Being present and aware is the first step in becoming a hero. In these stories, each hero was aware of their surroundings and acted with great courage to save the lives of others.

The first story takes place in Georgia. While waiting for the bus for school, Anaiah Taylor became a hero. As they started to walk across the street to go to the bus stop, she was always sure to look both ways. One rainy morning, Anaiah looked both ways to cross the street and then a care came out of nowhere. Anaiah did her best to protect her sister and push her out of the way. Anaiah took the brunt of the hit. As the bus driver , Loretta Berryman, arrived and upon seeing the accident, she ran to help and started CPR. With no pulse and no breathing, they all were worried. After a few minutes of CPR, she finally took a shallow breath. Following 12 hours of surgery, Anaiah lost her leg but her concern was on her sister. Coming home to a parade, Anaiah and her family found that the town had adopted her as the local hero. An amazing little girl and a true hero!

The next story took place in the subway system of Atlanta. When Frank Cheatham fell onto the tracks of the subway, the clock started ticking. There was only a small window of opportunity for him to survive. Any subway passenger knows to stay away from the third rail…the rail with the most electricity, enough to kill you. When Frank fell, his arm wrapped around the third rail. Luckily he had a couple of heroes in his presence. A retired naval officer, Tony Bennett, trained his whole career to be prepared and ready. As the train began to approach, Tony prayed and jumped into the pit to help. Noticing how bad it was, a second hero joined in, Ali Robinson. As the carefully removed him from the tracks, they barely got him out before the train approached. The fast acting heroes saved Frank…and restored a little more of our faith in everyday heroes.

The final story took place in Methuen, Massachusetts. Another former naval officer found herself in a situation where she needed to act quickly. Fortunately for Marsh Grammar School, Lorie Aliano was still in the school office when danger approached. With buses all over the parking lot, she noticed a bus baking up with no driver. She ran to the bus and jumped into the bus and brought it to a stop. The bus finally came to a stop and no one was hurt….all because Lorie stepped up and showed us all the hero that she truly is.

So as we are left with these incredible stories, we are reminded to be present and aware of our surroundings so that we are able to be a hero when out time comes.