I Am My Hero's Hero!

I met Matt Burford in Gahanna ten years ago at a Gahanna music and arts festival. I am drawn to children, especially those who are differently abled and Matt was in a wheel chair. Through the years he has been through more health emergencies, surgeries and hospitalizations than a human wants to go through in a lifetime. But he and his loving family are survivors.
I could write a book about the Burford and the Davises, Matt's grandparents who live in Bremen, Ohio. Let's just say, we are family.
Thursday, March 29, 2007, Matt invited me to be his special guest at Gahanna Middle School East, as seventh grade classes honored their heroes. Here's a little of what Matt wrote and spoke about me:
"What would the world be like without heroes? ...no one would be courageous or caring...no one would help those in need. But it's heroes, like my friend Arnett Howard, who make the world a caring, compassionate and wonderful place. They find out what people need and try their best to help them... A seeker goes out of his or her way and tries to find someone to help. Despite all of the people that Arnett knows, he loves and cares about every one of them...I don't know anyone who loves what he does so much that he actually failed at retirement and started working again...Thank you, Arnett, for being my hero and showing me your compassion and originality. But most of all, thank you for seeking me and being my friend."
Matt is my hero because, despite the pains of his twisted body, frequent illnesses and hopitalizations, he has a wonderful attitude. Now he's playing percussion drums, he's on a hockey team, his voice is changing and he has an assist dog, Breem. We will always be family!