I frequently teach a business communications course for adults. As part of the program, students are required to draw a topic from a hat and speak extemporaneously on that subject.

As soon as Shannoah Davis drew her topic, "My Hero", her eyes lit up and she began to speak about her dad, Merv Davis.

Time after time when he was a young boy, Merv was unable to finish mowing the lawn because, he claimed, his back hurt too much. Assuming, as most parents would, that he was faking it to get out of his job, his mom finally threatened to take him to the doctor if he didn't get back to work. But no such admission was forthcoming.

Once doctors examined him, they discovered that he had a major problem; he was missing some discs in his spine.

As he grew into manhood, Merv refused to let his back problem slow him down. He became a heavy-duty mechanic and worked primarily in lumber camps until six or seven years ago when his back went out for the last time leaving him in almost constant pain, pain he has learned to rise above.

It's his positive attitude, his commitment to getting the most he possibly can out of each minute of each day, and, most important of all, the relationship he has developed with his family, especially his two grandson's, Riley Davis and Aedyn Duke, that makes Merv a Neighbourhood Hero in the eyes of his family.

"He is the kindest person I have ever met," Shannoah told our class. "He's extremely generous and a very, very loving family-oriented man."

Jana Duke, Merv's stepdaughter, also sees him as a Neighbourhood Hero.

"He came into my life when I was three years old," she told me. "Shannoah is his real daughter but he treated all of us in the same loving way. Of course he has his down days," she continued, "but he still has a smile for all of his children, friends, and especially his grandsons."

These days the constant pain forces Merv to spend most of his time in bed; however, sometimes he manages to get up and sit at the table for ten or fifteen minutes, Shannoah told me, and on really good days, he'll get out to the workshop or sit on the ride-on mower to do all or part of the lawn.

What I found most impressive; however, is what he does during the time he is forced to stay in bed. It's during these hours that he has fused the tightest of bonds with his grandsons.

Lying on his stomach -- He can't lay on his back -- he plays checkers, chess, and card games with Aedyn and Riley. Although they love all these games, it's the pillow fights they most enjoy. Merv gathers pillows on the bed and the kids run around the room trying to duck his all too accurate aim.

As a result of these hours spent together, both of his grandson's have made his room their number one destination every chance they get. From the way Shannoah and Jana describe their sons' relationship with him, I have a feeling that if they had to choose between a visit with grandpa or a visit to Disneyland, they just might choose grandpa ... OK maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration!

Merv's dream is that someday doctors will develop an operation that will allow him to go bike riding with Riley and Aedyn. If anyone deservers a minor miracle, I'd say that Merv is that guy.