Welcome back followers and others who stumble upon this blog. Today I would like to talk about heroes.
Of course, when talking about heroes, a man has to point to his father. My Dad is one of my hero's hands down. He is always the voice of reason, even when his voice is less than reasonable. He is a man who has shown me the way from as long as I was mobile. His work ethic was, and continues to be, at a level I will never achieve. He worked for the same company for 42 years, took maybe 1 or 2 sick days in that time, completed many a project on the weekend, and still had time to mix in a little R&R on the way. But as far as heroes, it is the way he has taken care of my Mom that lifts him above all others in my eyes. As I discussed in a previous entry, my Mom has cancer. The way she has fought that makes her another one of my heroes, but that is for another time, as I am focusing on Dad this time around. In addition, Mom lost a leg a while back. Not really lost, we know where it went, but I digress. So there he is, facing challenges head on, had the house accessible by the time Mom came home from the hospital, and he waits on her hand and foot. (notice I didn't say feet? see what I did there?) If you are offended by my amputation humor, sorry, it is a coping skill I use, and as long as my Mom understands that, you can too. Thanks Dad for all you do, I love you more than you know, and you are my hero.
My Son's are my heroes. It is okay to have heroes that are younger than you, especially as you get older and the age pool below you gets larger. My son's have grown into great men, I love them and respect them more than they will know until they have children. And I am not just saying this so they put me in a good home when that time comes.
My Wife is my hero. Kim is an incredible best friend, and she is an amazing mother to boot. She makes me realize how unappreciated being a Mom can be. I hope My Mom reads this and understands that I see now that children never express the gratitude a Mother deserves. Again I could talk about Kim forever...
Next on the hero list are those that serve. Military, Police, Fire, Doctors, Nurses, and TEACHERS!!!!! Not enough can be said about these groups, and at different times of my life I wanted to serve, teach, protect and serve, and heal those in need. Unsung is a word that is used over and over, and it just doesn't seem to be enough, thank all that served in these professions, and those that continue to do so.
I have had many sports heroes. John Elway, Bo Jackson, Keith Bishop, Gary Zimmerman, Howie Long to name a few football guys. I would like to meet any of them, but I bet I wouldn't know how to act around them.
Entertainment heroes is a big list. One of the reasons I chose this topic was after reading an interview with Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens from Comic-Con 2011. He said he has had people come to him and say he is the reason they perform. PeeWee was a ground breaker, a funny show, full of physical humor and implied jokes. I liked it. Another one was Fred Rogers. I remember that Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was my favorite show when I was a little guy. I once decided I wanted to watch his show later on in the day, so I turned the TV off. This is how I learned that when you turn the TV back on 3 hours later it isn't showing what it was when you turned it off. Guess I should have invented TIVO way back in the 70's huh?
Musically, I have too many to list: Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Edwin McCain is up there, Darius Rucker and the rest of Hootie and the Blowfish, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld too. But locally, and someone I would really like to meet is Todd Park Mohr from Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Todd is such a gifted musician and singer, but you can tell how much he cares about his art when you listen to the songs he writes. AMAZING!! Again, I would love to meet any of them.
Actors are another bunch, and I have some that probably wouldn't make other peoples lists. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson. The list is long and probably like others so I won't bore you.
So what makes a hero? I think the quickest definition would be someone that by their influence encourage you to be a better person.
Thank You, to all my heroes.
Peace,
Woody
