A young pig saves a baby goat

I saw an amazing video clip that touched my heart and made me laugh, all at the same time. You might have seen it too, since I tweeted the YouTube link. It was of a young pig rescuing a baby goat that was flailing in a small pond.

It was remarkable, because of the unlikely friendship (like in the book by that very name), and an even more unlikely hero. Watch the video and see for yourself.

Real-Life can be more amazing than fiction

Since posting this, I’ve seen comments around the web that this video was staged.  Some even pointed out how the video had been altered, Photoshopping out a person who was restraining the goat in the water. Looking at the video more closely, I see this could be true. That said, I don’t doubt that the pig jumped into the water to save the baby goat (as shown) when the original situation arose. This video reenacts the event. Pigs are very smart. It’s a great story no matter what!

Unlikely Heroes in Fiction

That video got me to thinking about unlikely heroes in fiction, and how those stories stayed with me. They were stories I would read again and again. Characters such as:

• Charlotte the spider from Charlotte’s Web
• Ivan the silverback gorilla from The One and Only Ivan
• Winn-Dixie the dog from Because of Winn-Dixie

In wondering why these stories had such an impact, I realized that it was because the heroes were so ordinary. I could relate to them (even though they weren’t human), and their actions. As they grew out of ordinariness and into heroes, I followed. Those stories showed me how live as a hero in the real world.

Animals and spiders aren’t the only unlikely heroes. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an ordinary teenager at the beginning of her journey, a cheerleader no less. Most all the superhero origin myths begin with an ordinary person who encounters circumstances that change his or her life in extraordinary ways.

Who’s your favorite Unlikely Hero?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Now for the “52 Reasons to Hate My Father” WINNER!!!

I put  the names of everyone who left a comment on the “52 Reasons to Hate My Father” post in a hat, shook it like there was no tomorrow, then reached in and pulled one out…

Maestro, a drum roll please!

*****
*** Tosses copious amounts of sparkly confetti ***

*****
And the winner is…

KIM GRIFFIN

(Happy Dance)

!!!!!!!!!