The Unknown Hero

The Unknown Hero

When most people think of a hero, they immediately think of Superman, Batman, Michael Jordan, or one of many other fantasy characters that they have heard about over the years. I believe that a hero is someone that has shown and inspired greatness, but does not always need to be at a level of greatness viewed by everyone. I believe that the greatness that one achieves is relative to the person looking up to that achievement.

My personal hero is my grandfather, Peter Gubash. He is my hero for many different reasons. He has exemplified to me, an amazing work ethic. He built his own machine shop business many years ago and has continued to run it to this day. His machine shop has managed to outlast outsourcing of similar jobs and has created new facets for his business to be involved in so that he can remain in business. Working day after day, he has shown that hard work really does pay off. He often worked six to seven days a week when his shop was first starting out so that he could provide for his family. He has always had a knack for making things work. The things he makes work don’t always look very appealing, and they may even involve some duct tape, but they will work. He once designed his own cup holder in his van out of duct tape, wood, and plastic. I got to work with his machine shop from time to time since I was seven years old. No matter what time I went in there, he was there.

There was a story that he told me a few years ago that I had not previously heard that truly shows how he could be considered a hero by more than just me. When he was a young boy, I believe it was when he was about ten years old; he and some of his friends were out playing as young boys do, in the dirt. He and his friends were sliding down a dirt hill between some bushes. One of the boys he was with hit his leg on a protruding branch of one of the bushes and the branch cut his leg. The cut was deep and actually cut his femoral artery, and he began to bleed intensely. While the other boys stood around and looked to each other for someone to do something, my grandfather sprang into action. He took off his belt, and he wrapped it around the boy’s leg tight enough to cut off most of the blood that was running to the boy’s leg. He saved the boy’s life and the story was put into the newspaper the following week.

I believe that my grandfather, Peter Gubash, is considered a hero not only for saving a young boy’s life, but also for the example that he has shown to me and his other grandchildren over the years. He has been a great example of what hard work can accomplish in life, and that good morals don’t have to be jeopardized to obtain success.