When you hear the word “giants,” you may think of Jack and the Beanstalk, Biblical characters or perhaps the baseball team. But today I’m talking about persons who are normal in size but huge in spirit.
These giants lift up others and start a progression of giving and caring that perpetuates itself to benefit us all. I was privileged to know many of those giants in Los Banos, and I bet you have as well.
Today, however, we do not see as many of those giants as we used to, and that kind of scares me. A world without giants would leave us all pretty small.
Some of these giants came as groups of families who shared the magic ingredients of being a giant. You just have to hear certain surnames to nod your head–Errecas, Toscanos, Fawcetts, Mellos, Loftins, Parreiras, MIllers, Luxes, Patricios and so many more.
These people came here over decades, came with different dreams, but they melded together to make our rich history. Some of these giants had a lot of courage. They never gave up, and we reaped the benefits.
But we have a bit of a problem here today. It seems a lot of people are afraid to be giants these days. They aren’t sure they should get involved or take risks. Maybe, they ponder, it would be safer to just quietly do what is required and let others make the big waves.
I do believe, however, there are people out there just dying to be a giant! The problem is there just aren’t that many coming up to the plate.
Maybe there is a giant needed in your school to volunteer and lead by example. Maybe in your neighborhood you need a giant to organize for the safety and welfare of their neighbors. Maybe in your church, maybe in your business, maybe in your city government a giant is needed.
There must be endless places where you can stand tall and become a giant. And by standing tall and stepping forward, you will inspire other giants.
We are coming out of one of the hardest periods America has experienced. There have been all sorts of suffering. Each day seems to bring us another challenge, a reason to want to burrow under the covers and stream Netflix.
But I believe in the people of this community and their ability and willingness to become giants. I would love to hear stories of giants from my readers. Just email me at dingramthurston21@gmail.com.
I would also love to hear about topics you feel this newspaper should cover or about events that are coming our way. I bet our readers would as well.
