A new definition of determination | Bangkok Post: opinion

THINKBOX

When she was little, my daughter loved a talking blue cat. This very special feline came from the future and his name was Doraemon. The cat lived with a little wimpy boy who had a habit of getting into sticky situations. So to rescue his master and save the day, Doraemon used amazing gadgets and inventions that he pulled from a magical pocket. To my daughter, Doraemon was a superhero. It didn't register in her mind that her hero was a robotic cat without ears or claws. My son was no different. He too idolised Doraemon.

I don't remember the exact moment when my children outgrew Doraemon. One day, they stopped watching the shows and reading the comic books. Slowly, their hero was replaced by something else. Given how much my kids were addicted to that cat, I was surprised at how easily they seemed to have forgotten him.

About a month ago, my daughter sent me an email with the subject line "hero". The message was a link to the New York Times story about Tammy Duckworth's victory in the US House of Representative election. I was pleasantly surprised since my daughter had given up sending me links to news long ago. "It's useless," she said. "Why would I send you links to the news when you make the news." Intrigued, I clicked on the link in her message.