Childhood heroes

[Beral KhanParticipant]

I live in America.  This is important because we have, even prior the nearly 40 years since my birth, made heroes of our sports players.
This is, in fact, something I have found most distateful.  Not so much that sports has played such a huge roll in encouraging men to be emotionless, thoughtless and most recently arrogant dolts.  But rather, the shadow of sports is so huge that there are so few other choices for national heroes.

Is it any wonder that for the past 40 years, those of us who seek our heroes in the realms of Fiction have been seen in a very dim view?
While I will admit, Star Wars has never held such a grip on me that I have spent a small fortune on collectables, I am quite a Star Trek Fanboy.

I also love a myriad of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  However,  Nothing can even come close one show:  Doctor Who.

I recently asked myself what the appeal has been for me for what is now going on 30 years.  I think I have the fewest words possible to explain it:  Possiblities; Hope; Righteousness.

Doctor Who told me that it was possible to have an interesting life and still do the right thing.  And even when things got so bad that who you were didn’t meet the needs of the universe, you could change completely and once again meet those needs.
To do the right thing, not because someone has asked, merely because it is the right thing to do has its own rewards.
To do the right thing even when no one is watching defines who you are, no matter what you look like or how you view the world around you.  And in the show, just like in real life, some times, the Doctor fails.  He owns up to his mistakes and tries to make it right.  When he apologizes, he truly means it, even to his enemies.

This is who I want to be.  It is who I try to be.  This is who I am.  And it doesn’t matter if I like it or not, there are those who look up to me for these very reason.  I am human, but I am Hope, Possiblities, and Righteousness.

[IcarusParticipant]

Quote:

Not so much that sports has played such a huge roll in encouraging men to be emotionless, thoughtless and most recently arrogant dolts.  But rather, the shadow of sports is so huge that there are so few other choices for national heroes.

That’s not completely true. Have you ever wondered what it is about sports that is so seductive for people? I can only answer for myself and for those that enjoy sports with me. It is a throwback to our gladiatorial natures that allows us to experience these energies in a relatively “safe” environment. It draws out our animal instincts and our warrior mentalities. There is much strategy in sports, so it allows us to use parts of our minds that we might not use otherwise.

And I don’t think that true athletes are emotionless. They are passionate!

But, I do see what you are saying. It is important for all of us to expand our horizons and seek out things that are not usually offered to us. Sports are seductive and can suck us in easily. Everything else is harder to find. But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t help people find it…

You say your hero was Dr. Who. I admire your reasons for this choice. I have only seen two episodes of the good doctor, but I loved it.

Mine was Billy the Kid (and my cousin and grandfather).

[Kol DrakeModerator]

One must remember…

“Way back when…” team sports was all about — TEAMWORK.  Learning to work together, developing trust with your team — that they will ‘be there’ to block, tackle, hit the run… whatever.  It was also, at one time, the method (short of joining the military) to ‘build boys into men’ and ‘build character’.

Since the advent of ‘the Big Pay Check’ (multi-million dollar contracts) and ‘star players’ — the concept of ‘team’ and ‘unity’ has slipped over to ‘how can I shine and get an even bigger pay out?’… rather than, how can I play my best so MY TEAM can do it’s best.  Look at how many teams (football, basketball, soccer…) totally bomb after their *star* is benched due to injury.  The coaches don’t lecture on how the team needs to step up — they go and grab their next highest paid player — the next ‘Michael Jordan’.

I’m a Doctor fan too.
He appealed in a quirky way.  Smart, funny, willing to fight for ‘what is right’ instead of what is expedient or ‘the easy way’.  The loose cannon who broke away from the Gallifry ‘mold’ of how one should think and act.  Protector of those who were ill equipt to defend themselves against *things* they didn’t even suspect were lurking in the shadows.  In some ways, a person unto himself — answering to the Universe rather than some narrow minded ‘authority’.

And, just cool to one day step across a threshold and realize — “It’s bigger in the inside…”

[Anonymous]

Kolchak The Night Stalker.

He’s my hero.  I decided to go into journalism because of Karl Kolchak.  I loved his crazy hat, his mussy appearance, his car, his life.  He had a job and had to do it…but made LIFE ITSELF a crusade.

He found a problem – and without fanfare or money or applaus tried to fix it – all while doing his job – and writing about it.

