Heroes

In his July 22 Times Op-Ed article, " Every soldier a hero? Hardly ," retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. William J. Astore lists all the technical, logical and semantic reasons why our fighting men and women should not collectively be called "heroes." I am one of those misguided people who, when writing about our military men and women slugging it out in Iraq and Afghanistan — engaged in combat, just trying not to get killed or maimed by an improvised explosive device or just driving a truck with supplies across the desert — instinctively and invariably refers to them as heroes.

Frank Edward Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping to lead 26 children to safety after a bizarre kidnapping in the San Joaquin Valley town of Chowchilla 36 years ago, has died. He was 91. Ray died Thursday in Chowchilla of complications of cirrhosis of the liver, said his granddaughter, Susan Ray. On the next-to-last day of summer school in July 1976, Ray was driving a busload of children home when he slowed down on tree-lined Avenue 21 for a white van blocking the road.

The Triangle fire, a garment factory blaze that killed 146 people 100 years ago this week, was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until the fall of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Yet despite the fire's place in history, many Americans know nothing about it. Those who died in the March 25, 1911, fire were mostly young Jewish and Italian women and girls, new immigrants who risked their safety in horrendous sweatshop conditions making women's garments. Foremen frequently locked workers into their workrooms to make certain they didn't take breaks or pilfer cloth; this ensured that for many trapped inside, there was virtually no escape when the blaze began.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom A Novel Christopher Healy HarperCollins: 432 pp., $16.99, ages 8 and up Whether it's Cinderella or Snow White, Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty, princes play a key role in the happily ever afters of fairy tales. But what happens once these dashing young lads have swooped in to save their distressed damsels? What if, as Christopher Healy theorizes with his cheeky middle-grade debut, these princes turned out to be insufferable losers?

Re "Battle Plans Pay Off for Firefighters," Oct. 1 The selflessness, expertise and professionalism of the firefighters who battled the Topanga fire were extraordinary. As one of the many families who had to evacuate our homes, I can confidently say that the next time we are asked to identify the greatest American heroes, we will look no further than our local fire station. MARK JAFFE Hidden Hills

Consider this premise for a novel: Helen Hamilton has always known there is something odd about her. It's not just her superhuman strength, which she has learned to mask, or her tendency to provoke strange attackers. Lately she's worried that she's losing her mind — and the news that she is no ordinary human but a hero of Greek legend raises as many questions as it answers. Does this remind you of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians"? Now consider this description: A mysterious and glamorous family that hangs together clannishly takes an interest in a shy, awkward local girl.

I read with disgust your article regarding the lawsuit filed against Officer Loran Dale Turner and private citizen Jim Campbell by the young woman they risked their lives to assist after an auto accident. These two men are heroes in every sense of the word, and to sue them is obviously an act motivated by plain old ambulance-chasing greed. I hope that callous, ungrateful behavior toward these two courageous men will not encourage other would-be Good Samaritans faced with similar situations to "let 'em burn."

Re "Firefighters, NYPD Clash; 12 Arrested," Nov. 3: The images and actions of the New York firemen in the melee at ground zero were very sad and shocking to see, but I am not surprised after watching in disbelief as they booed and heckled Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Richard Gere at the recent fund-raising event in Madison Square Garden. These men have courage and put their lives at risk, so by definition they are heroes, but in these two events they do not display the qualities of a hero--to be courageous, noble and valiant.

I want to publicly thank everyone who came to my aid when I was accosted by a mugger adjacent to Granada Hills Recreation Center on Dec. 23, between 12:45 and 1 p.m. My purse was stolen by a man who proceeded to walk back through the park. My screaming was heard by a lady in a nearby home, who called the police. I continued running and following the man, screaming "catch him, in the red jacket--he has my purse." A group of boys playing basketball heard me and started chasing him and yelling.

Celebrities gathered en masse on the lawn of Veterans Affairs campus for "A Time for Heroes," a June 12 benefit for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. As the day's heroes, the stars, including Ashlee Simpson, Ashley Tisdale, Olivia Munn, Laila Ali, Mira Sorvino, Eva La Rue, Angus T. Jones, Melissa Rivers and Zachary Levi, mingled among guests and manned carnival-style booths. Chad Michael Murray of "One Tree Hill" supervised a rock-climbing wall, while Tatyana Ali of "The Young and the Restless" helped youngsters string beads.

