The Hero...

Not being an athletic sort of guy, biking the 3.7 miles to the nearest movie theatre was... interesting. It took me about an hour to get there, and I more sweat then I want to admit to, but I huffed and I puffed my way in. It was just under a week ago, and I was ready to see The Avengers!

For those who need a refresher or have no interest in the movie, there are a group (And I use the term ... loosely) of "Superheroes" banding together to fight a common enemy. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, Black Widow... the lot of them are heroes and main characters onto themselves, but we see them form a group that can do some very impressive feats, once they use their strengths in unison.

My favorite is Captain America, but that is mainly because he is, pure and simple, a Patriot. He may be displaced in time, but he has proven that he is willing to die for his county because he loves it. It appeals to me.
Iron Man is cool... but.... eh. The Hulk? Meh. Hawkeye I don't know much about. Black Widow is hot, and I liked the character development she had... but she isn't a patriot. Thor... is Thor. Demi-god. Meh.

Captain America is, hands down, my favorite superhero.

But he isn't my Hero.

Now, some may think "Oh, he's a christian, he's gonna say Jesus!" ... Nope. Jesus isn't a hero. He's GOD. A hero is someone who has something to lose. God can't lose anything... He's GOD.

My hero is a man who gave the majority of his adult life to a career he was not fond of to support his family. He fought his own battles in his own heart and mind over issues I won't name out of respect for his privacy. He fought for a marriage on the rocks (many times). He fought to protect his children from any unreasonable harm, including at times himself. He fights everyday to love and honor and follow God.

My hero walked over a mile in the snow to take car part the broken down vehicle he left at work. He also walked a mile or more to get a can of gas, also in the snow. He stayed up longer then he really should have packing for a hard move, has driven the largest U-Haul you can get thousands of miles across two countries and both mountain ranges. One of those ranges he did twice.

My hero has resuscitated a stillborn puppy, drained the infected ears of an old dog, cleaned up after cats who just gave birth and carried a blind old mutt out from behind a pickup for years until he finally carried the dog to its final home.

My Hero taught me all I know about honor, loving someone even when it's hard, and how to make a fried egg sandwich. I would not be the man I am today without my hero.

Dad, I love you.

Eric.