I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit — inside anyway. The guy with the T-shirt emblazoned with a superhero’s “S” symbol appeared as anything but super, let alone heroic.

He looked far past the age at which he could sprint a reasonable 40-yard dash, let alone be “faster than a speeding bullet.”

The irony of a man wearing a shirt suggesting the possibility that he was a superhero was not lost on me.

In comic books superheroes are easy to spot. They’re usually the ones with elaborate costumes — skintight outfits showing off every ripple of muscle and often a cape that flows in the wind as the action star flies through the air.

Make-believe superheroes usually have beautiful flowing hair and are usually in the prime of their lives.

But like many things on TV and in comic books, the truth is far from the fiction.

In reality, superheroes are much like books — judging them solely by their covers can be deceiving. True heroes often don’t look a thing like their comic book copycats.

So what does a real hero look like anyway?

They actually come from all walks of life. Some are rich; some are poor. They’re black, white and every shade in between.

And unlike the comic book ones, real heroes come in all ages and all sizes.

Each February for the last several decades, The Natchez Democrat honors a group of heroes, but these heroes aren’t the kind who usually wear flashy outfits and seek fame.

No, quite the opposite, actually.

The heroes we recognize are unsung heroes, meaning these are folks who do good deeds for the sake of doing good deeds and helping one another, not for themselves or their own fame.

I’d be willing to bet that most of you know a true hero that lives right here in the Natchez area.

And that’s where we need your help. The challenge with recognizing amazing people who do good work with a humble, unassuming attitude is that those folks typically work out of the spotlight.

In fact, many of them are adamant that they don’t need any recognition at all.

But true heroes deserve a bit of recognition, even if they don’t seek it out. By accepting just a tad of honor, those unsung heroes can be an inspiration for others.

Through the years, we’ve had literally dozens and dozens of wonderful people honored.

But we know more exist.

Please spend a few minutes and think through the people you see volunteering in the community and consider nominating them to become one of The Natchez Democrat’s 2016 Unsung Heroes.

Nominating them is simple.

Just let me know their names, what they do that make them heroic and a contact number for them.

Nominations can be anonymous if you’d like or we can reveal the nominator.

The best nominations are for people who volunteer from the heart. Their actions can be helping individuals or groups of people, or just the good of the community as a whole.

Usually people who are paid for their work are excluded from being nominated.

We need your help to find the best unsung hero candidates.

Please give me a call (leave a message if I’m away from my desk) or write up your thoughts and either email them, mail them or drop them by our office.

With your help, we can find another great crop of unsung heroes that will inspire the rest of us to be better people — with or without the special costumes and capes.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.