Heroes both celebrated and unsung

A lesson learned from eavesdropping. Here is what was overheard:

“Awe, honey. It is so good to see you. It’s been a very long time. I worry about you, you know?”

“Oh, thank you dear one. I have missed you too. I was under the weather for a few days, and then I guess we haven’t been here at the same time.”

“You are looking so good. That smiling face always gets me. Is life treating you well?”

“Oh my, you are so kind. I just miss you so much.”

“I hope we can talk more soon. Let’s set a time when we can both be here.”

These were a smidgen, a sampling, of words spoken by two women at a restaurant.

Both women were past of the age of 90. They speak out of love, real joy.

The ladies are, one must acknowledge, modern day heroes, the sort of people who who constantly think of others and make the world a better place while using a language that is rare in this day-and-age of nastiness.

Two men just outside of the restaurant were talking:

“Did you hear about Kobe Bryant?” one asked. “Everyone is in shock. He was one of my heroes, and the outpouring of people like me is nothing short of phenomenal.”

“Humph!!,” snorted the second man. “I just hope everyone makes such a fuss when a Navy Seal dies. People go nuts over these black athletes and ignore the people who are real heroes.’’

The racist man who brushed off Kobe is comparing apples and oranges.

Kobe was a world-class athlete, who died in a helicopter crash. His 20 years as a top basketball player, his sunny personality, his public display of possessions made him known to millions upon millions of people; people who saw him as much as a friend as they did a celebrity.

In life, people wanted to be like him, to be with him, to just see him, and now to watch on on TV endless highlights of his athletic career and pictures and interviews of those who were close to him. He was very personal to most fans.

His passing spoke of the common man. He was just a father, taking his daughter and two of her friends and their families to a youth basketball game.

The Navy Seal operated, by necessity, outside of the public domain. He was an unknown warrior whose job was to kill or be killed. It is true that he was a real hero; that he sacrificed his all for his country, earning him respect and reverence. But he lived in a world that was beyond the everyday lives of Kobe’s fans. He was known only by a few, his family, comrades and friends.

He is never going to have the public adulation as is Kobe.

Heroes come in many forms. The great ones are mostly unsung.