talk about the "kindness of strangers"

Both of these articles are edited (for length) but you you follow the links to the full articles (or Google -- these articles both of tons of hits on news.google.com


click here to link to the full text of the article shown below

NYC, Trump, Disney reward "Subway Superman"
Fri Jan 5, 2007 3:39 PM ET

By Mark Porter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Yorker dubbed "Subway Superman" received the city's highest civic award on Thursday after pinning down a stricken stranger on subway tracks just enough to allow an oncoming train to run over the top of them.

"You see somebody in distress, you help out," Autrey told a news conference, as he was flanked by his 4- and 6-year-old daughters, who had watched their father jump onto the subway tracks. "I was just in the right place at the right time."

While Bloomberg called Autrey a "true hero" and the New York Post newspaper dubbed him the "Subway Superman," the construction worker -- who went to work as normal after the incident -- said the real heroes were U.S. troops in Iraq.

Autrey -- whose boss didn't believe his excuse for being late to work until he saw on the Internet what Autrey had done -- is also scheduled to appear on both "The Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
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© Reuters 2007.

He's been quoted as saying that he's not a hero, he's in the right place at the right time, you see someone in trouble you help them out ... but I have to wonder if after getting all the kudos if it would me, would it be going to my head? Would I be thinking "hey I'm ALL THAT." (I'll say it now -- I'll expect a few comments telling me that I think I'm all that already :} -- after all no matter what C from Torry Pines Reflections says it's all about ME

The part I love is his boss not believing his excuse for being late for work. I could just see if one of my employees came in

"Um sorry on the way here I jumped past a speeding train to save someones life"

Yeah, sure, right.



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January 5, 2007
2 More City Heroes, and One Saved Child
By JAMES BARRON and TRYMAINE LEE
The two men first saw the baby from across the Bronx street, dangling from a fire escape four stories above the sidewalk. His grip was growing weaker by the second. The two men saw only one choice: run over and try to catch him.

The two men — Julio Gonzalez, 43, a mechanic who lives in the neighborhood, and Pedro Nevarez, 40, of Corona, Queens — insisted that they had just done the obvious thing. As Mr. Nevarez, who has a 19-year-old foster son, put it: “I’m not a hero. I did what any other father would do. When you’re a father, you would do this whether it’s your child or not.”

First, the boy bounced off Mr. Nevarez. He said Timothy knocked the wind out of him, and also knocked him down.

Mr. Gonzalez then realized that it was up to him. “I just hoped and prayed that I would be able to catch him,” he said.

Michael Amon, Cara Buckley and Cassi Feldman contributed reporting.

Again, they're saying right place, right time, they just did what you do.

But in both of these cases how many *OTHER* people were standing around, pointing, and saying "somebody should do something." Fortunately, I've never been in a place where I was called into a decision like that. I wonder whether I'd be one of the few, or one of the many.

I think for now, I'll keep upper story windows closed, stand behind the yellow line, and "mind the gap" so at least I don't have to make other people make that decision if I'm in trouble.

100 days until April 16.

More news

From the Enquirer (Cincinnati)

The chess world's governing body announced it will introduce drug testing in the Asian Games in Qatar. Steroids? We all know how hard it is to push one of those rooks across that board.

I'm trying to think of what performance enhancing drugs would help with chess. I guess I'll have to keep an eye out the next chess tournament I go to, see what the coaches are slipping to the players between games.

OKAY OKAY -- I CONFESS!!!! The last time I went to a chess tournament I gave the boys SODA and PIZZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lock me up and throw away the key.

Sometimes I think the entire world is just a little bit off kilter.

Kinsey 6

Bit of news from last week. The following from the Washington Post


WASHINGTON -- Pentagon guidelines that classified homosexuality as a mental disorder now put it among a list of conditions or "circumstances" that range from bed-wetting to fear of flying.

The revision came in response to criticism this year when it was discovered that the guidelines listed homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders.

Okay -- I suppose this is a way for the military to get around having homosexuals in the military, without directly calling homosexuality a "mental disorder." (Gotta hand it to the Pentagon -- in what 1973(?) or something the psychiatric association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder and it's now 2006 -- they're only 30 years behind -- really builds MY confidence in the Pentagon folks).

But I had an interesting thought. There are some calling for a reinstatement of the draft. This issue has pros and cons (and I really don't need or want to get into a debate about it :} ). I give points to the argument that it would make our congresscritters think twice before voting to start a war. I mean it's one thing sending "troops" in, it's something completely different when your own kids or grandkids or nephews are in the military. (Though let's face it -- even when there was a draft there were loopholes for kids of elected officials).

But - IF the draft is reinstated, AND if homosexuality is a condition that is not conductive to military service I predict that there will be a sudden change in the numbers of those that state their homosexuality. At least between men that are 18-24.