I had to drive to Philadelphia today to pick something up, and while channel surfing, I came across David Bowie’s “Heroes”.

And it made me a bit nostalgic of my past heroes.  And as I was driving south on I-95 through Philadelphia, I recalled something that happened to a cousin of mine.

I’ve had a few “Heroes” in my lifetime.  My Hero has changed a few times and now, at my wisdom and experience filled life (I like that better than saying “old”) I have a new Hero.

I think about what a Hero is.  It’s defined as, “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities”.

And yes, my new Hero fits the bill.

The first Hero I can remember having is Bill Rogers.  Bill was a marathon runner in the late 1970’s and he’s most known for his multiple wins in the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon.  The internet wasn’t around back then, and running coverage was limited, so I had to actively seek out the running news to find out any information about him.

As I started running and racing with a little success, I shifted my “Heroes” to both Steve Scott and Herb Lindsey.  Steve Scott was THE American miler in the 1980s and Herb Lindsey was more known for his road racing.

Now, I know they might not be a “Hero” in the traditional sense, but they did inspire me.  And they did achieve greatness and did have noble qualities. 

We do use the term “Hero” a bit loose.  Maybe they should be properly called idols or inspirations, but I still call them “Heroes”.

But my newest Hero – aside from someone that is admired for his courage – he had 1 specific outstanding achievement that truly makes him a “Hero”.

For this Hero did something often spoken of, but never actually done. 

It’s long been the threat made by beleaguered dads world over.  The child(ren) might push this dad to the limit but then they retreat and calm down.  I think they know that it was a veiled threat – a bluff.

Queue my cousin Andrew.

Andrew has twin boys.  They were born in December of 2009 and my daughter Charlotte was born in November of 2009, so we refer to the three of them as “The 0-9ers”.

I believe the year was 2020 and off the three men go, on the way to Ocean City, MD, leaving from their home north of Philadelphia, PA on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.

Ok – for those of you that don’t know these locations very well, the drive from PA to Ocean City, MD on a typical summer weekend is pure Hell. 

But on Memorial Day weekend?

Thank you – but no.  Hard pass.

This normal trip might take him 3 hours.  On a summer weekend, make it 4 hours and OH MY GOD on Memorial Day weekend, the 4^th of July bookend weekends and Labor Day Weekends, jeez … make it (no joke) maybe 6 hours.

But God Bless him – they were doing the drive; Andrew driving, the twins in the back seats and his wife had to work and I’m not sure if she was planning on joining them later that weekend or not.

I had a brother and though a few years apart, when younger, we did get on each other’s nerves.

But when turned on – these two could take it up a notch.  It seems they were practicing and preparing for the “Tormenting Your Brother” US Olympic Team on this particular trip.

4 or 5 hours into this journey to the Ocean City beaches in Memorial Day traffic, Andrew, as per usual, said to them, “LOOK – COOL IT”, when the tormenting persisted, he added, “DON’T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND”.

This went on for  while.  The kids pushing this idle threat to the limit and Andrew most likely with steam coming out of his ears and white knuckling the steering wheel.

But – enough is enough.

Andrew did something no other dad that I’m aware of has ever done.

“Don’t make me turn this car around”.

Think back to when you were younger. 

Me, I’ve not only heard it in my youth, but I’ve also said it to my lovely and well behaved girls.

Sure, I knew I wouldn’t actually do it, but it does sound good.

But not cousin Andrew.

They got to Dewey Beach, DE, a long way into the journey and about 1 hour left of driving and Andrew did it.

Andrew turned the car around.

Rather than push through and drive 1 more hour to their destination, where he’d be able to relax and his boys would be able to be entertained by the multitude of cousins, aunt and uncles and grand[parents, Andrew turned the car around and drove approximately 5 hours home.

OH MY GOD.

That, my valued blog reader, is the stuff legends are made of.

MY HERO !!!

Are you not thoroughly impressed?

But wait – there’s more.

Andrew was overwhelmed with guilt at taking the weekend at the beach away from the boys.  Even though it was done because of their misbehaving, Andrew felt he had to do something with them over the weekend.  So, he thought about it and decided going to a go-cart track near their home would be fun and might help to cheer them up and bring about some family unity.

But …. It was not meant to be.

On the way to the go-cart track, the boys decided they needed to pester and torment each other some more.  The previous day’s lesson wasn’t enough and hadn’t sunken in.

And after being aptly warned about the consequences of bad behavior, when they got to the go-cart parking lot – Andrew doubled down – AND TURNED THE CAR AROUND AGAIN.

               *Side Note 1 – picture Wayne and Garth bending down with arms extended, “We’re not worthy”.

That was a baller move and my cousin Andrew is a baller.

Some time later, Lisa and I were in Ocean City with them and Lisa told one of the twins, “It’s so nice to see you”, to which he responded, “Yeah, we made it this time”.

That was funny.

As Serpentine, I’m still harnessing and honing my Super-Hero powers.  I’ve yet to unleash them or use them. 

Great potential, but not a hero yet.

But not all Heroes have super powers or wear a cape.

There’s a new Hero in town, and his name is cousin Andrew.

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