Mouse or Unsung Hero - by Margarida Brei
The collywobbles wrenched Dale’s stomach with the cruel realisation that he lived a humdrum life. Boring. Full of the sameness. For years a below-average clerk in the dimmest corner! His much younger coworkers sarcastically nicknamed him Dale the Pale. His anaemic character lacked drive and uniqueness. Oh, to become a legend! Oh, to write his signature in the sky by making a huge global impact! Alas, his mousey personality was bland…
Actually, Dale’s assessment of himself was not accurate. While he was not a trailblazer in a glorified clash of colour and noise, he was a good soul who inspired positivism and awareness in others. Dale’s failure to leave a stunning legacy blinded him to his value.
His passion was a deep solicitude for the environment. Last summer, he spearheaded an organisation to protect owls by reforestation, encouraging communities to reduce pesticides and install owl boxes. Standing on a tapestry of moss, leaves and owl pellets, he enthusiastically talked about owls as natural pest controllers, crucial to a healthy ecosystem and farmers’ friends. By rallying all ages of the community, Dale ignited true feelings of self-worth and global awareness.
He even overcame his fear of the water to learn scuba diving. Dale did not learn for relaxation but for the purpose of cleaning litter from the local canal. True to his character, he executed this with a sense of quietly making a difference. Little did he know that his cleanup dive positively influenced some scuba divers to join the cause!
Let us observe Dale at the homeless shelter. A female volunteer greets him, “No apologies! You are not late; you are actually covering someone else’s shift. To think you came straight from volunteering at the retirement home!”
Dale immediately prepared nourishing food and served it with a genuine smile. Shaking hands and cracking jokes, he sat down with the homeless as an equal.
After Dale left, one individual remarked, “Dale may not rock the world, but he has true goodness. His positivism, love for mankind and purpose ignite others.”
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