Tribute to unsung heroes
Unsung heroes. I know a lot of those! They abound in my little town. As thoughts of my acquaintances far and wide race through my head, I picture many, many more. I’m certain you know a lot of them too. You might ask 10 people on the street how to define that word “hero” and get 10 different answers. I bet they’d all be right. The dictionary says, “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”
That makes at least half the folks in my town heroes. In fact, I don’t even know many people, if any, who don’t have noble qualities and courage and can claim outstanding achievements in some field, pursuit or manner. A lot of them have that distinction in many fields. Heroes, in my opinion, follow the rules. Dictionaries give the most commonly accepted meaning of a word, but there are special “amplified” ones that go into deeper detail. They would use a lot more words to define “hero.”
A new home has been under construction nearby for a few months. I’ve watched and marveled as men, skilled in many jobs and areas, each practiced their specialty. Those labors all blended together into the basement, floor and skeleton of a nice, big house. built of nothing but high-quality materials and careful, patient, meticulous workmanship.
“Solid” and “dependable” are two words I think of to amplify the meaning of “hero.” The house that’s coming to life next door already shows its personal interpretation of those two terms. All the passersby may see today is a “skeleton.” Even to untrained eyes like mine, this is unmistakably a solid, dependable, square and plumb skeleton.
Very near to the north side of my home is where a lot of other people demonstrate daily just how “dependable” they are. Their task involves engineering of a differing type from the house builder, but it requires the same perfection of accuracy and attention to detail. Their dependability is multiplied a gazillion times, because they’re responsible for millions of tons of machines that carry even more millions of tons of freight.
The biggest factor is that they move, at fairly high rates of speed, over thousands of miles of steel track. They do that safely, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The vibration of the rails helps me sleep soundly and peacefully, and I love the sound of their whistles.
I recently visited Hometown Medical Clinic, where my favorite physician’s assistant and other dedicated people devote their workdays to keeping this community healthy. I spoke with a 96-year-young lady who was there for physical therapy. While waiting for my appointment, I enjoyed the energetic smiles and giggles of a beautiful 3-year-old girl and her little brother, who was practicing the art of walking around the waiting room. They’re experts in their age and stage of life!
A couple of miles from there is our large, modern hospital and adjacent senior living facility. Numerous doctors, surgeons and nurses work there, giving me the assurance of quick, quality medical care whenever I need it. The facility employs dozens who clean and serve and cook and give care to those in need of it there.
We’re blessed to have ambulances, trained crews and drivers, plus a heli-pad and emergency helicopter on call. Our town has two pharmacies that employ more smart people who put in years of study and learning, enabling them to fill prescriptions and dispense the medicine our doctors prescribe.
A man who lives just across the street from me and a lady who goes to my church are both good friends of mine. They’re also both involved in the business and management of a fine grocery store. Two more unsung heroes, whose hard work is mostly behind the scenes and totally without fanfare. What would my pets and I eat if not for them, and those much like them who operate other stores in our town?
While I was still snuggled in bed with my dog and cat, very dependable drivers of large, automated trucks made their weekly “pickup, dump and return” of garbage cans across a large area in this end of town. Unsung heroes at work! If it weren’t Easter vacation, many talented and safety-conscious school bus drivers would be picking up children and taking them to their homes all across this town and across the rural portions of the county.
This is an oil-producing area, and many workers get up early each morning to drive hundreds of miles tending the pumps and pipelines and collection stations involved with that industry. Others operate the drilling rigs that are still finding and harvesting more pools of the black gold, deep below Wyoming’s surface.
At night when the moon shines, I can look southeast and see the lights and silhouette of part of the huge refinery that covers several acres and employs a lot of people in processing that raw oil into usable products we need for the maintenance and operation of our vehicles. Truck drivers cover untold miles delivering that refined gasoline to the other towns. Our many gas stations make it handy for me to pull in and fill up with quality, locally produced fuel.
Only an hour ago I heard a patrol officer’s siren from a few blocks away. I’m grateful they’re on duty to maintain my town’s safety by enforcing speed limits and other traffic regulations that help prevent injuries – and sometimes deaths that result from vehicle accidents.
My town has a few law offices, where brilliant attorneys offer legal advice or services when we need them. They studied laboriously for years to attain the knowledge and degrees required to interpret the law and can draw up every kind of legal document anyone might ever need.
The lovely old courthouse that serves our Weston County graces the head of Main Street and is the workplace of dozens of employees who take care of all manner of county records. The assessor’s office, clerk of courts’ office, treasurer’s office and courtroom are all housed there. Next to it is Weston County Library, where several courteous employees help find anything you’re looking for to read. They’re all unsung heroes!