Nobody's hero

 Every time I think I'm going to write about heros, I'm reminded of how confused I am by them. Or not so much by them as by our manifold uses of the word hero.  So the following paragraphs will perhaps contain more confusion than conclusion.

 What or who is a hero?  What qualifies one to be known as a hero?  And do we over use the word so as to dilute its meaning or is it just one of those silly putty words that can be shaped and stretched to mean different things provided we accompany the word with pertinent qualifiers and remember to keep it in its plastic egg when not in use.

 One thing that I muse about is the question of resume.  Someone who gives years of their life and indeed ultimately has their very life taken for the cause of civil rights...is a hero. We're not even debating that point. The person who sprints across four lanes of speeding traffic to scoop up an unattended toddler is also every bit a hero. Presumably though, this person hasn't spent every day of their adult life saving wandering tots.

 So who else do we have, and how many categories of heroes?  We can go way back to find countless historical and mythical examples of heroes.  Greek legend leaves us with stories of Hercules, Theseus, Odysseus ( who came up with the original Trojan Horse long before computers caught the first virus) and more.  Today we have Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and comic book stores full of many more.

 We have cultural heroes like the aforementioned Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Theresa.

 There are of course our famous war heroes like generals Eisenhower, Patton and MacArthur.

 We thrill to the stories of adventure heroes like Sir Edmund Hillary, Neil Armstrong, and Amelia Earhart.

 And let's not forget modern day heroes whose names may not be of the household variety. Men and women who work to bring clean water to Sudan , literally risk life and limb clearing land mines from Cambodia, or work tirelessly to develop new medicines for AIDS or cancer patients.

 We can bring it down to the neighborhood level if you like. There are still more heroes to be found.  No better example could be found than my neighbor Mark, who would be the first guy to offer a helping hand on a project, let you borrow a tool, or faithfully serve our country as he's doing right now, and not for the first time, in Afghanistan.

 One thing I'm sure of is that I'm nobody's hero. Not yet anyway. But who knows, maybe the main reason I was placed on this earth is to scoop up an endangered child who won't even be born for another decade. Or it could be you've just never seen me rip my shirt off to expose my cool superhero getup.