We could be Heroes, just for one day

Watching the demise of so many supposed heroes over the last months and years, got me thinking about this, and how misguided we've become.

In all honestly I don't know about heroes. Basically everyone has warts, and I think to have a real "hero" you need to know them. Athletes? Pah. Politicans? Can't see it. I am so tired of watching TV try and tell me who is or isn't a hero.

If forced to name heroes, I guess I have to be cliched. My father and my grandfather.

My grandfather, Arthur J Dunkley was fundamentally the single most decent man I ever had the pleasure to know. His effect on me has been profound. I learned that success is nothing to do with having money or position, but in knowing that you did the right thing. Period. You can sleep a lot easier at night, if you don't have to fall asleep feeling like a schmoe. He lived and died with absolute dignity, and I celebrate his life, and mourn his passing everyday.

And my father continues to teach me things. It is funny, but the old saying about how stupid he was when I was 18 and knew it all, versus how smart he is now that I am 48 and a self admitted idiot, is true. Man he learned a lot, while I was forgetting just how great I am.

The lesson: Look for your heroes and role models a little closer to home. You'll know them better, and just maybe they won't let you down.