ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at Hidden Brain. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness or selflessness left a lasting impression on someone else.
Today's story comes from Denise Elliott. Nearly 60 years ago when she was 16, Elliott brought a friend with her to the Bahamas for a vacation. The two teenagers were from Illinois, and it was their first time swimming in the ocean. When they got to the beach, they noticed that no one else was in the water and that the waves were huge, but that didn't bother them.
DENISE ELLIOTT: So we had seen in the movies people bodysurfing and having fun in big waves, and we thought that was great. And the only person was this boy, a local boy, who was - just happened to be walking by. He was maybe 8. He could have been younger. So we took off our shoes and put our towels down, and the boy stopped and was staring at us. And we thought it was kind of rude, but - what the heck? - he was just a little kid. So we ran into the water.
Well, the big wave just immediately took over. I was completely helpless, swirling around in this powerful water, choking on saltwater and sand. I was on my way to drowning when this little boy pulled me out of the water onto the beach, and then I saw he also pulled my girlfriend out. And we were coughing and sputtering and everything, and he just stood there for a minute making sure we were OK, and then he just went on his walk. He just walked away.
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ELLIOTT: I just was so amazed. Here was this kid who - you know, he didn't stay around for praise. He didn't yell at us for being stupid tourists. He didn't ask for money. I mean, there were so many things he could have done. He had just saved our lives. He just walked on.
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ELLIOTT: I've thought about him many times over the years, wishing, you know, there was something I could do to honor him.
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ELLIOTT: You know, if I could somehow find him and tell him how grateful I am, how amazing it was that he so casually saved two lives that day and how I hope that he feels like a hero. He is a hero.
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ELLIOTT: I have had a long and really beautiful life, and that is all down to him. This one act of kindness and goodness - and I just wanted to thank him from the bottom of my heart.
SHAPIRO: Denise Elliott of Florence, Mass. You can find more stories like this at hiddenbrain.org.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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