9/11 Heroes
The word “hero” is often misused, declaring celebrities as the one we have all been waiting for. We attribute them a talent or other star-like characteristics that might not exist once they close the front door behind them. Real heroes are at work every day: rescue workers like firefighters policemen and women, doctors and nurses in overcrowded hospitals, or in war zones. Oftentimes heroes are just like you and me, saving a child from being run over by a car or caring for animals who were abandoned by their owners. When I think of heroes, I think of firemen, especially those that made incredible sacrifices on 9/11. When they ran up 70 flights of staircases with heavy tools strapped to their backs, they knew there was a real chance they…
Gratitude: a burdening emotion?
What a week in politics, human and animal rights it has been. Palestinians and Israelis were calling each other terrorists among other terms of endearment. Wolves were still being hunted in the US; dolphins had been massacred in the Gulf of Mexico and other niceties in the animal kingdom came to the fore. No, this had not been an easy week for this world. And then there was NYPD officer Larry DePrimo… Humanity. Humility. Goodwill. Empathy. And most of all: simply a good person. He gave a homeless man new socks and shoes when he found him without footwear sitting next to a shoe shop in Times Square.
