We need a hero

Heroes are not born. They are made. No, not made but grown- the decision to be a hero or not does not happen at the scene of the heroism. There is no thinking time at that moment. There is only reaction time. Ask anyone who has been in such a situation.
Listen to the “heroes” afterwards. They tell you they are not heroes. They’ll tell you that they did what anyone would have done. But not everyone would have. Only those who have made choices throughout their lives to act for the good of others can react in a time of crisis and be a hero.
Those who have spent their lives taking care of themselves first do what is natural for them. They run away. Some catch themselves and come back. Some don’t.
I’ve been thinking about the heroes that have touched my heart during my lifetime. I don’t know any of them but they have had a profound effect on me. It’s hard to pick just a few especially since 9/11 showed us hundreds but here are my most memorable heroes. They are in no particular order.
The people on United 93 who chose to take destiny into their own hands on that fateful September day and crashed the plane them selves rather than allow the terrorists to use them. They forever changed the “victim” mode of hijacked passengers.
Of all the heroic stories coming from that day, this one has stayed with me. Two men worked in the upper stories of one of the Twin Towers. They were best friends. Evacuation down the stairs began as soon as the building was hit. One of these men was in a wheelchair. He could not leave. His friend refused to leave him even when begged to do so by his wheelchair bound friend. They watched the first tower fall. This man was on the phone saying goodbye to his wife when the building they were in collapsed. True friendships as well as family are forever.
In my 20’s, I watched horrified as a plane crashed into the icy Potomac River. Burned in my mind is the image of one man, a passenger, who caught the helicopter life saver and consistently put it around fellow passengers in the water. He did this until succumbing to the cold, he sunk and died. I will never forget watching and weeping at such a selfless action.
My last hero for today I heard about in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. It was told by a survivor who had ridden those dreadful cattle cars with her mother, her sister and her sister’s baby. As they were herded off they saw that the women were being divided. Those with children and the elderly were headed to one place (the gas houses). The middle aged and young women were off to another (the work camps). The middle aged mother quickly realized what was happening and before her daughters knew - she grabbed the baby and pleaded with her daughter convincing her that letting her have the baby would keep her out of the work camps, “You know how bad my back is.” The daughter agreed thinking she was saving her mother not realizing that her mother was saving her. I will never forget this now old woman’s face as she told how her mother’s last words to her were, “Take care of your sister.” This mother sacrificed her life for that of her daughter’s.
We need heroes today. We need to raise up those who can be heroes. We need to make the kinds of choices that would help us react like heroes. We need to remember those who have been heroes. That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?