Some Quiet Heroism Shines Hope Upon a Troubled 1993

Well, in a year that’s ending with someone threatening to shoot Santa Claus right between the eyes, is there any reason to greet 1994 with anything short of total foreboding?

Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to put a pessimistic spin on things. Like the NRA is fond of saying, it’s all a matter of whether you see the clip as being half full or half empty.

I’m searching for the slightest sign that our species has advanced itself during 1993. And maybe we have; after all, last Christmas saw Portland, Me., officials ordering a 7-year-old boy to tear down his treehouse over the holidays because it was built without a permit. I haven’t seen anything quite that outlandish this year.

Regular readers know me as “the Plucky Guy,” and in keeping with that spirit, I’m determined not to get too down. Happily, my quest for something to hang my hat on has been greatly aided by Bill Klimek of Mission Viejo. In recent months, Klimek took it upon himself to save articles detailing people doing either heroic or useful deeds. I’m not above stealing his research, so what follows is at least a partial list of people who made the local scene more inhabitable the past year:

Sonja Sofia Hagel. A hospital administrator who lives in Huntington Beach, Hagel worked directly with United Nations officials to find Southern California hospitals and doctors for airlifted war victims from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Her other efforts included helping with fund raising for an orphanage in Croatia.

Belen Garcia. The Anaheim elementary school teacher was a finalist in the Walt Disney Co.’s American Teacher Award. She begins each class day with handshakes and hugs for her students, who also wish each other “a good day.”

Dr. Thomas Shaver. Director of the trauma ward at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, Shaver has performed above and beyond the call of duty in working with wayward kids. He’s been instrumental in lining up South County community meetings to deal with the crisis of increased teen violence. “I’m the guy at the hospital who sees these guys coming into the trauma unit with knives sticking out of their backs,” he said. “It’s gotten so bad at the hospital that I had to do something.”

Amy Biehl. The 26-year-old Newport Beach scholar was killed in South Africa by an angry mob. Her death last August was sadly ironic in that much of her work abroad centered on ways to bring together the warring political factions in South Africa.

Jack Mandel. An Orange County Superior Court judge who spends two or three nights a week tutoring in English or other subjects. The past year, he intervened directly at his alma mater, Allegheny (Pa.) College to help five local students get scholarships. “These kids are going to become the leaders of their communities in the next 50 years,” Mandel said in explaining his motivation.

The only problem with lists like this is that you always omit people who belong on them. The troubled misfits often make the news; the quiet heroic types seldom do.

One of the latter who comes to mind is Howard Launer, an Irvine man I met last June after he took out an ad in the Times to sell, of all things, his own artificial hip. Launer, then 71, was facing the possible return of larynx cancer and, unsure of his prognosis, was offering the $8,600 hip replacement he had recently acquired. After stating in the ad that the hip was in excellent condition, Launer listed the price: “Asking $10 or best offer.”

A funny man, privately heroic in the face of disease. When we met, he still had his larynx and talked with the aid of a tube in his windpipe.

I got a Christmas card from him last week. “Just a note to wish you Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year,” he wrote. “The Big C caught up with me in September. Had my larynx removed. I’m taking speech therapy. Had to send my son (17 years old) back East while I recover. Losing him was much worse than the operation. Made many new friends in the hospital and rehab center.

“I still get a letter from the gal who bought my hip. I still haven’t figured out whether she’s interested in my welfare or the whereabouts of her hip. Sure want to be productive, so I’m thinking about writing about the love I have for my children. They keep me alive and hoping.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Mr. Launer.

I guess I’ve answered my own question about whether waiting for 1994 is worth the trouble. Yes, it is, because of people like Howard Launer and those on Bill Klimek’s list.

As another new year approaches, we’ve just got to keep telling ourselves that people like them still outnumber the bad guys.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.