I know real heroes are not
made; they are created,
invented and supersized by
society. Or are they? There
are so many heroes in every
walk of life that we never
take the time to commend or
identify. You know the ones
I speak of, the lady at the
airport who chases you down
because you left your travel
ticket on the counter when
you made out your baggage
claim. Or how about the
young man that works in the
produce department where you
shop, as you clamour passing
by, he ask if you need any
help finding anything. (You
may say to yourself, that is
the kid’s job?) Don’t be
fooled, you are lucky if you
walk into any sort of store
these days and a younger
person offers to help you.
Yes, I know in reading my
grumpier manner, you can age
identify me. I don’t care, I
am older, but I have
discovered so much about
human nature along these
life’s travels.
There are so many heroes in
life that we never give
credence to. That teacher
that you have long forgotten
about that opened up new
doors of your mind over 20
years ago. And you know to
this day, that teacher was
doing more than a job, that
person loved teaching
children. Or what about that
man that took a chance on
you, giving you your first
job when you were a teen
just starting out in the
work place? When I was
growing up, we had heroes;
we had self made heroes,
like Martin Luther King Jr.,
Robert F. Kennedy, Nelson
Mandela, Rosa Parks,
Mohandas Gandhi, just to
name a few. All have gone
down in history, for doing
their part in making a
better life for mankind
everywhere. I can look to
those people in the past, I
can see history the way it
was written, the way I lived
it, I can see the amazing
steps we have made.
I can read Maya Angelou
works again and again, I see
a hero. Her poetry inspires
me as a woman. Pick up a few
of her works sometime, read
for yourself, her book, “I
Know Why The Caged Bird
Sings” Then there are women
like Harriet Tubman, the
granddaughter of an African,
was born into slavery around
1820 in Dorchester County,
Md. As a child, she suffered
repeated whippings. At age
12, she tried to help a
slave who had attempted an
escape. In retaliation, a
white overseer beat her with
a 2-pound lead weight,
causing a serious head
injury. For the rest of her
life, she suffered from
brief blackouts.
At age 25, she married John
Tubman, a free African
American. Five years later,
fearing she would be "sold
south," she made her escape.
White "conductors" on the
Underground Railroad -- a
secret network of safe
houses -- moved Tubman by
horse and wagon, covered
from head to toe in a sack,
from one home to another,
until she safely reached
Philadelphia.
It's what she did afterward
that is so astonishing. She
could have remained in the
North, working for the
abolitionist movement.
Instead, she returned to the
South 19 more times,
rescuing members of her
family, as well as 300 other
slaves, for which she earned
the nickname, "Moses of her
people."
Yet I can step on a turn,
look out over the sea of
youth today and ask, where
have all the heroes gone?
Are they in the Nintendos or
Wiis that our kids warp
their minds with? At least
that is in part, how I see
it. Heroes are a unique
group of people. They are
people that stand up to
bullies when they are found
to be picking on the weaker
kids out on the play ground.
But I look around and I
can’t find any playground
heroes anymore. Kids today
are better off when it comes
to sports, technology, and
school work.
The world is before them at
the touch of a few swipes on
a keyboard, walla, instant
words gleam before them on
the internet. Young people
of today, come across as
being bolder, more daring,
yes, even less intelligent
when it comes to standards,
manners and morals. They
have no fear of anything,
but on the other than, they
appear to have no need for
heroes. I see no level of
quality or excellence
attained by kids of today. I
am not down on a generation
of today as a whole, I still
hold dear those moments when
the young person ask me if I
need anything, or even
chases me down to return
something I mislaid, that is
a earnest hero in my book.
But they are so far and few
between.
I can’t say our boys
fighting in Iraq are real
heroes, because I have never
understood why they were
sent there or what faction
their action being there has
subdued or served. I am not
even sure what portions of
freedom we are serving to
the country of Iraq one
moment to the next, so that
is a lost cause for heroes,
in my opinion.
I know heroes have to exist
out here somewhere for the
younger and much younger
generation coming up, I just
am not sure what moral fibre
these heroes will consist
of. What has gone wrong?
Where are the true heroes,
the ones we trusted as
children? The moral-minded
man who stood for his
beliefs when all were
against him, or the ethical
woman who refused to cheat
despite the considerable
gain it offered her?
And as for moral heroes,
well they are just gone.
Today's heroes are about
talent or good looks, not
principles but for the sake
of the mighty dollar. Look
to your sports for a kid’s
hero, there are none, they
all have a huge price tag
attached and they care very
little about the kids that
want to look up to them!
So just how do we create a
hero, much less a superhero
for kids today? Easy by
bringing back imagination.
Have your kids put down
those game boys, turn off
the boob tube, enforce a new
scope for the outdoors. Go
outside, breath in some real
outdoor air. Play with your
kids, created games that use
and spark imagination in
your kids. Hell, get the
kids on the block to come
over and get involved.
Try an old game of hde-and--go-seek.
Sit on the green grass on a
summer’s evening and tell
your kids stories, stories
that you make up as you go
along. Lay on a blanket with
your kids in the backyard,
looking up in the stars,
take turns pointing to a
star, giving that star a
name and encourage your kid
to tell a story about that
same star.
Talk to your kids in the
evening, tell them what it
was like when you were a
kid, the things you did for
fun, what it was like when
you grew up. Get them to
talk about what is going on
in their life, their
feelings, their ups, the
downs. And before you know
it Mom and Dad, you have
helped your kids to create
heroes of today, YOU, you
become their first hero, the
very hero they know they
can rely on each step of
the way; for life! ! ! ! !
I
wanted to be a superhero
when I grew up!!! I look
down now at the paunch I
carry where my once slim
stomach was and wonder, what
happen to the kid in me that
wanted to be a hero when I
grew up. My eyes peeled
like grapes when I would
watch, (cough inserted) the
1950 something episodes of
the Superman. I would
envision myself saving all
kids from having to do
homework on the weekends, or
from having a bedtime at
anytime. My list was endless
on how I would make my life
and all lives of all kids
everywhere better.