Kolchak carries no weapons – because he doesn’t expect to find monsters always – and each one takes a different method to halt.  He can be humanitarian when the monster is just trying to survive and “Man” goes into it’s territory.

He always has some “relationship” to his story, his monster, the police, the people at work, and those he works-with to uncover the truth.

Kolchak works to find the truth, uncovers it, usually gets nothing for it – not even a printable story – but that does not deter him.  He is fearless in following the story – but not that brave when he faces physical danger.

Kolchak shaped me and changed the path of my life.

Heros are important…such a good discussion!

[JaxKeymaster]

I’m not sure who my hero’s are or were.  I grew up admiring my parents I suppose, and musicians, and athletes.  I also grew up loving Star Wars, of course.  And now I look up to lots of people/characters.  I respect all those Marines that came before me, putting up with the most insane circumstances and outrageous odds so that we can be free today.  I desire to be someone like Dumbledore from Harry Potter for the few people that haven’t read those stories.  lol  He is always in control, even when things are crazy.  And when he talks, something wise and noteworthy comes out.    Growing up I also had a deep respect for Native Americans, as I believed them to be more in tune with nature and thus more wise than the people I knew.  I guess that’s why my spirit guide is a very large Native American. 

However, I don’t think I had specific heroes really.  I was more of the type to pick and choose good aspects of different people or groups and try to emulate them.  Or maybe I’ve forgotten at this point.  lol 

[inariParticipant]

Wow, this one is going to strain the ‘ol grey matter. Remembering that far back, that is.*ponders for a while*…

Well, my family seriously wasn’t into sport, so that is out. I think my ‘heroes’, if I had any, would have come from books and TV. Definitely the good guys from the ‘Lord of the Rings’, they did what they had to do, stuck together despite everything, and didn’t give up. I’m sure there are other books that similarly inspired me. I WON’T say that the star war movies were in inspiration for me in my formative years, because I didn’t get to see them very often, only when they were on TV. That came later.

Some TV heroes that inspired me were ‘The Greatest American Hero’, the lead character in this had absolutely no idea what he was doing and frequently hurt himself while trying to help others, I admired his grit and determination to serve, no matter what!

I’m really struggling to remember anyone I admired at that age, so I’ll leave it here.

[Kol DrakeModerator]

Childhood heroes?

wow..

Kindergarten.  I wanted to be like Mighty Mouse.  “Here I come to save the day!”  Or at least until someone burst that bubble by saying I’d never have those mousey ears or tail.

First/second grade?  They asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Said, an astronaut — and IF I make it back, a scientist. 

And sort of was shooting for that until I had to get glasses (totally off the astronaut scale for correctability at the time)…. and was told, “… naw, you have to be smart to be a guy who works in a lab…”    ::sounds of another bubble bursting::

Got into comics then.  Identified with teen angst of 1960’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man (not the movie version.. he had it easy in comparison!).  First family of super-powers, Fantastic Four.  Some more or less later.  Got a lot of lessons over the years from them… and early television.

Man From U.N.C.L.E.  action spies with coolness.  Never did get into cowboys back when Gunsmoke, Maverick, Bonanza were on… though I did like “Have Gun, Will Travel”  (gun/trouble shooter for hire).  By then, was  almost into the Star Trek era. Scotty was cool.. he could fix anything. Spock was cold… steady like a rock.  (and I was actually that tall and skinny back then and wore turtle neck shirts so.. looked vaguely Spockian).

Went off the track then…
Abraham Lincoln.  Thomas Jefferson.  Knights of the Round Table, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Doc Savage, The Shadow, the Lone Ranger……. and into science fiction and fantasy and on and on.

Tried to always ‘take away’ what I considered to be ‘the better qualities’ of the characters/persons I read about.

[IcarusParticipant]

Wow… can I just say that I love you guys!

*sniffles and wipes those tears away*

Now… back to self:  :maul

Anyways…

I can’t remember any fictional heroes from way far back. I do remember that I wanted to be like the Dukes from the Dukes of Hazzard… and G.I. Joe. But, I can’t really recall having any real heroes until I was about nine or so…

Billy the Kid was my hero from at least that time. I loved how he was this bad guy that had his life turned around by a good friend that believed in him. I always thought I was a bad kid, and so… through some circumstantial self-fulfilling work, I became that. But, I never did have anyone that believed in me. So, when I first read of Billy the Kid and his friendship with the Tunstalls, I was hooked. Then his friend was murdered and he went on a rampage. I was always like that too. You can mess with me, you can do whatever you want to me… but don’t you dare mess with my friends or family.

