit and does his best to use
it in a worthy manner. But he must just sort of muddle through and learn
by trial, error, and humiliating experience because he lost the instruction
book that was supposed to come with the suit. That may be a heavy-handed
metaphor for real life, but I sure didn't think so when I was watching Ralph
on TV when I was ten years old. And I still can't get the theme song out
of my head.
Lyle Lovett
He's talented, but also so ugly it must hurt. And yet he convinced Julia Roberts
to marry him. It was only for two years—and who wouldn't Julia Roberts marry
for two years?—but still.
