 Heroes
As a young boy, I found myself so mesmerized by the
super heroes of the comics that I could not wait for the next comic to
come out, or for the next show to come on. I also remember playing like we
where our favorite super hero, or daydreaming about being one of them.
I dreamed of having special powers and being able to
fly or having great strength. Wow, how
great would that be. But even as a boy, what was so cool to me was what
they did with the powers that they had. They served justice and protected
the innocent. Yep, what I wanted to be was a super hero.
As I grew older, I still loved them, but my
perspective of them changed. I still loved them all from Superman to
Silver Surfer, however I began to separate them into categories. On the
one hand, you had heroes like Superman that came from another planet. In
his case, our sun gave him his powers and some of those powers were normal
on his planet but were all-powerful here on earth. Then you have heroes
that are given their powers by some device such as a ring or amulet; for
example, Green Lantern. The next group is normal people transformed by
either some experiment or accident, as in Spiderman’s case.
However, my favorites are the people that are just
plain old humans like us. I offer as example, my favorite, Batman.
Where is all this leading to besides a stroll into my
childhood? Batman: a simple human with nothing more than determination and
his values an ideals .Granted, he has spent his entire life training and
working to become strong and proficient. Sound familiar to anyone?
To be the best, you have to train and live to be the best. With
hard work and training, you can become more than you are now and all that
you dream you could be.
I remember walking into my first Karate class and
seeing the man that would become my instructor. He was standing in front
of a room full of students, tall and muscular with an air of an
overwhelming presence. As I watched him and his students, I once again
believed in superheroes; seeing people fly through the air and using
powerful techniques that were so foreign to me. WOW, again maybe I could
become a superhero.
Many years have passed and for a time in my life, I
too had become one of those people I saw on that my first day flying in
the air and using techniques that are now second nature and breaking objects
that before seemed unbreakable. The days of training are hard and long and
it takes determination and will to become a good martial artist, but the
rewards of getting there are many and great. What you choose to use these
powers for are up to you. Train hard and be true in your training and be
proud to be called a martial artist.
As I wrote this article, the events of the world came
close to home for me when my daughter’s fiancée lost his brother in the
Middle East and once again I am reminded that there are true super heroes
in the world . Everyday we wake in a place where we are protected and
served by people that have dedicated their lives to training and becoming
the best at what they do. I realize that the police, the military, and the
firefighters of this country should serve as a reminder to us that true
heroes do exist. Every day, they are putting us above themselves because
of their beliefs in “Truth ,Justice and the American Way.
No matter what your beliefs about the conflict in the
Middle East, the fact remains we are there and our people are dying once
again for the rights of others. They do this without regard for
themselves. These people are giving up their lives. I ask that you take
the time to reflect on this for a moment and put aside your beliefs about
the politics and give thanks to them.
As for the local hometown hero Sgt. James Daniel
Faulkner, I ask you give a moment to look at this site dedicated to him
and be thankful that we have heroes like him in our world:
http://www.ourhometownhero.com/
We
live in our freedom because of people like this young man who gave his
life and future!
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