When the times are tough for you personally -- who do you look to for inspiration?

I look to my parents, my in-laws, and my grandparents. My parents because they were tough and fair and worked very hard to keep a divorce clean. My mother had to raise three kids (my oldest two sibs had moved out by then) and my father made sure he was there when I needed him (re-arranging schedules like crazy for my brother and I). In addition, my father kept two families from total war after he remarried and I moved in with him. My mother has lost two siblings and a son and at 75 still spry and intelligent as ever!

My in-laws are retired and still give until it hurts. They are there to take care of their parents (in the 90's) and ask little from their children.

My grandparent (both sets) were married more than 50 years and even through they had very "Open" conversations, you could feel the love and committment to eachother.

So -- who are your heroes?

Darwin, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Penn and Teller, Ayn Rand, Adam Smith, Mario Terán, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, Jesus Christ

jimmy carter, walter payton, bobby kennedy, walter cronkite, captain kangaroo,

superman, spiderman, silver surfer (my long term fave regardless of film) and who can forget CAPTAIN AMERICA. lol

i ammm iron mannnn. lol

no really. heroism is a vastly overused term (thanks for lessening the personal meaning of the word media). my personal heroes?

my older brothers. for spending a decade of thier lives in southeast asia during the war.

my father, i dont think anyone i know fought his demons harder to be a positive influence on his family.

my daughter. because in the face of intramural combat between her mother and I, has grown to be a pretty strong and responsible kid. without a click of victim mentality.

my old boss jim, rest in peace, a mentor and father figure to me for years. hes very missed.

my dog , because hes just so stoic. incredibly so. never afraid, never mean. and yes im serious on that. we should take a lesson now and then from those furry things that surround us.

my wife, because she puts up with me. (and thats a LOT)


cheers
Nige.

after some real basic thought, i kind of came to the conclusion there are two kinds of heroes out there.

those who are close to us. who know us and leave thier imprints on us by lessons and actions.

and those who just inspire us to be better people.

so in that second list, id like to mention a couple of names. that influence me personally. they are not in order of importance as usually we relate to those people in order of how they touch us. and that seems to change daily.

the guatama buddha. for lessons taught about humanity

the dalai lama, for patience and gentleness

anyone who managed to survive the holocaust.

aside from the manifest destiny involved. teddy roosevelt. (because goshdurndagnabbit, hes pretty much the american legend isnt he?)

for many meaningful words to music, neil peart

and as an example of the way a hero should act. people who just give respite to thier fellow man, to animals or to the earth. you know these people, they walk amongst us. they give of time and sacrifice energy and effort to help those who suffer. a uniform does not a hero make, an income level or a sporting deed. its what they do with the tools at hand. to help heal and turn a negative to a positive. without much judgement, without asking in return .

so to those of you here. who protect or heal without regard for personal life and limb.

you are heroes as well.

cheers
Nigel.

First and foremost, my parents, brother (actually half-brother), and sister-in-law.

Otherwise, genuine people I have met throughout my life that never cease to amaze me in many respects.

My wife for being strong and keeping me going, Rick's parents for their unconditional support and love, and any other true individual either here at F&E or elsewhere that ended up in my life and is still in my life for one reason or another.

I have to go with God for without him watching over me, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Of course families both blood and extended (extended families such as the F&E community) for without everyone, I'd be wondering what to do next.

Charles Durning is a vereran of D-day and Bastogne.

Dennis Franz served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne AND the 101st.

Pat Tillman makes my own service seem quite insignificant.

My heroes.... Hmm... tough call...

Anyone who has ever put on the uniform and served this country, be it peacetime, wartime or all those countless peacekeeper missions we've seem to be getting ourselves in as of late (Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia, you name it). I mean how can you limit your selection to those you know personally and those who have reached celebrity status (before and after their service.) That was in no way shape or form ment to be snarky... I just don't use the term hero lightly. To me a hero is someone who is above and beyond all others especially in todays world... take for instance MSG Gary Gordon, SFC Randall Shughart, SFC Paul Smith and CPL Jason Dunham. If anyone needs to ask who these individuals are... that's what they make Wikipedia for.

~Ranger

Those people on that show, Heroes.

Those people are my heroes. After all, it already says they are, so who am I to disbelieve what the TV says??

Heroes?

Anyone who has sacrificed him or herself in the pursuit of truth.

Individually? My top ten:

1. My mother.
2. My wife.
3. Every serviceman and woman who has and continues to serve our country.
4. Those who risk life and limb to keep us safe, such as fire fighters, police, and coast guard.
5. Abraham Lincoln
6. Ghandi
7. Every teacher I've ever had.
8. Socrates
9. Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Oh, and fictional?

1. Spiderman
2. Otto Maddo
3. Lonesome Roads
4. Goku
5. Giant Robot (and Johnny Socko)
6. The Cable Guy (Skip Douglas)
7. Flash Gordon
8. Han Solo
9. Superman
10. Ultraman

"To the moon Alice!"....