Monument for a Hero: Edward Gardner

Certain heroes and heroines don't get monuments. Many of the ordinary rank-and-file Civil Rights Movement activists, for example, didn't get monuments built in their honor.

Environmentalists who've fought bravely for a safer and cleaner world don't get them either. And don't expect any of the wonderful folks who are resisting the excesses of our neo-Gilded Age - the concentration of wealth, the unchecked power of corporations, the allegiance between politics and special interest groups - to have any monuments dedicated to them.

And then, of course, there are those tireless advocates for animals who should also be honored with statues - the men and women and children who have fought tirelessly for the voiceless.

One of those kind souls - sadly, no longer with us - was Edward Gardner. Gardner was only 38 when he was struck and killed by a limousine while trying to rescue a group of ducklings as they tried to cross the busy Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) in Illinois. It happened on Memorial Day, May 30, 2011.

Edward Gardner.

Remember that name.

Edward Gardner.

By all accounts, Gardner loved life. And he loved animals. Those who knew him said that he would go out of his way to help animals. To him, all life was precious. All life had meaning. Gardner was not one to simply talk the talk from the comfort of his home, either.

When Gardner's close friend Jim Gollwitzer heard about the terrible tragedy, he focused on the act of compassion rather than the man's death. "That's totally Ed," he said. "That's how big of a heart he had." Gollwitzer told the Chicago Tribune that Gardner used to volunteer on his summer vacations at a wolf sanctuary in New Mexico. "He cared about animals. It was one of the passions of his life." (Source)

Gardner also loved cars. He spent years fixing up his 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood. He loved going to car shows, being a part of the community, sharing stories with his fellow muscle car enthusiasts.

Clearly, Edward Gardner was a man in love with life. He died in the prime of life, struck down while trying to help ducklings.

Jim Gollwitzer completely understood why Gardner sacrificed his life to help ducklings. Because Gardner was someone who believed in the sanctity of life. Not just human life - all lives. He didn't hesitate to help the ducklings. And if he had it to do all over again, Gardner would not hesitate for a second to do what had to be done.

There probably won't ever be any monuments to Edward Gardner. No statues. No fountains. No plaques. No park benches bearing his name.

Those of us who love animals and see a touch of the divine in all living beings owe it to Gardner to build a monument to him in our own minds.

The first step in doing this is to always remember his name.

Edward Gardner. He died much too young, but his was a noble death. May we always remember his courageous sacrifice. May his love of life continue on in the actions of we, the living.

There are many ways to create monuments. Sometimes the greatest monument is not forgetting.

While I'm Heaping Praise...

I love Wisconsin.

Years ago, I recall reading a very moving story in the local Madison paper, The Capital Times - so moving, in fact, that I clipped it, saved it and still have it - about a janitor who rescued some baby ducks whose mother had been killed.

Today, twenty years later, a similar story appeared in newspapers about a kind-hearted good samaritan living in West Allis (a suburb of Milwaukee) who saved 14 newly hatched mallards after their mother was struck by an automobile. (Source)

The woman found the peeping ducklings, put them in her car and drove them to the local humane society and they're now in the good hands of loving volunteers. Turns out that the woman only left 13 ducklings with the volunteers. While she was driving her car, she heard a mysterious "peep peep" coming from somewhere inside. A mechanic took the entire dashboard apart and found a peeping stowaway. The duckling joined the others at the humane society.

I love these types of stories. They teach us that while there are still many animals suffering as a result of cruelty, abuse and violence inflicted on them by sadistic humans, there are also countless ordinary people who - when confronted with the suffering of animals - will stop whatever they're doing to help. Those times when I get so furious with human beings for treating animals poorly, I have to read stories like this one to remind me that there is so much basic decency out there. So many men and women want to help animals. This kindness, I believe, can be channeled into a greater power - one that improves living conditions for animals and makes us, as a human race, more compassionate.

Not just in Wisconsin. Everywhere.