I was thinking to myself the other day,
About why our heros
Have all gone away.
I remembered the days
Of my own cherished youth,
When I did what was asked,
And I told the truth.

I remember hearing John Kennedy,
On the TV at home,
And watching Pope Paul from St. Peter's,
Far away in Rome.
We listened to baseball
On Saturday eves,
On Sundays, we'd have picnics,
Under our big shade tree.

Bart Starr was my hero,
Just like Willie Mays,
I watched Earl the Pearl,
Make all the big plays.
Lombardi was a general,
Like Patton himself,
Many years before,
Sports earned you great wealth.

My childhood treasures,
Were keepsakes for me,
Usually hand-me-downs,
That I'd been given for free.
I had a worn baseball glove,
And old tennis shoes,
A jar full of arrowheads,
And three fishing poles.

I couldn't leave the house,
Without a hug from my Mom,
And she insisted on knowing
How long I'd be gone.
We would go fishing
In the river nearby,
For Smallmouth and Crappies,
And giant Walleye.

It was a wonderful time,
Before video games,
When you knew who your friends were,
And remembered their names.
The games we played could take all day,
When all the kids,
Wanted to play.

There was a sense of family,
That is missing today.
We have cell phones and computers,
I-Pods and fast moto-scooters,
But time together has gone away.
Not all of our heros
Are missing, I know.
But there aren't as many
The older I grow.

Pat Tillman was
As good as they come.
He set aside millions
And took up a gun.
So as I lament,
The days of my life that are past,
I'll seek to insure
That his memory lasts.

As America grows older
Chronologically,
We should seek to distance ourselves
Materialistically.
We look for our heros,
Where they might be found,
In congress or combat,
And sometimes underground.

There are things that we share,
Thoughout our lives,
That we should show proudly,
And not try to disguise,
Like love and honor,
And loyalty.
Take care of your friends,
And be proud of your family.

If you'll do these things,
Then others will know,
That all is not lost,
With tomorrow's heros.