Exemplars

There are so many different kinds of heroes. There are those who watch over us at home – the police, the firemen, the paramedics and doctors; any who help their fellow man, try to keep them from harm. Look up to them as heroes. There are those who serve – the soldiers, the marines, the sailors and pilots; any who would lay down their lives, whether at home, or more frequently abroad. It is so that others might live, and might do so free. Those who all too often watch their charges, their friends, fall - we live because of their sacrifice, and they due to their friends'. Heroes above the dead. There are those who support the former - the therapists, the counselors, the shoulders and ears; any who give relief or assistance, break down the walls to what others truly need. Heroes in their own right. Being one such is a tremendous torch, one that all too often burns the bearer. Their friends and families all watch and worry, proud yet perturbed; appreciative yet apprehensive. Heroes hurt and saviors stumble; this life, these trials, none can abide alone.