Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Where are our heroes today?

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our
nation turns it’s lonely eyes to you.
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Harking back to earlier days when kids
looked up to the players on the home town
team, it’s hard to fi nd a hero that inspires
them outside their local bailiwick. Outside
the confi nes of their own high school sports
fi gures, the prospect of fi nding one to look
up to is getting more and more depressing.
I remember days when our own local heroes
were household names and the kids following
after them saw someone to admire and be
like as they got older. And their admiration
was never misplaced as many of their idols
accepted their role as leaders in sports and
went on to become upstanding citizens after
their careers on the playing fi eld were over.
But daily on the national scene, we watch
the reports of murder, drugs, DUI’s, gang activity
and outrageous behavior from sports
icons who think morals and acceptable behavior
does not apply to them. What is it
about celebrity, money and fame that makes
them think they are untouchable? Their fancy
cars, mansions, swinging lifestyle and disregard
for what society deems as acceptable
is totally juvenile. More than that, it is often
against the law for which they have no
regard. Read the stats and you will see the
appalling number of arrests of NFL players
since the Super Bowl.
Cases in point: Aaron Hernandez, tight end
for the New England Patriots. He had it all,
a big fi ne house, a 41 million dollar contract
with the team, expensive cars and recognition
everywhere he went. This week he was
charged with murder while investigators are
looking into a double murder he may have
been involved in, in Florida. Did this man see
himself as a demi-God? That he was above
the law? He may have time to think about
that as he pays the piper, sitting in a jail cell
and mulling over what he has lost.
Then there’s Lance Armstrong, winner of I
don’t know how many Grand Prix races. He
was stripped of all his medals when he lied
to a grand jury and was found to be guilty of
doping during his entire racing career. This
week he was quoted as saying, “you couldn’t
win the Grand Prix without taking drugs.”
The list goes on and on but I don’t have the
time or the stomach to list them all.
But what has this done to little kids who
looked up to people like them as heroes? Heroes
who were once defi ned by courage, sacrifi
ce, personal character and extraordinary
achievement. Has it come down to a cartoon
character, The Man of Steel, to remain the
only superhero they have?
I read on the internet where a man seeing
a little four-year old struggling in the water,
dove in to swim out to save her. He died a few
days later from injuries he suffered when his
neck was broken when he attempted to rescue
her. Did we see this on Headline News?
No, he didn’t fi t the category of a sports hero,
according to the news media.
Last night I saw an amazing account of
a young man getting a face transplant, a
groundbreaking fi rst of its kind in the world.
The lower part of his face had been shot off
from an accidental shotgun blast and he had
suffered for 15 years with only half a face.
But a plastic surgeon who had studied his
case, had the courage to perform the operation
against all odds of it being a success.
The young man was willing to make the
sacrifi ce, even after being told he could die
during the operation, saying that however
it went, it might benefi t young soldiers who
had similar injuries from fi ghting in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Miraculously, the operation was a success
and the young man is now living a normal
life with his new face. And the courageous
surgeon who took a big chance is now able to
help others from what he learned. These are
my heroes.
This is not a diatribe against sports fi gures.
We know and respect many of them, some
are even personal friends who went on to live
decent and successful lives. I’m only saying
that we need to re-assess our values.