There are some people who have a way of moving quickly....Like lightning....like an ER nurse in the middle of an emergency....Some people have never dealt with an emergency in their whole life....So....How can you expect someone to react....Especially when they never had to....Then again....It's an instinct that some people were born with....

So many people don't want to get involved or even run from a situation they can make a difference in. Those that can and quickly sum up the situation and act positively are the real heroes. I'm sick of people who are caught in a sad situation like those being shot by madmen being called "heroes" when all they did was be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are victims, but they didn't do anything heroic.

A story I often tell is about my younger brothers, twins. I had them at my place and had parked my 2 1/2 ton Olds Toronado on the slope up to the house, but failed to put the gearshift fully into Park. The 11-year-old boys got their baseball and gloves out of the car after lunch and were playing a game of catch while I watched from the kitchen window above, washing dishes.

They finished playing and Tim came to the driver side door, opened it and threw his mitt and the ball in the back seat. When he closed the heavy door, the car came out of Park and started to roll backward on a course to smash into my tenant's prized Olds Cutlass. All Tim could do was panic and jump up and down knowing that disaster was going to happen.

Tom was coming up on the passenger side when the car started rolling. He quickly grabbed the door, opened it, dove across the seat and put his hand (or his foot) on the brake and stopped the car on the gravel drive, still sliding a bit. Tom was my hero that day for thinking so fast. I made it a point not to say anything to Tim about it. He learned a good lesson just watching his brother in action.

Ron

When you see a situation deteriorating, whether it is affecting the weather, or people being attacked by others, you just do what you have to do to make things right. You are correct, many people just avert their eyes and walk on by.