My Modern-Day American Heroes

We all have our heroes – those people who we admire most and who stand out as having made a profound difference in the world. But who would you choose as your modern-day American heroes, and why? And since this is a food, wine, and spirits blog, if you had the chance to sit down with them, what drink would you share with them? As we celebrate the 4^th of July, here are my modern-day American heroes along with the drinks I’d share with them if they joined me for happy hour.

Whenever someone asks me who my greatest American hero is, I immediately answer, without hesitation, Abraham Lincoln. He led this country through our most significant challenge and difficult time (the Civil War) and ended the scourge of the institution of slavery – he is the most significant and important American in our entire history, in my humble opinion (along with George Washington, of course!).

But it gets significantly more difficult to answer the question when it focuses on your greatest modern day American heroes. And by “modern day”, I mean those people who are or were alive in the 21^st century.  I was thinking about this question recently as I was reading an on-line article on the most revered Americans and which of them should be included in the category of American heroes. My first thought was, what might make someone a candidate for “American Hero” in my book? Here’s the list of qualifications I came up with:

• They are humble

• They are worthy of admiration based on their temperament and actions

• They are ethical and have a strong moral code by which they abide

• They have made a significant positive impact on people’s lives

• They show compassion and treat others humanely and with kindness

• They lead purpose-driven lives

• They have the courage of their convictions and aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

  
  

Well, that certainly helped to narrow down my list a bit! I ended up choosing five modern day Americans that I believe meet all of these criteria. That’s not to say they aren’t flawed human beings and haven’t made mistakes. It’s also not to say that I necessarily agree with everything they have said or done. But they all stand out to me as true American heroes despite their flaws. Here’s my list!

Jose Andres

Jose Andres is a world-famous chef who became a US citizen in 2013. In addition to his many philanthropic endeavors, he has been responsible for the re-emergence of many global cuisines in the United States, along with the small plates dining concept.

I obviously admire Andres for his fantastic skills as a chef and restauranter. While Laurie and I were living in the Washington DC area, we were lucky enough to take advantage of and enjoy many of his local (and quite famous and popular) restaurants in the area. These included Jalelo, Zaytinya, Fish, barmini, and our all-time favorite, minibar. Minibar serves 12 diners at a time, seated at two counters surrounding an open kitchen where you watch the chefs at work. The dinner consists of 25 small courses, each incredibly creative and unique. It has 2 Michelin stars and is ridiculously expensive, but worth every penny – it’s more of a show than a traditional dinner. Laurie and I ate at minibar 3 times – it’s one of our favorite restaurants, and certainly our favorite restaurant experience of all time!

So, he’s a hero to me because of his impact on elevating worldwide cuisine in the U.S., but that’s not the primary reason he’s on my list – it’s his philanthropic work which elevates his status to the hero realm. He is the founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. He has raised over a billion dollars so far to help feed people in crisis, from Haiti to Puerto Rico, Ukraine, Gaza, and even in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic. The world needs more people like this who dedicate their lives to helping and making lives better for others in need.

If I had the opportunity to have Jose over to my house for a happy hour, we’d enjoy a Virginia wine together. More specifically, I’d serve a bottle of rose’ from Early Mountain Vineyards, my favorite winery in Virginia. Why that wine? Because I know he loves it based on a CNN interview with him a few years back where he was caught on camera sipping a glass of wine. When the interviewer asked him what he was drinking, he held up a bottle of Early Mountain Rose’ and said, “This is a fantastic Virginia wine – one of my favorites!”. The man has great taste, indeed!

Dinner at minibar with our niece Sara

Dinner at Fish with our fantastic friends Annie and Terry

My Dad

I'm sure I’m not alone in viewing my dad as one of my heroes, but I’m certainly grateful that I had such a wonderful role model for my father. His life story is all about lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps. He came from a family of farmers. While his two brothers continued the Geis family farming tradition, my dad wanted something more and different – he was the first in his family to go to college and ended up earning a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. His first job out of college was as an engineer with Western Electric, which eventually became AT&T.

He quickly advanced in the organization through a combination of talent, dedication to the organization, and hard work. He had great leadership skills and eventually worked his way up to one of the top executive positions at AT&T, where he was given responsibility for leading AT&T’s efforts to open up their new cell phone business line.

He was a loving father but also tough on me, my brothers, and (less so!) my sister. He believed in the importance of learning the value of money and working hard to earn your keep. Growing up, Saturdays were “work days”, where we helped dad with whatever chores he decided to get done that day. We had to earn our allowance, and once we were old enough to get a job, he made each one of us work during the summer to earn money to contribute to our college funds. In addition to teaching me the value of working hard and doing the job right everytime, he also taught us all the importance of managing our money and not squandering what we earned on stupid stuff.

He was also the one who encouraged me to retire early, if I was ever lucky enough to be in a position to do so. He retired at the age of 55 and told me often that it was the best decision he ever made (with the exception of deciding to marry my mom!), and that doing so would ensure I could spend the best years of my life doing what I want to do, instead of what others want and need me to do. He was a kind-hearted soul, who rarely raised his voice in anger. He taught me how to live an ethical, purpose-driven life and lived his life consistent with his beliefs and values. In short, he was a great man and a wonderful role model – and my hero!

If I had the opportunity to have my dad join me for happy hour, I’d serve sweet iced tea. That’s because he was a God-fearing Baptist who never touched a drop of alcohol, and way-too-sweet tea was one of his favorite beverages.

My dad and I shortly before he passed away

That’s it for this week – next week I’ll reveal my three remaining all American heroes. Until then, I wonder who your living American heroes are? I’d love to know!