DALLAS - On the way to witness his first execution in the town known as the "Execution Capital of the World," the Dallas County district attorney stopped at the prison cemetery to find his great-grandfather's grave. Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery in Huntsville is the final resting place of inmates whose families could not afford burial anywhere else. Tall pines guard the grassy expanse nicknamed "Peckerwood Hill," where many gravestones bear prison identification numbers, not names.

Re "Colombian artist mixes light and dark," April 27 One of the reasons that peace negotiations in Colombia went forward was that the people were able to overcome their fear. And I honestly believe that for many Colombians, that came from watching artist Fernando Botero. He simply refused to be afraid. And being that way, he gave other people courage. Evan Dale Santos Adelanto, Calif. ALSO: Letters: Locking up kids Letters: CSU hunger strike Letters: Infrastructure in the U.S.

UMM AL FAHM, Israel — He's an Israeli-born Islamist whom the government considers so dangerous he's been banned from stepping foot in Jerusalem. Yet his prison stints over the last decade for allegedly funding terrorist groups, inciting violence and spitting on an Israeli security officer — all of which he denies — have only served to make Sheik Raed Saleh, 53, extremely popular and influential among Arab Israelis. After returning this month from London, where he successfully fought deportation by British immigration officials who cited his controversial views, Saleh received a hero's welcome.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - I begin by challenging Randy Foye and telling him if he hits his threes, the Clippers win. If he does not, the Grizzlies will triumph in the playoffs. I have never sounded so ridiculous, and that's a lot of history to overcome. Here I am pressing someone who was 3 when his father died in a motorcycle accident. Five when his mother, selling drugs on the streets of Newark, N.J., just vanished. He was parentless before first grade, the Crips and Bloods waiting for him to grow up, his brother shot 11 times, surviving and only recently getting released from prison.

The gospel of successful playoff hockey, according to Kings Coach Darryl Sutter, is indisputable. "Goaltenders, special teams, top players, unsung heroes and discipline. Write it down and don't forget it," he said. "It's true. It's part of the hockey bible. I've seen it for 35 years, live. " He saw it again during their five-game elimination of the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks, a series the Kings ended Sunday with a 2-1 overtime victory at Rogers Arena. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was better than Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider, compiling a 1.59 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.

Dick Clark might have been one of Hollywood's shrewdest businessmen, but for many Americans, his lesser-known role as a stroke survivor determined to live a normal life likely will be a more lasting legacy. Clark died Wednesday at age 82, suffering a massive heart attack after a medical procedure. He had had a debilitating stroke in 2004 and had to learn to walk and talk again -- often with difficulty. But Clark didn't give in to the symptoms of that stroke, which included slurred, slowed speech and partial paralysis.

Danny Preston of Rainbow Arabia has the rare day job that might actually inspire his songwriting. By night, he mans the production duties for the global-noise electronica duo with his wife, Tiffany. But on weekdays, he charters private planes for the world's wealthy, shuttling them to urban enclaves and distant paradises with no need for a frisking at the gate. "I can hop on a plane whenever it's empty," he said over banh mi sandwiches at Xoia, a Vietnamese restaurant in Echo Park, last month.

GODALMING, England - He had just landed his biggest assignment yet, senior telegraph officer on the world's biggest ship. On the second day of its maiden voyage, he celebrated his 25th birthday. Four days later, in the first minutes of April 15, 1912, Jack Phillips was at his post in the wireless room of the Titanic, sending out distress signals and cries for help in Morse code. "CQD CQD," Phillips tapped out. Calling all ships - distress. "Come at once. We have struck a berg.

There are basically two kinds of fans of HBO's comedy "Eastbound & Down," which wraps up its third, and what will probably be its final, season Sunday. One kind gets the joke. The other is the joke. "They are some scary people," said Danny McBride, 35, the star and co-creator of the series. "They like the show, but for the wrong reasons - like they want to be Kenny Powers. " For those who may not have been properly introduced, Powers is perhaps the sharpest - and certainly raunchiest - satiric portrait of a redneck ever to be loosed on television.