What's the most heroic thing you've ever done?

[Ikaika]

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Another one that was probably less heroic in that there was less danger, but injury was certain.

I was holding my kid who was probably less than 1 year old at the time. Another kid who was about 2 or 3 walked in front of me. If you have kids and are around them a lot you might recognize this spot. You can't see right in front of your feet because your kid is blocking the way.

I don't notice the kid in front of me until I start to bump into him. At this point I have 3 choices flashing before my mind quickly. I can kick the 2 year old out of the way. I can drop my kid on the concrete. Or, I can fall myself while holding my kid and not doing anything to break my fall. So, I just fell on my elbow so hard on the bare smooth concrete that it bled through my sweatshirt. I didn't go to the doctor, but it hurt for long enough that it might have had a small fracture.

It was not just an instictive reaction. It was like slow motion and I knew exactly what was happening.

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As I read this post I felt so sick. WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO?

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You really are a hero, micro. I would've punted the [censored] out of that 2 year old, chucked the baby and ran for the hills where there are no children.

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[prohornblower]

I saved one of my good buddies from the barrio from drowning on Spring Break down in South Padre Island when we were like 20.

We weren't drunk or anything and it was during the day but the 5 of us went into the ocean (Arturo can't swim but he decided to wade out there and stay near one of us). Anyway, we were in about 4 feet of water and suddenly we stepped into a giant hole underneath us and we both instantly went under. He was about 4-5 feet away and I came up immediately and looked over to Arturo's flailing arms and basically just swam to him and drug him all the way into shore. He was totally flipping out and not really helping with my cause but I got him there fairly easily (he's only about 150 pounds). Our other buddies were further out and were laughing hysterically because they thought we were kidding or whatever but when I asked what was going through his head, he said "This is it.." lol.

They called me Mitch Buchanon the rest of the trip.

[Quicksilvre]

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Durning my junior year at the State University of New York at Albany

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UPSTATE IN THE HOUSE!!

Man, I feel so sheltered reading this--I don't have anything compared to a lot of these. The best I can think of was when I was five, and my sister (who was six) and I saw the lamp in the living room giving off a lot of smoke. We screamed, grabbed it, yanked it out of the wall and ran to the kitchen, where we threw it into the sink.

Yeah, that's...pretty lame.

[RainDog]

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RainDog,

Jesus. I'm from Calabasas, so it sounds like you ran into some Lost Hills Sheriff's Station a-holes. Great story.

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Actually, yeah, it was Lost Hills.

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RainDog,

This story touches me and tilts me endlessly. Bleeding out of her ears WTF?

'Guys! Guys! You have to help me! I took a girl out of a crashed car at <location>, and she's passed out and bleeding like [censored] and WTF! She has to go to the hospital, but I have no [censored] idea where it is!'

'Yeah why don't yuo sit down over there, blah blah blah 20 mins'

Were you not constantly screaming at them etc that there was SOMEBODY ABOUT TO DIE in your car? Constantly redialing 911 on your phone? Will they PLEASE make sure she's OK?

If the above happened and the bastards ignored it, I would seriously follow up on this. Call the news. Hunt the [censored] down. Find out what happened to that girl. Man like I said, reading this just tilts the [censored] out of me.


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This was the first of several incidents in the past 4-5 years that really reduced my faith in police departments (and people in general). I had enough gall to ignore the officer that was manning the police station when he told me to sit inside and wait for the other two, but I still was confident that the situation would be handled with expertise: "They're cops, what do I know?"

When the 2nd two guys show up and one of them is going about the department making derogatory implications about me, I figure at some point they got the ambulance on the way (and maybe they did). It wasn't till the 3rd "good cop" shows up that I realize that he is setting most of the procedures in motion himself and the other imbeciles probably haven't done a damn thing but wait.

I guess I fall short of "hero" status for not going through the motions to contact the media and make a stink about the issue. I can't excuse myself here. I was very busy with work, school, and heartbreak at this point in my life. Maybe, my coping mechanisms blinded me into thinking everything worked out hunky dory. Or maybe I didn't see a point/success in trying to "punish" a bunch of incompetent officers.

In hindsight, I very much regret not pursuing the matter in SOME way. But what's done is done, I can only be more vigilant in the future.

[microbet]

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A couple months ago I was driving home with my gf to visit my mom. When we were almomst home we went over a bridge that is over a river near my mom's house. When we were crossing there was a whole group of people crowded alongside the bridge so we stopped to see what was going on.

