The Metro Hero

We're in Washington, DC, this week, for young Patrick Brockenborough's spring break. This is such a great city for an 11-year-old. He was loving EVERYTHING today — the Washington monument, the Lincoln monument, the Capitol tour, the International Spy Museum. But perhaps watching his father, Bruce Brockenborough, in action, was today's highlight. We were transferring Metro trains at the Gallery Place Chinatown station when behind us we heard a woman shouting, "Thief! Thief" And said thief ran by us. Without hesitation, Bruce Brockenborough took off after him down the escalator. The thief jumped into a train, with the doors closing right behind him. Everything happened so quickly — the next thing I knew, Bruce was prying the doors open with his Western Kentucky Whoop Ass strength, just enough for the woman to squeeze through. At which point she surely opened a can of Washington DC Whoop Ass on that rascal. Bruce would have boarded and helped her if Patrick and I weren't there. Thanks to Bruce's bravery, though, the thief was apprehended at the next station, and the woman was able to recover her purse. Back on the platform, the rest of us were all dumbfounded by this amazing act of bravery and, upon hearing that the thief was caught, we all gave Bruce a big round of applause. Our Metro Hero, however, seemed unfazed. "I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't sure everyone else would help," Bruce says, very modestly. OK, well, here's the thing. NO ONE ELSE HELPED. All of us, including me — though I was staying close to Patrick, of course (actually, I was scared to death) — just stood there. The fact that Bruce Brockenborough — and the victim — were so determined to catch that guy — I dunno. It's just a wonderful reminder that there are good and brave people in the world willing to stick their necks out and help others in need. I'm glad I'm married to one of them.

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