So, then Billy saddles up with Pat Garrett. They are good friends, but Pat sells out and ends up killing Billy one night for the bounty….. or so they say…..

And I just always identified with this.

Honestly though, my granddaddy was my real hero, and he still is. This man was in WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was shot, blown up, and then run over by a train. He came home, married his girlfriend that he had had since he was six, and then proceeded to live a very simple life. He always spoke the truth. He was always honest with how much the world would hurt you, and that you just had to suck it up, accept it, and then find a way to be happy anyway. He was wild and funny and brave. He never let any man shake him and he would admit when he was wrong. He stayed true. He was a cowboy and taught me to ride horses, set trot lines, fish, hunt, clean the kill, and treat the earth with respect. He taught me to farm too, but that never took very well. I can’t keep a damn cactus alive.  :rofl: He taught me about willpower and keeping your word. He taught me of honor and loyalty and that it was necessary to work until you could do no more. He also taught me that it was necessary to take time for yourself too.

Ok, so that is my granddaddy.

Billy the Kid:

[img]http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/redir?src=image&clickedItemURN=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cabq.gov%2Fmuseum%2Fimages%2F300BillyShadyFaced.jpg&moduleId=image_details.jsp.M&clickedItemDescription=Image Details[/img]

My granddaddy at seventeen:

[Silver TalonParticipant]

I was fortunate enough to have grown up without a television set until high school. This meant that I wasn’t exposed to cartoons, sports stars and other popular icons from which to choose a hero. So I had to find mine in literature.

I mostly identified with the warriors, like Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, the Count of Monte Cristo from the classic works and Kerbouchard and the Sacketts from Louis L’Amour. I had also seen scenes from Return of the Jedi and wanted to be a Jedi … These characters impacted me so much that I spent much of my free time sword fighting, staff fighting and making bows and arrows to war against my three brothers.

When the Television set entered my home, the list of heros expanded to include Data and the Klingons from Star Trek.

The concept of the warrior appealed greatly to me. The idea of living and being willing to die for something that you believe in. These characters always had such passion and life, so much more than I saw in anyone around me. The warrior showed strength of character in everything that they did, no matter the circumstance. They’d never back down from doing what was right and were rarely tempted by ‘wrong.’  These weren’t portrayed as the mindless brutes either, they showed extreme cunning and often won through superior intelligence rather than pure force … everything I wanted and continue to want to be.

[YoshioModerator]

Heroes of my childhood!?
So where to start?
First of all there was of course Robin Hood. I’d like him, how he was fighting for his king in the Crusades, was caught, came back to England only to see that there everything from his Family territory was lost and that the brother of the King was planning to take over the throne.
So he started his real fight for truth and justice. In this he fought against the rich, steal from them hand gave it the poor.
An other hero was atheling Ironheart. He had to flee his homeland with his family and resettled in England. There he then started as squire of a Knight of King Arthur Round Table and later became one himself.
Then later through comics of course Batman became a big hero to me. He is the only one, as I remember, of Marvel’s Heroes whom had no special power. He trained his body and his mind and developed all his stuff more or less himself. He was really the “Dark Knight” to me who showed me that also a normal man can do Superhero stuff.
Also later I’d loved and still like the character of Wolverine, the lone wolf of the X-Men. Maybe also because his only special ability was self healing and poison resistance. His adamantium skeleton and his claws he became throughout a medical experiment. Through that he was turned in what was then later known as Wolverine or Logan, a character who trusted nearly no one, was harsh in words but this was, in my opinion, only facade or to but it in other words he had an hard appearance but a soft centre.
Trough TV then also Kwai Chang Caine, the grasshopper, became one of my heroes. On his mission to find his father and then later his brother he travelled through America. In every episode he solved a problem using the background of his studies at the Shaolin monastery.
Then, when the new Star Wars movies came into cinema, Qui Gon Jinn became a big hero to me. If I had to choose one Star Wars character I feel mostly related to, it would be him.
All these heroes shaped me and helped me to define myself. To sum it up, I see them as people who had to stay on there one, to fight for what they think is right and that with no consider of there self.

[Author]

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