When we got out to look, we saw that there was a car in the river, with somebody inside. There was a group of about 60 people just standing around, not doing anything. After a minute or two the car started to fill up with water and sink farther into the river.

I was simply amazed at the lack of action of everybody around me not doing anything. They were seriously going to let somebody drown in front of them without doing anything.

I don't know if they were scared of the river or the current, but I had grown up near this river and swam in it dozens of times. I handed my gf my wallet and cell phone, and jumped in. While I was waiting out to the car, a policeman showed up and screamed at me to get out of the river. He was nearly 300 pounds and didn't look like he could do much, but I think he just wanted all the glory to himself.

Anyways, out of 60 plus people I was the only person to jump in a river and try to save what turned out to be a 25 year old drunk girl that was screaming for help with 911 at the time. The next day the cop was awarded a medal and interviewd on tv.

It really taught me a lot how most people are unwilling to do much when it comes to helping a fellow person in need, and really changed the way I thought about things.

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There were some studies on this. People are less likely to rescue someone when there are a lot of other people around and if there are other people around doing nothing they are much less likely to do something.

People are sheep as much as anything.

Did the cop even jump in and help or did you do it all? If he didn't even get in the river, but yelled at you to get out, that is incredibly lame.

[garcia1000]

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I don't know if they were scared of the river or the current, but I had grown up near this river and swam in it dozens of times. I handed my gf my wallet and cell phone, and jumped in. While I was waiting out to the car, a policeman showed up and screamed at me to get out of the river. He was nearly 300 pounds and didn't look like he could do much, but I think he just wanted all the glory to himself.

Anyways, out of 60 plus people I was the only person to jump in a river and try to save what turned out to be a 25 year old drunk girl that was screaming for help with 911 at the time. The next day the cop was awarded a medal and interviewd on tv.

It really taught me a lot how most people are unwilling to do much when it comes to helping a fellow person in need, and really changed the way I thought about things.

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I think you are learning the wrong lesson here.

[Gugel]

In HS, I went into the bathroom to take a piss between classes. Suddenly I see the trash can start smoking. Someone must have put a cigarette in there. Not smart considering it was filled with paper towels. Anyway, I tip over the thing and start putting out the fire. The bathroom is filled with smoke at this point. I get the fire out and leave just as faculty start to swarm in. I just say "I put it out," and walk out.

Also, I was a lifeguard at Coney Island beach in NYC and saved many drunk dudes from dying. I also caught a 3 foot striped bass with my bare hands. I came out of the water and everyone was looking at me like I was a god. It was awesome.

[Mcbrag]

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Another one that was probably less heroic in that there was less danger, but injury was certain.

I was holding my kid who was probably less than 1 year old at the time. Another kid who was about 2 or 3 walked in front of me. If you have kids and are around them a lot you might recognize this spot. You can't see right in front of your feet because your kid is blocking the way.

I don't notice the kid in front of me until I start to bump into him. At this point I have 3 choices flashing before my mind quickly. I can kick the 2 year old out of the way. I can drop my kid on the concrete. Or, I can fall myself while holding my kid and not doing anything to break my fall. So, I just fell on my elbow so hard on the bare smooth concrete that it bled through my sweatshirt. I didn't go to the doctor, but it hurt for long enough that it might have had a small fracture.

It was not just an instictive reaction. It was like slow motion and I knew exactly what was happening.

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As I read this post I felt so sick. WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO?

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You really are a hero, micro. I would've punted the [censored] out of that 2 year old, chucked the baby and ran for the hills where there are no children.

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2 year olds are like puppies. They don't know to stay away from the rocking chair until they get their tail caught under it. You should have walked over the little guy. It would have made him more aware of his surroundings in the future. Made him more likely to avoid other people by developing his peripheral vision and agility. Probably could have been the next Barry Sanders. But not now. Because of you.

[fraserbrown]

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tried to save a friend's life

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cliff notes?

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Probably didn't go too well by the wording.

[pokerbobo]

When I was 18, my friend and I were driving away from his house (parents house) and we saw a huge cloud of smoke rise into the air. We drove down the street and this 5000 sq foot house (just the frame, as it was new construction) was blazin. The home next door was inhabited, and the roof was starting to catch fire. We got up on the roof with a garden hose and sprayed down the cedar shingles until the fire dept arrived. Saved it from going up in smoke. Headlines the next day read "fire dept saves neighboring home from blaze".... I told my dad about it when I got home, and he thought I had caused the fire for some reason. Bitched me out. Turns out some 12 year old were playing with matches.

Also saved my ex father in law from drowning in a riptide in Hawaii.