I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked up the definition of “hero,” but the anniversary of 9/11 spurred me to look it up.When you look in the dictionary, there are numerous meanings to the word. Below are two of the definitions from the Merriam-Webster dictionary that struck me when I read them:
‘A man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
One that shows great courage’
Who is that exactly?
The hero is the man, or woman, who defended his country and never received recognition for his efforts in combat. He is the person who’s lived through cancer– is the abused wife who lives in fear of the next fight, but stands strong in front of her children. A hero is a firman, who lost his life saving strangers he never knew–he is the neighbor who stops traffic so an elderly woman could cross the street.
A hero is a husband, fighting for every last breath of his dying wife in the hospital, or mother laying her three-month old child to rest.
He’s a teacher, a comrade, a friend, a family member. He rescued a little girl’s cat from a tree when no one else could. He is not the president, although he might have been. She’s the person who defied racial barriers and sat where she was not meant to sit. She is the person fighting inner demons to starve herself. A hero may not have climbed the highest mountain peak or run the fastest marathon– perhaps he started a race and could not finish. But he sure as hell tried his hardest, and for that he’s a hero.
Those are just a few of the people who I consider heroes.
Who are yours?
A Rendezvous with Sneakers 
Sep 15, 2010 @ 03:42:34
Love this post.
A hero is the person who makes a difference. A small one. A large one. A difficult one. Heroes often surprise us, they make it seem so easy, they are in a class all on their own. My heroes? A friend who saved me from a critter, my dillegent and protective parents, my incredible unpredictable sister and the one who saves me from myself. I wish nothing but to have a hero should I need one for ever more.