Hey Readers!
I was over-ruled in my selection for Open Mic night tomorrow evening. My fam says
this is the story I should read. I wrote it September 11th, 2001 and it has not yet seen the light of day. It's timeliness isn't lost on me. If you get a chance to read them both, drop me a message with your vote. If I have a voice tomorrow night and if I can breathe my husband is accompanying me to what may well be my first public debut since High School! The real challenge will be reading this one without crying. Didn't manage to do it tonight.
HEROES
He stood inside the old firehouse
door,
Staring out at the black, sooty
sky,
Grieving and
empty like never before,
The fireman
began to cry.
His guys, his
team, the men he loved,
Would not be
coming home,
And never in
his entire life,
Had he ever felt
so alone.
As people
placed their tributes,
Before the old,
wood firehouse door,
He bowed his
head to hide his pain,
His tears fell
to the floor.
When his vision
cleared,
His eyes caught
sight,
Of a little
primitive, wooden altar,
That stood out
against the night,
He saw a
wrinkled envelope,
Scribbled on it
like a child would write,
“To my Daddy, my hero, with all my
love”,
“Please read me tonight!”
He picked it up
and opened it,
Though he knew
it wasn’t right,
This child’s
note screamed out to him,
“Please read me tonight”.
He reached into
the envelope,
There was no
big surprise,
He found a
crayoned letter,
Folded square
and tucked inside.
He hesitated
for a moment,
Fighting his
conscience now,
But something
about this tribute,
Called out to
him somehow.
He gently
unfolded the letter,
Tears falling
as he cried,
With vision
blurred he struggled to read,
The message
that was inside.
“Dear Daddy,
I missed you today Daddy,
When I came home from school,
I missed your hug, your kiss, your
smile,
But mostly I missed you.”
“I thought you were playing hide n
seek,
So I looked everywhere,
B
ut you weren’t in the kitchen, the
closet, the bathtub,
Or in your favorite chair”.
“I did my homework and made a snack,
Just like we always do,
Then I sat in your favorite chair,
And I waited and waited for you.”
“I broke the rule about TV,
But I didn’t watch cartoons,
I found your old, lucky workshirt,
And I sat and watched the news”.
“First I saw the building,
Where Mommy goes to work,
A great big plane crashed into it,
And it crumbled into dirt”.
“Then I saw the fire truck,
They showed buried by debris,
And that is when I realized,
Why you weren’t home with me.”
“I kneeled before your favorite chair,
And bowed my head to pray,
But I cried so hard,
You couldn’t have heard,
What I wanted to say.”
“So I built this tiny altar,
And I wrote this note to you,
To tell you, PLEASE find Mommy,
And tell her I miss her too!”
“Daddy, you are my hero,
I can’t picture my life without you,
But I know that you’re not coming home,
Because you did what good firemen do.”
“I know you’re up in heaven,
Where heroes and angels go,
I know that you’ll find Mommy,
Please tell her I MISS HER SO!”
“I am sitting all alone now,
In your shirt and favorite chair,
I’m trying to be brave like you,
But Daddy, I’m really scared.”
“And Daddy I don’t know why,
God took you both away?
But I know you’re watching over me,
From heaven’s window today.”
“Mommy, Daddy, when you get this,
Please send me a little sign,
To let me know that you are both OK,
And that everything will be fine.”
“You’re in my heart and in my prayers,
With all my love forever,
Your little Earth angel,
Heather.”
The fireman
wiped his teary eyes,
Then dropped
the child’s words,
And he ran the
15 blocks,
To the house he
knew was hers.
He frantically
rang each bell,
And he beat
upon the doors,
Until a tenant
let him in,
And he ran up
all three floors.
He stood there
in the hallway,
Heart pounding
in his chest,
Struggling to
find the words,
That would put
her fears to rest.
“Heather, it’s
fireman Tony,
Please honey,
please open the door,”
He heard a
child’s whimper,
Heard shuffling
on the floor.
“Honey please
let me in,
Your daddy was
my best friend,
I read your
letter and made him a promise,
You’d never be
alone again.”
The child
opened the door,
Tears streaming
down her cheeks,
Too overcome to
talk,
Her knees now
feeling weak.
She fell into
his warm embrace,
And whispered
in his ear,
“My daddy got
my letter,
I know he sent
you here”.
“I asked him to
find Mommy,
And I know that
you’re the sign,
That they are
both OK,
And that
everything will be fine.”
The sacrifice
that heroes make,
To nothing else
compares,
So don’t forget
what they gave up,
And keep them
in your prayers.
by tls09112001
