And Then There is My...

A young friend recently wrote an essay for school entitled, "My Hero." She chose her father. I gave this topic some thought and feel I'd have say that I have more than one hero.

Webster's defines HERO as, "A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds." Let's begin with some Heroins such as Helen Keller and Rosa Park... women that have few parallels.  I would venture to say that Corrie Ten Boom is a heroin that may not be as readily recognized. In1940, Nazi- occupied Haarlem, Holland... a simple clockmaker sees the horrific suffering of the Jews and reacts and acts. Corrie hides these persecuted people and many are saved because of this remarkable woman. Diane Fosse and Jane Godel studied and were advocates of the Great Apes, risking both physical safety and educational status. And oh my, dear Mother Teressa...soon to become a Saint. So many truly great women.

Not to sound as if I'm a total feminist, I'll talk about the guys now. Mahatma Gandhi leads my list as a pacifist whose idealizations are world renown. " We need to be the change we wish to see in the world" and, "Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong." Are there other words as thought-provoking? My literary hero is Atticus Finch from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Would that racism see more depictions of a mighty man than he. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the 'best of the best' and Walt Whitman is the father of free verse.

And then there is my Dad..                                                               .