• The average life expectancy is 47.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes have a telephone.
• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City costs eleven dollars.
• There were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than was California.
• The tallest structure in the World was the Eiffel Tower.
• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
• Ninety percent of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard".
• Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the US were:

• Pneumonia and influenza
• Tuberculosis
• Diarrhea
• Heart disease
• Stroke

"A man after he has knocked off the dust and chips of his life will have left only the hard clear question. Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well or ill?" John Steinbeck

The dictionary defines hero as a person distinguished by valor or enterprise in danger or fortitude in suffering; a person admired for their achievements larger than life; individuals who rose to the top of their fields of endeavor. Heroes often do great deeds that have claim to our respect. There is a selfless quality to heroism. Their deeds are ennobled by a call to duty and service to others. Often what sets heroes apart is some extraordinary achievement. While most of us struggle to achieve the ordinary the hero overcomes the ordinary and attains greatness by serving some greater good.

We all recall childhood heroes. Most of mine were sports figures such as Mickey Mantle and Sandy Kofax who did exceedingly well with their unique gifts but were also well compensated for it. Others such as my high school football coach, a college professor, and my father were also my heroes but they weren't necessarily larger than life individuals but were people I wanted to emulate. Today's sports heroes seem almost benal by comparison. Many are available to the highest bidder, charge for their autographs or simply refuse to be role models. Many of our youth have entertainers as their heroes. In recent past two of the best selling postage stamps featured Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Medicine has had its share of heroes also William Osler and Albert Schwitzer come to mind. Many of us have our own heroes in medicine who have influenced our training and appreciation of the profession. Two of mine, a retired family physician and a retired internist combined a quiet competence in their patient care with a commitment to their families.

Today more than ever medicine needs heroes; individuals who embody the finest ideals our profession espouses; caring, personal integrity, and high moral principles. In today's culture of self aggrandizment, instant gratification, and repudiation of traditional values our profession needs such heroes unafraid to declare aloud their advocacy to their patients. Look around, such individuals exist in our midst. They are not obsolete.

John J. Mohr, M.D.