Unsung hero's

The ClubHouse: General Discussions - Jan -Apr. 2001: March: Unsung hero's

Whit4you

Tuesday, March 20, 2001 - 07:55 pm Click here to edit this post

I"d like to discuss hero's and the topic of hero's.


Do you know of anyone personally that has done something heroic?


Can you share any stories of hero's you've read or heard about?


How do you feel about the fact that typing "hero" in yahoo might yield a few hundred serious "hero" stories, but typing something like "serial killer" will yeild thousands of stories. In other words how do you feel about the fact that hero's rarely get their 15 min of fame, while school shooters and so on get theirs.

I think something should be done to make a national "Fallen Hero's" page for all our officers, fireman and so on who die in the line of duty. I tried to find them but all I find is just their picture and date of death. Trying to find their "Stories" is really tough. I'd like to see also a national web page or something - where all the good deeds, and heroic actions of students are told and discussed.

I personally thing we as a society totally ignore hero's. In the Oklahoma bombing their were dozens of hero's. At least one who died and a # who were injured in the process of saving others. Yet a search for of any kind for hero's in the oklahoma bombing will yield no real results. A search for the killers in that case however will yield thousands. What does that say about us?


I think every day someone out their does something heroic, a teacher, a student, a neighbor.... but do they make the news? Rarely - and usually only on slow news days as a little glitch. How often do hero's make the top fold of the paper? How often do killers?

Twiggyish

Tuesday, March 20, 2001 - 09:46 pm Click here to edit this post

I totally agree Whit.

How about caregivers..those people who silently sacrifice their lives for someone else. These people never look for recognition, and their lives are hard. I think they are heros.

Norwican

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 07:07 am Click here to edit this post

I just found this thread.

Yes, I totally agree that we don't hear enough about the heroes.

I remember when I was young watching the news and hearing stories of heroes... but now I will not allow my son to watch the news. You only seem to see stories about the wackos. Sadly, the hero stories are few and far between.

Agreed Twiggy, caregivers (child care, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.) are saints to me... they do invaluable work for very low wages.

Rollerboy

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 08:36 am Click here to edit this post

How about the police? Every time they punch in for a shift, there is a question as to whether or not they'll be around to punch out at shifts end. Also invaluable work for very low wages. Regardless of your or their politics, the beat cop puts it all on the line, in the most real of ways, each and every day.

Guruchaz

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 11:39 am Click here to edit this post

I have a few family hero stories but some are in such detail that I would need to dig out the articles. Maybe sometime.

Grooch

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 01:16 pm Click here to edit this post

This is from the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel:


Off-duty cop rescues driver after car plunges into Wilton Manors canal

sun-sentinel.com
Posted March 22 2001


WILTON MANORS -- An off-duty cop from Palm Beach County jumped into a canal and rescued a man from his car after the vehicle plunged off a bridge, officials said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital. A condition update was not immediately available.

The accident occurred at 12:25 p.m. Thursday on the 2000 block of North Dixie Highway. It was not immediately known if a second vehicle was involved in the crash.

Police said the car went off the bridge and submerged upside-down in the water. An off-duty officer from the Village of Golf jumped in the water and pulled the driver, a male, from the car. Two Wilton Manors Fire Rescue workers arrived to help stabilize and treat the man.

No other details were immediately available.

Lancecrossfire

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 01:49 pm Click here to edit this post

Whitney, I agree with you that it's very slanted as to which is give the most publicity. It's something I've commented and asked about a couple of times over the life of the board.

While I frequently get bothered by the media for continually giving the "bad guys" lots of spot light and air time, yet not the "good guys" or good news, there is only one reason that it continues.

They only give us what we want. It seems to be what sells the most papers, magazines, gets the best TV ratings, etc.

Not saying all of us want the bad guys to get the spotlight. Lots don't--it seems lots more do. I think it also has to do with people wanting to know when something goes wrong. They want to know about needing to lock their does at night because there is a prowler in the neighborhood, yet don't care to know about the person handing out free flowers because they don't need to take any actions.

People can be an unusual lot.

Rollerboy

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 01:59 pm Click here to edit this post

Lance, "People can be an unusual lot." I know it's early yet, but that has to be on the leader board for understatement of the year.

Noslonna

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 10:49 pm Click here to edit this post

Annie Sullivan - "Teacher"

Noslonna

Thursday, March 22, 2001 - 11:41 pm Click here to edit this post

Personal heroes? I consider my father-in-law a hero. I never met him. My husband never met him.

Raymond Olson was a young man, with a young family, when a friend needed help towing his vessel down the coast at the end of fishing season in September of '51.

Raymond didn't want to leave his 8 month pregnant wife and 2 young children behind so they all went along for the 2 day voyage. The friend stayed on his boat as it was being towed along the coast.

The sea became turbulent, there were problems with the towline and the friend being towed was trying to fix it when he fell into the freezing ocean! My father-in-law saw it happen, knew his friend couldn't swim, and jumped in to help him.

The first hand accounts I was told are that Raymond Olson managed to grab hold of his friend and push him towards safety. The deckhands hauled the near drowned fisher aboard and then went to grab Raymond, but he had disappeared beneath the waves.

The deckhands had to hold back his distraught wife from trying to dive into the stormy water herself. His children witnessed the horror of their father disappearing and their mother screaming in anguish. A visual I could not forget when it was related to me by Raymond's mother.

Raymond's body was never found in the deep waters off our coast. One month later the father of my children was born and was named after his own father.

Our daugher Rachel, was named after that same unsung hero. :)

Lancecrossfire

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 09:42 am Click here to edit this post

Nos, thanks for sharing that story! Wow!

Digilady

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 09:46 am Click here to edit this post

Oh Nossie, that was horrible/wonderful.

He's not unsung any more, thanks to you.

Noslonna

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 10:54 am Click here to edit this post

Thanks Digi. I posted that for Lala too. Her dad wouldn't talk much about it. The story shaped so many lives in the Olson family.

His daughter, Irene, was 5 and blocked the experience. She was in her thirties before she had some counselling and finally regained any memories from before the age of 5.

Raymond's son, David, was only 3 yrs old when he saw his father dive into the sea and never return. I was told that for months the only thing he would say was, "daddy go down, down, down."

Twiggyish

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 02:27 pm Click here to edit this post

Nos, he is a true hero!!! Thank you for sharing. What a sad thing for the family to remember, though.

Lalavoom

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 05:43 pm Click here to edit this post

Thanks mom!
I have never heard such a vivid account of that story!
You did a beautiful job writing it.
It was so touching and yet so tragic.
Brought tears to my eyes.
Love Rachel

Flint

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 05:54 pm Click here to edit this post

I am still verklempt from reading it.

Digilady

Friday, March 23, 2001 - 08:07 pm Click here to edit this post

Reading Lala's post makes it even more wonderful.

Me too, Flint!

Willi

Saturday, March 24, 2001 - 02:14 pm Click here to edit this post

Thanks for sharing that Nos.