A Dallas high school teacher/friend takes a survey of her students’ thoughts on this subject or that from time to time. This question elicited answers full of insights: “Other than me, who is your favorite person in the world and why?”

Among the nominees (in their words) were: Jesus (savior and such), Robin Williams (just genius), Alan Alda (funny), Aldous Huxley (good books), C.S. Lewis (brilliant and crazy loves Jesus), Dirk Nowitzki, Barack Obama, Quorthon, Lance Armstrong, Sgt. Maj. Kasal (war hero), Tony Romo, Harper Lee (great writer), Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart (not afraid to be different) and Queen Elizabeth (interesting life).

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Some choice explanations of unnamed heroes:

My beautiful grandmother – I love her and want her to be proud of me more than anything else.

My mother – Even when she was struggling, she was there for me; she would always sacrifice her well being for the sake of her son. When I cried at night wondering where my father was, she simply said, “I’m your father, mother, brother and sister.”

My dad – He is smart, funny, and he raised me.

My cousin – He has been like my father figure since I don’t have a father.

My summer track coach – Because he’s like a father to me.

My mother – She’s always there for me. (More than a few said this exactly.)

My best friend – He always listens to what I have to say, and he actually cares.

My grandfather – He is the wisest person I have ever met.

My daddy – He is such a wonderful, godly father, and he’s the most loving, wisest and kind man I’ve ever known, and I absolutely love being with him.

My grandfather – I admire him most because he was in Vietnam and saw some terrible things, but he’s still the funniest person I know.

My grandfather – He has lived one of the most honorable lives I have ever seen or heard of. He was in WWII and has struggled with severe depression ever since.

My littlest sister – She is sweet to everyone. (This is a boy!)

My mom – I feel that if I lost anyone in the world, she would have the most effect on me.

My sister – She practically raised me and she will always understand.

My grandmother – She’s so sweet and wants to know what’s going on. My parents are also amazing but there’s just this grandmother thing that makes her my favorite.

(A person who will remain nameless) – She’s everything I do not want to be. (Ouch!)

My son – He means the world to me.

My sister – She is there when I need her.

Teacher summary: Grandfathers need to be wise. Grandmothers need to be sweet. Moms need to be strong. Dads need to be present. Friends and sisters need to listen. Famous people need to inspire.

What to make of all this? None of us makes our own nest, conceive ourselves, come forth from the egg ready to fly and dig for our own worms. We all need others to help us come to be, and to help us become what we can be.

An expectant wren this spring fastidiously made a nest in a drawer of a rolling table that sits in the corner of our back porch. How she figured how to fly under the table and get into the drawer with one stick after another, I will never know. But nature showed itself wise to us. We watched her birth her chicks and feed them worms and protect them until they left the nest. The male showed up upon the birth to superintend the operation. He didn’t do much but be there, but sometimes that’s the thing males do best.

It’s hard work caring for the young, and it takes more than one to do it well. But when they fly the coop for good, there’s nothing so good.