(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Here’s to all the sudden heroes who put others ahead of themselves

Aug 3, 2022 | 4:54 AM

IT’S GOOD TO KNOW there are still heroes on this Earth.

Some of them are leaders on the world stage — we expect them to put themselves at risk for us when necessary.

But there are the regular folks, too, who never expect to be in a dangerous situation but, when they are, act with selfless courage.

The people who leaped into the Thompson River in an attempt to rescue a drowning man are in that category. They swam into the current in a desperate attempt to reach him.

Those who came with their boats to help also deserve praise. The biggest hero of all, of course, is the man who is missing and presumed drowned. It was confirmed yesterday that he went to the rescue of a child who was in trouble in the fast-flowing water.

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It’s still unclear whether the child was his own, but we do know the love of a parent for their child is like no other. When we must choose between their life and our own safety, we know what we’ll do, though we never expect it.

And then there’s the Kamloops citizen who stepped in to help an RCMP officer who was being assaulted in an alleyway by a man wanted on a warrant. Together, they were able to subdue the wanted man.

The spur-of-the-moment heroes who tried to save the victim in the Thompson River, and the guy who helped in the back-alley takedown, didn’t stick around to be thanked publicly.

That makes them all the more heroic because they obviously expected nothing from their good deeds other than a chance to help.

So, we can complain about how bad things are — with good cause, of course — about the housing shortage, violence against the homeless, crime in the streets and the fickleness of Mother Nature, but every once in a while, somebody comes along to restore our faith in humanity.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.