Born Free

Who are Your Heroes?

Recently, for a class at CIU, I was asked to identify and reflect on my heroes, past and present. This was a difficult task as no past hero came to mind at first. However, as I brought to mind the television and fantasy characters that I enjoyed as a child, one in particular stood out. I remember at the age of 6 or 7 being totally enthralled by the TV series “Born Free.” For those of you not familiar with this story it is based in Kenya, Africa on the life of Joy Adamson and her husband, Kenya game warden George Adamson. They rescued and raised a lion cub, Elsa, whose mother had been killed. When Elsa approached maturity, Joy determined she must re-educate Elsa to living in the wild so that the she could return to a free life, the life for which she was born.

I was drawn to Joy’s unwavering and sacrificial dedication to the welfare and freedom of the lion in her care. Week after week, I watched as she withstood adversity and danger to protect the lion cub, so that some day she could be free. Through many gripping moments Joy and her husband voluntarily put their lives on the line out of love for Elsa and out of a deeply held conviction to do what they believed was right. They could not be swayed.