My heroes have always been cowboys.

Ronnie Biggs is being released from prison today on compassionate grounds. For those of you that don't know, and I'm assuming that's most everybody, Ronnie Biggs was one of the gang responsible for the Great Train Robbery.
He was one of my Dad's heroes, which by heredity made him one of my heroes. The news that he's dying is disturbing to me. I have trouble with mortality at the best of times, but when 'immortal' legends like Ronnie Biggs come to an end, I find it particularly disturbing.
Earlier this week Britain's last WW1 veteran passed away as well.
When I was kid we had vets like this come speak to us at our school. This passing represents the passing of an era, and for me it represents the beginning of the passing of a century. WW2 was just over a decade behind the Great War, Korea less than a decade after. Our living history, our heroes and outlaws are passing away at an alarming rate. But what I find even more alarming, is the distinct absence of new heroes and outlaws to replace them.