What is a Hero?

Some of the definitions of a "Hero" include: 1) a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength; 2) someone who shows courage in the face of a problem or danger, etc.

Why am I writing this? Because after a week of almost non-stop coverage of the death of Michael Jackson, the details of his memorial, and now, the questions of how much the city of Los Angeles paid towards it. Frankly I'm a little frustrated with all of the attention that is being paid to one individual when there are so many "hero's" that walk among us, often with no one to walk in front of them declaring their great actions.

It isn't that I don't think MJ didn't affect many with his music and style... but certainly our daily life is effected more by the bus drivers that get kids to school safely; the soldiers who leave behind family and friends to travel to far off places and protect those they don't know; the doctor who takes extra time with their patients to make sure they understand their medical diagnoses and how to properly take the medicines... the list could go on.

Why is it, that our culture puts so much value on those with great visibility and often wealth... and we think if someone meets those standards than surely the individual is worthy of so much attention as they are clearly doing great things... and yet we walk by those doing truly heroic things everyday when we go to get our coffee and we say nothing in appreciation.
I'll spare you the list of all the people in my life that I think are hero's, mainly because it would only embarrass them and I don't want to do that.
This post is as much for me as it is to you the reader... a challenge to remember who our hero's truly are... and to not wait until they are gone to show our appreciation for them.