I was reading today about the admission by Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal's that doping allegations against him are in fact true, and that he had in the past used performance enhancing drugs - you can find the article here.  

That got me thinking about heroes ... it seems that in today's world it is an everyday occurrence that today's hero is tomorrow's villain and that it is increasingly difficult not to hold one's applause until the blood test/urine sample/background check is done and the okay is given.

It's not fair,  we deserve to be able have moments where we unreservedly feel pride and joy in our fellow man, when we can look back and say "remember when so and so won gold at the Olympics", or "scored the winning goal in the Stanley Cup" or "remember watching her give that terrific speech on TV".  Instead, more often than naught we are left shaking our heads wondering who's on what drug or how little of the truth we are getting out of our elected officials; and this is sad, we all need heroes, for, without our heroes we have little inspiration to be better, to go beyond the everyday grind of getting on and being a positive influence on the world around us and leave the world just a little bit better off than we left it.  Without heroes the world is that much smaller.

So who can we turn to?  I am sure that there are some very good people in sport and in politics and I am not intending to condemn them all because the entire barrel of apples looks rotten; instead I think it is appropriate at this time of year to look at those amongst us who serve or have served our country and put themselves at risk to protect us.

Remembrance Day honours our war veterans both past and present, those who fought (and sometimes died) to protect us from forces intent on tearing down the safety and security of our society.  These people are heroes that you can look up to, men and women who have been ready to do what was or is necessary to stand up for our values and principles and who at times gave the ultimate sacrifice for them.  As much as we should honour them all 365 days a year - take the time over the next few weeks to cast aside the Oilers woes and remember our veterans with a poppy or maybe even a simple handshake and a "thank you" if you get the chance - THEY are truly heroes we can all look up to.