Who Is Your Hero?

Do you have a personal hero? Tell us about them. It doesn’t have to be perfect to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Everyday Hero: Anonymous Hero

I don't know my hero by name or even remember his face. He's one of those unnamed and unsung people who do a good deed not for the recognition but because it's the right thing to do.

I was 16 years old, going through possibly one of the hardest times of my young life, sitting in the passenger seat of my mother's car in the middle of the summer at an intersection in Mexico while visiting family. All of sudden a car on the right cross-street burst into flames from the engine overheating. I sat there and stared mesmerized by the flames, and out of nowhere, I see this man running across the intersection from the other side of the street just when the lights turned green carrying a fire extinguisher.

I'll never forget that man, even though I never saw his face, as he ran across the street amidst the cars starting to go, including ours. I'll never forget how I stared as he threw the hood open and extinguished the fire before it got out hand - the whole time the driver of the car sitting still in shock behind the wheel. He'll never know how I think about that single moment all the time, and it reminds me that there's kindness in this world.

Story was submitted anonymously