I was drinking my morning coffee watching the news on TV when the announcer stated a man was a hero for disarming an armed robber in a crowded restaurant. He then subdued the robber and held him till the police showed up and arrested him. The people in the restaurant who witnessed the event called the man crazy for his act of heroism against the robber but were very grateful to him for disarming the robber. This got me thinking ........ what makes people heroes?
Everyone has a different idea of what makes a hero, right? To some it’s putting up an act of courage in which their life is at risk of ending but doing something for the betterment of others is more important than your own personnel safety. Heck, even animals can be heroes. Think about those canines that accompany police officers against bad guys. Sometimes taking a bullet ! So here’s my thought of the day. I’m just going to randomly list 10 heroes that come to mind both real and not. You can add your own top 10 lists on “Friends of westernangler.net” on Facebook if you want. I think it would be a hoot to compare lists, don’t you think? So here’s my list:
1.All those scuba divers that rescued those kids and coach from that submerged cave in South America. I get chills just thinking about being stuck that far in a cave and I was one of the founders of a cave exploring club at Trenton State College in 1973’ The official name was Trenton State Spelunkers Club. Yup, I was one of those crazy idiots that liked dark holes in the ground.
2. Spencer Tracy in “The Mountain”. Think about it. A guy in his 60’s-70’s climbs a 16000+ foot mountain in the Alps in late fall with his psycho money hungry brother. He rescues an injured Hindu woman from the crashed plane up on the snow-covered mountain and carries her down the mountain all the way to his village. In the process he loses his no-good brother (Robert Wagner) in the climb down. Now that’s a real hero only it's just a movie.
3. Humphry Bogart in “The African Queen” with Kathreen Hepburn. The guy literally defies all odds and takes his crappy little boat to Lake Victoria and torpedoes a Nazi boat that patrols the lake and his boat was already sunk (sought of). Great movie with great actors.
4. Batman. Yup, the guy fights bad guys without guns. I never saw a Batman movie in which he used a gun against a bad guy. Ever! I think he is nuts but it’s his life.......
5. Ronald Reagan. He snubbed the U.S.S.R and slowed down the nuclear arms race a little. But then came Putin and screwed up Russia again.
6. Lassie the dog. That was one smart ass bitch. I watched the show every week growing up. I even had a leather “Lassie” wallet. I didn’t have any money to put in it but I had one to show off to my buddies.
7. My crazy PTSD Uncle George who fought under General George S. Patton against the Nazis in WWII. Even spent a year in prison for not paying his taxes right after the war. He told the judge that he paid his share of taxes killing Nazis for this country but the judge threw him prison just the same. True story..... sad but true.
8. All the Firemen that went into the Twin Towers and died trying to save others. All heroes, every one of them. I still remember that day very clearly. I was at Honda Headquarters in Torrance watching on TV the second plane crash into the second tower. I grew up just across from NYC and seeing those towers was almost an everyday sight. It hurt this country very badly.
9. John Wayne the actor. He stood for America. Whether it was fighting one war or another. He was there on film. Showing everyone what the American fighting spirit was all about. Sought of met his wife and daughter at a store in Newport Beach one time. Well.... I was standing next to them at the cashier. Yeah, that doesn’t really count now does it?
10. Me, David Finkelstein. I saved the lives of two people after they were in really horrible traffic accidents. One guy drove DUI through a light pole. He cut through the artery in his neck. I rushed to the scene and ripped off my shirt and stopped him from bleeding out till the paramedics arrived 10-15 minutes later. No cell phones back then.
The other one was a teenage girl driving a moped at night crashed face first into the back of a pickup tailgate. I won’t describe her state because some folks just can’t handle that stuff but it wasn’t pretty. I called 911 then administered first aid to her. Her brother showed up at my house the next day and said I saved her life. She lived, enough said.
So who are your top 10 heroes? Go to “Friends of westernanglers.net” on Facebook and write them in. Should be entertaining.