Meeting my Hero!

I met a hero of mine.

The often quoted advice is that you should never meet your heroes, lest you be disappointed. I met a hero of mine a few months ago and he was kind and caring and better than expected. He reminded me that “not all heroes wear capes” and that we have unsung heroes all around us.

My hero: Smokey the Bear.

For those unfamiliar, Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service in the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history. The first campaign featuring Smokey began in 1944; it used the slogan “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires.” In 1947, the slogan was changed to “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.” This version of the slogan was used continually in campaigns until April 2001, when the message was officially updated to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.”

I fell in love with Smokey the Bear when I read in a kid’s magazine that crews battling a wildfire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico in 1950 found and rescued an injured bear cub. They named the cub “Smokey” after the famous campaign icon. The cub would go on to become the living symbol of Smokey Bear. 

Smokey the cub was moved to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived the rest of his life as one of the zoo’s most popular exhibits. He was later buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico.

Smokey and everything about the campaign hit home with me. I loved how he helped protect wildlife. He was a gentle bear too. Who didn’t like a big old bear? So when I was out walking this summer and came across Smokey, I had to approach him. I was hesitant at first. I was like a little kid approaching a Major League Baseball player asking for his autograph. Once I got past the jitters though, I was taking pictures left and right.

A few hikers looked at me odd like I had lost my mind, but I didn’t care. Of course, I forgot to get a selfie with him. Oh, well.

Maybe another day.

In any event, thank you Smokey for the memories.