Who Is Your Hero?

Do you have a personal hero? Tell us about them. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Everyday Hero: Travis P.

My Trip to Travis' House
By Jessica H-4th Grade Student

Wow!!! Travis Pastrana keeps his promises! When he visited our school, he invited me out to his house in Davidsonville, Maryland to teach me how to ride motocross. My mom, Patty (my 4th grade teacher), and I hopped on a plane a couple weeks ago and took off for the adventure of a lifetime. Our trip to Maryland was awesome!

When we got to Maryland, we spent the evening at Debby's, Travis's mom, house having a cookout. I was nervous because it was such a beautiful house, but Debby made us feel at home. The hamburgers that Tom made were delicious! Next we went to the backyard and I got to play tennis with Travis. Travis and I played against Breanna and Travis' cousin. I am pretty sure they won the game, but we won the practices. It started to rain, so we decided to call it a night. Mom and I went to the hotel and Patty stayed at Debby's house. I was so tired, but I could not sleep because I was extremely excited because I was going to Travis' house in the morning.

As we pulled up to the driveway, I saw Travis' truck and Subaru and knew we were in the right place. We all said out loud, 'What have we got ourselves into!' We went to the front door and rang the doorbell. Travis met us with a ginormous smile and said that no one ever comes to the front door! We weren't so nervous after that. He spent all day with us. He has a rock climbing wall in his shop with a small foam pit that we climbed up and jumped off of. Next he got out the four-wheelers. He popped his up on its side and rode on just two wheels. Then we got on our 4-wheelers and rode in the forest hills behind his house. He led us through the wilderness and we followed behind him. When we got back, I knew it was time for Travis to teach me how to ride…

I geared up in the gear that was donated to me by Thor and the High Desert Honda in Clovis, New Mexico. I rode one of Travis's pit bikes on one of the tracks in the hills behind his house. Travis was so wonderful! He rode right by me and gave me lots of pointers. I needed to lean forward far enough to see the number (199) on the number plate, stand up, and always be moving like a tennis player. One jump had really bad ruts on the face and I kept wiping out. Hubert, Travis' friend, got on the Cat and saved the day. He smoothed out the track and made it a lot more fun. Hubert is like a Super Hero!

We all went back to the track and I rode some more. Travis practiced some freestyle for the X Games. He will be competing in the Rally Car event and Speed and Style. Everyone needs to watch the X Games because Travis is sure to have some surprises! I really enjoyed the show he gave us. Some New York kids came over and they were so star struck about meeting Travis. It was kind of funny. That evening we were a little tired, but very happy.

Sadly, the time came for us to get ready to leave. Even though Travis was so busy that day, he made time to talk to us. Travis came over and gave us all hugs and we said goodbye. He has a wonderful personality! I am so glad Mom let me go to Maryland. She wasn't sure at first, but then she helped make a dream come true. After all of this time we spent with Travis my mom was really impressed. She thought it was so cool because he is VERY famous and successful, but he never makes people feel bad about themselves.

Most famous people wouldn't care about a kid from Farwell, Texas, but Travis is different. One day I hope to go back to Maryland to do that back flip into the foam pit. The best part of the trip was making a new friend…Travis Pastrana.

Story was submitted anonymously