My Husband the Hero
October 18, 2009
Suddenly I heard loud glomping behind me, so I moved to the side of the trail and wondered what idiot would be riding his horse at such a pace on a public trail.
But, I get ahead of myself, as usual.
Bill, my husband of 24 plus years, and I decided to go for our Saturday run through the park below our house. The trail begins in a State park, moves to Federal Forest then lets out on a road above our house. We got the dog leashed up to go (the older dogs were taken on a walk previously, don’t worry!), put on our head phones and headed out.
Bill, as usual, was ahead of me and I wanted to enter the trail from one place and he was heading for another. I yelled out to him, but he just went on his merry way because his headphones were so loud he couldn’t hear a thing. Yes, we both wear headphones when we run together. There are many reasons for this: he talks non-stop without the headphones and though this should make him tired, not me since I don’t have to answer, it exhausts me and wearing headphones keeps him quiet; we’ve been married for 24 years, really, how much is there to say to each other after that many years, no, really!
So I stopped in the middle of the road and waited for him to notice I wasn’t behind him and come back, which he did eventually. I needed the break anyway so I didn’t care, but I did mention to him that wearing his headphones at such a loud setting was dangerous. He, of course, took heed and turned down … no, wait, we’ve been married for 24 years so he ignored me and told me to keep up.
About two miles into the run, suddenly I heard loud glomping behind me, so I moved to the side of the trail and wondered what idiot would be riding his horse at such a pace on a public trail. Once I was safely out of harm’s way, I turned just in time to watch a beautiful horse race past me, without a rider. The horse was headed for Bill, who was quite a bit ahead of me because I did not “keep up” as instructed despite my best intentions.
I yelled out to Bill to warn him but my headphones-turned-up -too-loud-deaf husband had no clue. The horse was headed right for him and the pooch. I sent him a message telepahtically and he turned just in time to let go of the dog’s leash and jump out of the way. Telepathic, you inquire, well, it was that or he felt the heavy glomping behind him – one of those.
The horse sideswiped him, leaving an abrasion on his wrist and arm and the back of his shirt brown and dirty with horse sweat.
Wow, what a close one. You might be thinking I took this opportunity to run ahead so he would have to worry about keeping up with me, but instead, I took the opportunity to remind him how I had warned him about his headphones. Repeatedly, until he did catch his breath and we began running again. As soon as he began to pull aways again I asked, “Bill, can you hear me?”
He continued to run, increasing his lead with every foot step while I wondered what I was doing married to a man who almost gets run over by a horse because his headphones are too loud, then refuses to turn them down.
Bill waited for me at the creek crossing (dry this time of year, come on, El Nino!). I asked him without the slightest hint of exasperation and only concern in my voice if he thought he might want to turn down his headphones.
“It’s not like I’m going to be hit by a car,” he replied. I know, women readers, I am a lucky lady!
A bit up the trail we found the horse stuck in a raven surrounded by bushes. Bill took off his headphones, traversed the steep hillside, grabbed the horse’s reins, and got her out of the mess she had gotten herself into and returned to her frantic owners. He was the hero!
He was also a bit hurt so I was able to keep up with him for the rest of the run, though he may have let me. Which makes him my hero too.
And with his bragging about how he was the horse’s hero and my bragging about how I was actually able to keep up with him during the run, we had quite a bit to talk about the rest of the day.
This week I will see the heroic in even the most basic gestures.