On the recordJuly 27, 2010
I wonder if we aren't loose in the way we use the word ``hero.'' We sometimes call those who die unexpectedly, innocents who are killed, heroes. I wonder if in doing so we don't cheapen the extent to which the word ``hero'' must be applied to men like Michael Baik and Steven Velazquez, two firefighters in Bridgeport who gave their lives in the line of duty this weekend, two men who woke up every day and said, ``I will risk my life and my well-being for you, my fellow citizens,'' and now leave behind wives, and in the case of Michael, three children, and in the case of Steven, two children. These were men who exemplify, I think, the best of what we mean when we say that we care about each other. And speaking as their Representative, and I hope on behalf of all my colleagues, we thank them, we thank their families, and wish them Godspeed.
