Thursday, November 08, 2007

Entry #12

To Be The Hero Once More
by Paul Liadis


I should’ve listened to my wife.

She had told me, begged me really, to sit this one out, to stay at home with her and the baby ,to not try to be the hero. She knew this about me. I always have to be the hero.

She told me I’m not a kid any more, that I have responsibilities now. “What if you got hurt”, she asked. We both knew we couldn’t afford for me to miss any time at work, but I assured her that I’d be fine, that there’s no way “Sweet Feet” was coming home injured. She rolled her eyes.

Sure they were all at least twelve years younger than I, and most of them faster and stronger. And sure, at the last minute they had decided we were going to play tackle rather than touch. I was going to be Quarterback; all of the glory without having to do much running or even get hit.

I’m not sure what came over me. Watched too many Steeler games? All those girls in the stands, cheering us on? It’s nice to know you still got it, right?

It was fourth down, we were at the goal-line, and the game was on the line. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have dove, but it felt right at the time.

And so, I find myself staring at the beautiful Fall Pennsylvania sky, with a headache and possibly a few less teeth. Was it worth it? Depends. Did I get in?

10 comments:

Sarah Hina said...

Of course it was worth it! :) Liked this premise, and particularly the last line.

Angela said...

I was expecting something a little more dramatic at the end. Good story.

SzélsőFa said...

oh, the pains of growing up ...:)

JRVogt said...

And the pains of chasing your dreams, however old they are.

Chris Eldin said...

Wow--so now I know who struggling writer is!!

It's not dramatic, but it doves very well with the picture. Autumn and football.

I liked it.

Beth said...

As a football fan, I really appreciated this piece.

Anonymous said...

Thanks everybody. Not too dramatic, I guess, but this is what I thought of when I saw this picture. Pickup football games on a cold autumn night, though if I tried playing now I might end up like this guy in the story. :)

Dottie Camptown said...

You are right that it is not too dramatic, which is why it works so well. You develop two characters, a relationship and a full story in a very complete way in 250 words. Great example of single-pointed meditation for your ending.

Hoodie said...

Just in time for Turkey Bowls! I'm so glad he went for it. This is great, Paul.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, great dude moment! This actually happened to my father, but his collarbone was broken on a far less gutsy play.