Limping Heroes

When I was younger, if I saw someone limping, or hunched over, or generally struggling to perform normal functions, I'd feel sympathy. But after a few years of battling an almost amusing cavalcade of maladies, my view is transformed. Now I see triumph.

Their public appearance represents triumphant reemergence, not sad deterioration. To me, they look like champions. Celebrities. The struggle to walk requires the resilient determination of a Michael Jordan twisty layup. Both represent achievement past limitation.

There's no one more celebrated than a "Cancer Survivor", but while it certainly beats the alternative, and getting through that pain, grief, and disruption is certainly an accomplishment, such a person mostly just endured. But a limping, wheezing, drooling, and/or mumbling person walking down the sidewalk is an actual hero. You see losing while I see winning. In fact, there is no greater example of winning in the human experience than someone walking who does not take walking for granted. That's way better than whatever you're doing, even if you're going triple-speed.

Dysfunction can be seen through two lenses: 1. failure to be normal, or 2. refusal to be defeated. The defeated are not seen. They're off the table, out of the spotlight. Anyone you can actually see— even sitting forlorn on a plastic chair with cloudy eyes and walker close at hand — has defied defeat. They're not trying and failing to be normal; they're triumphant heroes.

Not "Aren't You Special!" patronized heros.

Not "Hey, buddy, you just ate that cookie like a champ!" heroes.

Bona fide heroes.

I'm mostly not limping most days, and it's been a while since I've needed to shift, mid-step, from "many errands to perform" to "how can I possibly get home without falling down and making a scene?" But when I spot people bravely making that calculation (you don't notice, but now I do), it's like watching a gifted athlete make an amazing play. Whatever they did to get out that door in the first place—overcoming situations severely impeding that escape—is great. The fact that they are out in the sunlight with the rest of us, is wonderful.

Not sad-wonderful.

Not chin-trembling, curve-graded wonderful.

Not "I guess it's come to this..." wonderful.

It's wonderful like a great symphony or a fantastic plate of lasagna or Willie Mays' iconic 1954 World Series over-the-shoulder catch.

Full-on unqualified wonderful...full stop.


ChatGPT insightfully observes: "Anyone upright and ambulatory is already negotiating entropy. Some are just doing it on expert mode."