The young, muscular lifeguard who leaps into rough surf and saves a child caught in a strong riptide.... ....or the forty-seven year-old, overweight accountant on vacation from Goldsboro who leaps into rough surf and saves a child caught in a strong riptide? I was raised and always believed that being a hero involved a degree of VOLUNTARY action, having the courage to face danger that you were under no obligation to face.