Heroes

Captain Sullenberger (you know, the pilot of the airliner that landed in the Hudson River) and his flight crew all have a new job. Oh no, they didn’t leave the airline (at least that I know of). But they all, and especially Capt. Sullenberger, have a new job. That job is defined as someone who is admired for his talents and noble qualities; someone who shows great courage. That job is the job of hero.
They didn’t ask for it; they just did the jobs they were trained to do, and in doing so saved the lives of 155 people, including themselves. They kept families intact and together, made certain that kids would have a Dad or Mom come home that night, and stopped a huge fountain of grief from overspreading this nation.
So far, it seems, these folks have handled the hero job with poise and composure, if not a little discomfort. I suppose that sometime, somewhere, some idiot will dig up some kind of dirt on at least one of them, and try to tarnish the image. And something may happen in the crush of publicity and media coverage that causes one or more of these good folks to “break” in some way and do or say something stupid. So far, none of that apparently has happened, and I trust it never will.
We all have dirt in our closets. We all are susceptible to temptation. We all are imperfect. Only someone who wishes to get a leg up and who sees himself as better than someone else takes any kind of pride at all in exposing the sins of another. Yes, there are exceptions…prosecutors, police, etc. I’m not talking about them. This is another subject.
We need heroes. We need the Captain Sullenbergers and the rest of the crew of that flight. We need the John Glenns, the Betty Jeffreys, the Stan Musials, the Norman Schwarzkopfs, the Christa McAuliffes and others who give us hope, inspire us, and prod us to do things we’d otherwise never attempt. We need people that we can look to for inspiration and promise.
Old people, young people, men, women, children, rich folks, poor folks; all of us need heroes. Who’s your hero? Who are you a hero to?