Hero; it’s a word widely discussed and defined in many diverse ways by different people everywhere. Is a hero someone who saves lives, or simply someone who works for the good of one person or a small group of people? It is really up to how one was raised and how they were taught, as well as the person’s values and beliefs. There is one hero who was born in Indiana in 1961, Alan Hunter, a small baby boy who would later grow to be a tall, dark haired, strong, and caring man. Alan Hunter does not save people from burning buildings or from evil villains and creatures, but he does show the intelligence, love, and caring of a hero, and he has also changed many people’s lives through his charity. Not to mention, Alan can take any situation life gives him and find a silver lining to it.

To trace all accounts of why Alan is considered heroic, one must look back at his childhood in the east side of Indianapolis. This is where one can see how he creates the best out of bad situations. Even though Alan did not grow up during a crisis, he has lived through very difficult times of his own. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother died of cancer when he was in his senior year at Westfield High School. Due to all of these hardships, Alan was not able to go to college and he married too young. His childhood was rough; nevertheless, he grew up to be very successful.

Later, Alan married Rhonda Musick and had two children, Jasmine and Addison. This creates another reason why Alan is heroic: his devotion for his family. As I said before, Alan did not go to college; nonetheless, he was still able to make enough money to care for his family. Plus, he worked hard enough to also create college funds for his children and he had plenty of money in the bank for any other reason. This is comparable to the well-known hero, Odysseus of The Odyssey. Like Odysseus, Alan is loyal to his family and would do anything for their well-being.

Above all other values Alan holds dear to himself, charity and giving is the most important to him. His basic belief is that “It is our responsibility to watch out for our fellow man.” In fact, Alan began a charity group called the H.I.T. Team, in which the H.I.T. means Haunted/Historic Investigations & Tours. This team gives ghost tours in Irvington at the east side if Indiana. The tours given at Irvington are not free, but every last penny made at the tour is given to the town of Irvington and the poor people and orphans all over Indiana. Actually, every year brings a new main cause for the tour, such as how the most recent cause was Four Paws for Ability, which would give a mentally disabled girl named Amanda a dog. Thanks to Alan’s leadership, these tours are now a very popular part of the Irvington Halloween Festival. Since the tours were successful, Alan started monthly talks called the Bumps Talks which gather food for the needy.

His last trait that makes him heroic is his intelligence. Despite missing out on higher education, Alan has researched on his own and became a very intelligent man. His main goal is to spread intelligence to others everywhere. In fact, he was even a substitute teacher for about 3 years. His other way to spread knowledge is through his ghost tours. He states that “The quickest way to get someone interested in history is through a ghost story.” His historical ghost stories have even spread into two published books and even more coming.

Overall, Alan has led a very interesting and fulfilling life, and he has changed or assisted many people’s lives. He has many other important points in his life, including his ownership of a wedding chapel and a soup shop. Yet like most things, he came from humble beginnings since his childhood was very tough and undesirable. Nonetheless, he grew to care for others and spread his knowledge, giving, love, and care to all people everywhere, especially his family. Thus, Alan is a heroic and great man, and he wants to give his advice to all people in Hamilton County:

“When it comes to venturing out of Hamilton County and heading into Indianapolis, don’t judge a book by its cover. Get out and explore the shops, eat at the restaurants, and you might just be surprised.”