COURAGEOUS INDIVIDUALS INSPIRE ALL OF US

Occasionally, there are stories about real-life heroes right here in Southeast Missouri.

Consider Merrily Rinehart of Jackson, wife and mother of four including triplets not yet three months old, who recently had surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor. Triumphantly, she is looking to the future.

And consider 4-year-old Johnah Murray of Poplar Bluff who walked a quarter-mile in her stocking feet to get help on Christmas Day after an automobile accident on a rural road trapped her mother and 2-month-old brother.

Every day, it seems, there are opportunities to rise up and meet high expectations. In recent days, Merrily and Johnah have certainly performed in ways that provide inspiration to the rest of us.

Best of all, they are both smiling after -- and in spite of -- their experiences.