On Heroism

A hero(ine) is described in my rather ancient copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary as follows:

i. Person of superhuman qualities
ii. Illustrious warrior
iii. Person admired for admirable achievements or qualities
iv. Chief character in poem, play or story.

Based on such criteria, my heroes have always been servicepersons who have summoned the courage to serve on the front line in whatever misadventures Her Majesty's Governments have created for them; many have not come home again.

Whenever I attend a Race for Life, however, I derive a new definition of heroism. Every woman taking part has either survived cancer or known and loved someone who has had cancer and may have lost such a person to cancer; sadly, too many women fall into all three categories.

Today, some 1,300 such women turned out in Huddersfield and made their way around a 5km course in temperatures in the mid-twenties Celsius for those they had loved and lost and those surviving. And that was just in the forenoon; a similar number did the same in even greater heat in the afternoon.

Heroism: it's not just having the courage to face death, it's the courage to continue living.