I just finished the third book in a Lee Child series of novels featuring his protagonist, Jack Reacher. It’s a a series of twenty-nine books about a drifter who moves through the world clobbering the evil dudes who are taking advantage of the system for power or profit.
When I was a boy, I enjoyed James Bond movies for the same reason. In these simple stories, the good guy takes risks in order to stop the bad guy.
Of course these tales of machismo have their problems, but it’s a fantasy and I’m happy to indulge in these simple, mythical stories. It’s the same thrill one gets from Bugs Bunny vanquishing Wile E. Coyote, Harry Potter facing down Voldemort and Dorothy melting the Wicked Witch. And if we go further back, it’s the Hero’s Journey available in every culture.
Sadly, no one is riding into town to defeat the evildoers in Russia, the Middle East, Sudan or here at home. We are living in a period where the evil guys are winning.
That’s why I’m happy to have 26 more heroic books on my shelf plus a career, friends and a marriage that move me toward the light. With my daughters and my wife at my side, we are even facing the awful realities that come with death.
I have no wisdom to share – just a story to tell. Maybe it’s worth something and maybe it’s not. Regardless, I’m gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other.
