The Hero...

Isabelle is home, safe and sound from her trip. She had a fantastic time! She was more animated and excited than I've ever seen her - at least since she was a small child, still impressed with any new wonder. I'm glad to see it.

Isabelle is a very quiet and peaceful child. She hates conflict, which is what makes the thing that she did even more wonderful and amazing. Oh, by the way, Isabelle is *not* a shrinking violet. She stands up for herself. She doesn't let anyone push her around.

What did she do? The kids were traveling with the group through a busy marketplace...I think it may have been in Shanghai. At any rate, the hustle and bustle of the open marketplace sounds as though it's much like you see on many travel shows. Vendors were encouraging the tourists to buy their wares, sometimes with more aggressiveness than most people are used to. One of the kids was being pestered by a guy trying to sell a book of Chinese postal stamps. I'm sure that was a sight, considering that the teen in question is somewhere around 6'4". The Chinese guy was shoving the open book up under the kid's chin, trying for the sale.

Did I mention that Isabelle is somewhere around 4 foot nothing? Because of some birth defects, the growth plates in her legs had to be stopped when she was small, with the result that she'll always be shorter than most people. Isabelle was follwing the tall teen. Her head was about even with his waist. So, she had a very clear view of what happened next.

The teen had shoved his small digital camera into his pocket, but about an inch of the wrist strap was still sticking out of his pocket. The "vendor" who was pushing the stamp book into the teen's face had noticed this and was going in for the heist.

As he hassled the boy, he pulled the camera out of his pocket by the bit of strap that had been visible. Isabelle saw this directly at eye level.

"I didn't know what I should do, Grandma," she said. "I almost let it go."

But, next thing this docile, quiet child did was to let out a shout: "Hey (kid's name)! That guy has your camera in his hand!" And she jumped the pickpocket and grabbed onto his arm and clenched it for all she was worth. The kid turned around, as did the tour sponsors. They grabbed the guy and he gave the camera back to the owner. Apparently said something like, "Sorry, I didn't mean to take your camera."

Uh huh. The sponsors were amazed. "We never hear a peep out of Isabelle. We didn't know she could yell like that."

I'm sure not only was the pickpocket embarrassed to be caught, but to make it worse, he was nabbed by a little American girl with some physical handicaps who is no bigger than a minute.

Way to go, Isabelle. I'm very proud of you!