A Quiet Hero

We think of heroes as extraordinary people in remarkable situations: the firefighter who rescues people from a burning building; the pilot who lands a disabled plane and saves the passengers; the taxi driver who speeds a woman to the hospital just in time for her baby's birth. But there's another kind of hero, one rarely mentioned on TV or the Web, the quiet hero. Quiet heroes aren't flashy. They devote themselves to improving people's lives, often without recognition. We depend on...
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We think of heroes as extraordinary people in remarkable situations: the firefighter who rescues people from a burning building; the pilot who lands a disabled plane and saves the passengers; the taxi driver who speeds a woman to the hospital just in time for her baby's birth. But there's another kind of hero, one rarely mentioned on TV or the Web, the quiet hero. Quiet heroes aren't flashy. They devote themselves to improving people's lives, often without recognition. We depend on these quiet heroes as much as we do on those who risk everything. What both have in common is that they ask: "What can I do to make life better?" One such hero is Charles W. Denko, biochemist, physician, researcher, husband, and father. Charles was born in poverty, and at age one was stricken with polio, which left him with a severely crippled leg. These circumstances shaped him, but couldn't keep him from becoming a scientist respected throughout the western world. Brilliant and caring, Charles led a life of service to his scientific field, his community, his family, and to everyone he chanced to meet. There are lessons for all of us in this story of a quiet hero who followed his own best advice: "Work at something important and love it!"