THE UNSUNG HERO

     We all know of the hero in the limelight, the one who somehow manages to capture the eye of the public or places himself in that public eye. However, while it is not to take anything away from their heroics, it is the unsung hero who makes the world go round yet stay on its axis.
     How really do we function? What makes everything go tick tock, tick tock? It is that same unsung hero, or a group of them, that take upon themselves the daily chores that keep the lives of others on an even keel. It is the one who comes up with an idea that is great, yet somehow is pushed out of the thank you at the end. It is the one who comes to work everyday and approaches and serves the public with a smile and concern, over and over again. It is the MRI tech who answers the same questions from nervous people yet who has the patience and care to answer kindly and with reassurance. 
    These unsung heroes are the ones who are now battling the raging fire in California, defending the people, getting them out from in front of a fire that is treacherous. They are the convict firefighters who are out there in the face of a scary monster, placing themselves in danger even as people do not know of their work.
     These unsung heroes of the world are the ones who keep the world spinning. They are the moms who suddenly have had enough and form organizations and GoFundMe pages to raise money for detained immigrants, to locate and unify families, to fight cruelty and hatred. They are the kids who survive a firefight, with guns blazing and themselves as the target, an experience with which most adults have not faced, and they come out whole and determined to do something - and  are!
     They are the people who dedicate themselves to working with those who truly need them. They work with those inflicted with disorders of one type or another, who are frightened, unsure of the future - or even the present - who show compassion and determination as they push all to the max.
     The world is filled with unsung heroes and would that we were to notice them more than we do, and sing more of them and about them. They are those that fight the deniers of facts, that there is no climate change, even as we burn up this summer. They are the ones who go out there and clean up the messes on the beaches and in the forests.
     And they are the ones who persist in the face of determined opposition, who are working in the face of threats and insults, who persist in their rightful causes. It is the reporter who knows that he/she must ask the hard questions and must press the President or whomever to answer the question, willing or not.
     And there are those diametrically opposed to these unsung heroes. There are those who refuse to see the truth, who persist in their denial, who live selfish lives, yet who demand and demand and demand. So look around you and seek out those unsung heroes in your life. Seek out those slogging through life on an uphill stretch, yet who keep on going and who somehow manage to come out at the end stronger and better for their travail and so are those for whom they worked and struggled.
     Those who bluster and shout how wonderful they themselves are , are not the heroes we need to recognize. In fact, they are no heroes at all, for the true one needs nothing but his or her own internal motivation, a working heart and soul, a brain that understands right from wrong. But they do deserve some song, do they not? So look around you and sing a song to one who deserves it. Reward the true hero for a change. It can only make the world a better place and we surely need that now, do we not?