Much has been said about people who are heroes in our society.  We have an entire sub-genre of film and books that focus on “superheroes”, most of whom have some sort of supernatural ability or mutation which grants them “hero” status.  Sports figures are often referred to as heroes as well and people for our children to look up to as achieving the highest possible placement in their field through hard work and dedication.  Unfortunately it seems that all too often those sports stars have cheated their way to the top.  Granted this is probably the minority, but it often seems to be the predominant talk in the media when these people are accused of cheating.

So who are the real heroes?

I wrote last week about Scott Carpenter passing away.  I count him among my heroes along with all the other pioneers in space flight.  The things that those men and women have done (and continue to do) in the face of extreme danger is astounding and I admire them greatly for it.

Along similar lines, the men and women of our American armed forces should be considered heroes.  One of my few favorite television shows of the last few years focused on soldiers and sailors returning home to their families (Coming Home) and the stories of their service and love for their families were incredible.  The children of these great people look up to them so much and it is clear how much they consider their parent a hero.  We should consider ourselves lucky that these heroes serve our country and give up so much valuable time with their families to do so.

When it comes to service, our first responders deserve and enormous pat on the back and a huge thank you from all of us.  We may balk when the police officer pulls us over for speeding, but we should be thankful that they are there, looking out for the well being of all of us.  Fire fighters have a thankless job and along with ambulance crews, save many lives all over our country and the world on a daily basis.  They may say that they are “just doing their job” but we all should be thankful that these heroes are around to help us in our time of need.

Last I come to family.  I personally have many heroes within my own family.  My loving wife Denise is a huge inspiration to me and I often look to her for strength to make it through the day.  She never falters in being there to provide that strength and for that, she is my hero.

My parents and siblings are heroes too, always being there for me when I need them and helping in any way they can.  Never has a time passed that I needed something from them and they have been absent.

Lastly, we come to possibly the three biggest heroes in my life, my children.  I’ve written before about what an inspiration and influence my children are on me, but I feel like I have to reiterate it here.  My first born, Jackson, was only with us for one short month, but in that time I saw spunk and attitude that I don’t think even I myself possess.  He may not be here for me to hold any longer, but I hold him in my heart and think about him every day, using his memory to help push me through the hard times and that is why he is my hero.

Jackson’s little brother Joshua is everything that I imagined Jackson himself to be as he grew.  He’s my little Dallas Cowboys fan (we cheer even if they’re not necessarily heroes) and is sharp as a tack.  His passion about everything he does inspires me and is one of the many reasons that he is my hero.

Finally, the little princess of the bunch, Teagan.  She has just as much spunk as Jackson and is just as smart as Joshua.  She absolutely adores Joshua and looks up to him with such love and affection.  She cares for her stuffed animals and her precious “binky” like a doting mother should and I know she is going to make a great mommy someday.  That is why she is my hero.

All of my children inspire me so much and they bring so much meaning to my life on a daily basis.  Find your heroes and hold them close.  Make sure they are deserving of the title, and if you haven’t before, take the time to tell them so.  You’ll find that they might be surprised when you tell them.

I went back and read my very first blog post from June 18th of last year the other day and was amazed at how far this blog has come in the 13+ months since.  I certainly had grand ideas that I would be making posts every day (take a look at the “archives” for April, May, and June of this year to see how well that went) and that I would have a book of five short stories published by now.  In terms of those original goals, I have fallen short, but I have found a passion for maintaining this website and blog and hope that I have made an impact on your life in a positive way.

Looking ahead to the next year, I see positive things in store for this website.  As I noted the other day, there are great changes in the works for the poetry section which will only continue as I get more comfortable with how I want people to use the site.  My next step is to truly devote a portion of every day to writing these stories.  I do have two complete and the other three are in the works.

Lost in my not making regular posts over the last month or so was the fact that the website has surpassed 17500 page views.  While not as fast as some of the other recent milestones, I’m still proud of this since I had very little expectations when I first started the blog and website a little over a year ago.

I’m not nearly as far along in my story collection as I had hoped to be.  I had grand visions of being a fully published author within six months.  That hasn't happened, but I have high hopes for still getting the book published.  Thank you to all who have supported me so far and will continue to do so in the future.

In travels around the internet recently I came across a retailer that sells "high end" jeans for prices that start around $180 a pair.  I got to wondering how many families in need could be fed for the price of one of these pairs of jeans.

There are millions of people who will be out at Black Thursday(?) store openings tonight instead of spending time with their families on Thanksgiving.

As we enter the holiday season this year, ask yourself two questions.  

Am I giving the important gifts or just the expensive ones?
and
Can my time and money be put to better use for someone else?

What gifts do you have to give, that you hold for just yourself?  Make an effort to give more of yourself this holiday season and help those who might not have things as easy as you do.

I realize I'm officially a day late, but the sentiment should remain the same.

Thank you to all of our veterans, both those who are still with us and those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms.

Outermountain Writing has reached 3000 page views on Monday earlier this week.  I don't think that I ever thought that I would see the day where people had viewed my website over 3000 times.  If this is a return trip for you, I am extremely excited the you keep coming by to visit again.  If this if the first time you've been to the site, welcome and thank you for stopping by.  Please browse around, check out the other pages in the navigation above, and most of all, I hope that you enjoy the site enough to return.

Even though it may sound corny, I have to send out my profound thanks for everyone who continues to visit the site over the last two months.  As of last week (July 31st!) Outermountain's page and primarily this blog has had over 2000 hits on it.  In the world of major blogs, that's probably the work of a few hours or even minutes, but since I'm starting from scratch, every single visit is important to me.

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope that you keep coming back to see what is new.

1000 page views in less than a month!  The official launch date of the site was June 18th and here we are on July 10th with over 1000 visits to the site.  Thank you again for your support.  I promise that you will not be disappointed.

Next task is to get people to "Like" the Outermountain Writing Facebook page.  If you've already done so, please invite your friends to join in.  My goal there is to get 50 likes by the end of July.  Only 38 more to go.