TODAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CELEBRATES JACKIE ROBINSON

There were many 20th Century heroes that I can name. Some I remember, some I read about, and one I love. That one is Jackie Robinson. When I was growing up as a young Brooklyn Dodger fan I was keenly aware of Jackie. I remember vividly the excitement, and drama he brought to the game of baseball. But something else I recall as well, the pride I had in Brooklyn in being the first to allow a black man to play baseball. It meant to me that I was rooting for a team of character, and fair play. The man was the epitome of greatness, in his eyes and the pigeon toed way he walked.

There are other heroes that walk through or lives, but we never see them. At least we never recognize them until they are gone. I myself am a victim of that, but I can also recognize some. First is my wife Ellen. She is my personal hero. She is what Motherhood is meant to be. She stays by her children and she fights the good fight. She puts up with me, and that makes it a little tougher for her than it should be.

There is my niece and nephew, LauriAnn and Gerard. I wouldn’t go into specifics here, but they are heroes of epic proportions. So are their parents, who were there when they where needed most. There is my sister MaryAnn, who to this day is a shining star when the night was darkest. And MaryAnn’s children who bring the sunlight after the long night. There is the single mother Christine who works in my office, who keeps her family first, her children her focus. All these people are heroes in my eyes, as are those that fought in foreign wars, like my Uncle Frank, and the many who died in those many wars.

All the above people demonstrate courage; all are worthy of a heroes welcome in my eyes. I feel like I walk among giants, and just maybe I do. Unlike Jackie Robinson, they may never get a day in their honor; so today I include them in a day for remembering heroes. God bless them all and all who are like them.