Heroes

All of us have heroes of one sort or another that we look up to. They are so important to us that almost all stories have a hero of one sort or another as a main character. There's Spiderman, a regular guy whose’ spider bite gives him the power to spin webs and super strength. Batman, the man who uses his wealth to create the tools he needs to save Gotham City. Then there's my favorite, Superman. The man of steel who can fly, deflect bullets, run down a speeding train and so much more.

With all of the great heroes to choose from, the greatest hero in my life can't fly, or spin webs. He's a real hero rather than just a comic book wish.

My hero is a REAL man. By that I mean he’s a man’s man. He is man of strength and integrity who has strong, traditional values. He is tough when he needs to be but also loving, though not a “push over” like so many “feminized” men of today have become. He loves this country, has an incredible work ethic yet has a very humble heart. He regularly sacrificed himself and his wants for his family. He is my dad.

So what are the things he has done to make him worthy of hero status? I'm glad you asked.

He is a man of love, true love. I saw the way he loves his wife. Not a fake kind of "everything's perfect" and "rose colored glasses" kind of love but a real, solid love. The kind of love that admits things are not always perfect, but when you stand by each other you can work through anything together. A love so true, when watching James Garner read to his wife every day in "The Notebook" my wife said "that reminds me of your dad" explaining "I can see him loving your mom that way if they were ever in the same situation". She even quoted advice he gave us when we were married 23 years ago recently in a marriage talk we did. She said “Whatever may happen between you, no matter how mad you get, never take your anger to bed.” great advice that we have tried to live by in our marriage.

He also showed that love to his children. Every day he made sure to tell us "I love you" and mean it, and give us a hug and kiss goodbye. Yet another thing my wife admiringly noticed when we were dating. When necessary, he disciplined us out of love to teach us integrity and right from wrong...even when it tore him apart inside to have to do it.

He sacrificed himself for us. One example of this was when he turned down a great opportunity for promotion in his company in my high school years. It was a promotion that would offer more money, greater security and make him a top manager in a very large company, but it would involve a move. He sacrificed that to allow us to stay with our friends through high school and not have to "start over" creating a real home that we can all look back to throughout our lives.

One of the greatest memories from my childhood was my first concert. I absolutely love music and I have always been interested in electronics and graphic design. My favorite band at the time was ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). They had an amazing stage show with their trademark UFO and they had something brand new incorporated into their show…laser lights. They released a new album called “Time” and I mentioned I would like to see them in concert but never expected to actually go since I was just thirteen and could not get there on my own. The next thing I know I am there with my dad sitting next to me. I knew he didn’t like the music very much and had never been a big rock fan, but he sat there for over three hours so I could see my favorite band in my first concert. That spoke volumes to me.

There are so many “little things” through my life I could list that made a huge impact on my life. He would never see his life as “exemplary” because he is truly humble man, but my dad, Al Schilling, is the greatest man I know and my hero. I will consider my life to be a success if I am half the husband, dad, son and friend he is and has been.

I hope your hero is half as amazing as mine.