Beads & Braids: A German Hero

This is what a German hero looks like. Photo from Spiegel via Goodyear.

I am sure you've heard that saying, "Judge not for ye be not judged". Here, my friends is a German hero. Now, look away from the hairstyle for just a moment. (Hard? Yes.) But I have something far more important to tell you about this fellow here.

Hero next to his big 18 wheeler. Photo from Spiegel via Goodyear.

He risked his own life for that of many others one cold winter night on a German highway recently. You can read the story in the German news here (in German) or you can just read my nifty, short English summary.

You see, this guy, Jürgen Thesing, is a trucker. One night, a message came over his radio to alert him to a dangerous driver on the road.  It was reported that the driver was going the wrong way. Scary! (Get this; the article states that 20 people die each year in Germany in cases of wrong-way drivers. I can only imagine how much it is in the USA.) Fearing that this ruthless driver could cause a major accident on the road, Jürgen devised a plan via walkie talkie radio with another trucker who was driving just in front of him. The plan they came up with was to ride side by side in their 18-wheelers, not letting any other cars or trucks past them. They figured that two 18-wheelers with flashing lights could serve as a moving steel alert to get the reckless driver to stop.

For this courageous move, my friends, Mr. Thesing won the Goodyear (as in tires) Hero of the Road award for 2013.  The article reported that Goodyear has been having difficulty finding courageous civilians worthy of the prestigious award. They’ve been looking for years. In fact, they conducted a survey where the findings show that many Germans lack the spirit of goodwill on the road. Only 38 percent of the respondents said that they would help immediately in an emergency situation. Most common reason: the fear of falling into danger themselves.

The beautiful end of this story is that Jürgen and his trucker colleague successfully prevented any accidents on the road that night. Once the reckless driver arrived at the double 18-wheeler blockade, he put on the brakes and actually tried to turn around and get away. He was apprehended.  

Hero with family. Photo from Spiegel via Goodyear.

Now, about Jürgen’s hair. You don’t think I was going to forget did you? All I have to say is that I would like to interview him to ask how he was inspired to get such a ‘do and who did it. I mean, did you ever think that you’d see a German man with hair like that? Well, I say, “power to you, Jürgen”. As I see it, a hero should be able to wear his hair anyway he wants.