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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

— Arthur Ashe

Good works and good deeds across the valley came to the fore in recent days, at a moment when the continuing oppression from the surrounding wildfires left us all in need of a lift.

Bikers aren’t the first group you think of when it comes to those who are willing to show their sensitive sides — but it was difficult not to feel the warmth behind a presentation during this past weekend’s Thunderstruck Xtreme Bike & Car Show.

When Kansas resident David Sterling, whose passion for riding was interrupted two decades ago after he was severely injured while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, turned to see his new customized Harley-Davidson, it wasn’t just the 42-year-old veteran who was caught up in the emotions of the event.

“Who doesn’t want to help with something like this? I was all over it from Day One,” said Mark Daley, custom bike builder and owner of Thunderstruck Custom Bikes of Medford.

“They don’t hesitate to go over and fight for our freedom. … This is one way we can give some of theirs back,” Daley said. “When you get them to be able to ride again, so that they can get out on the road and clear their head … they’re totally different people.”

The 2011 Road King was modified to Sterling’s needs as part of the Combat Hero Bike Build program, founded a decade ago by U.S. Marine veteran John Barker of Grants Pass, who said at Saturday’s unveiling that it was reactions such as Sterling’s that make the continuing project worthwhile.

“I’m speechless,” Sterling told the gathering, which included his wife and a former Army buddy from Washington state. “I’m extremely humbled and thankful and really at a loss for words how to explain what I’m feeling.”

Actually, we think he did.

While it was David Sterling’s service in Iraq that led to his being recognized, a Medford firefighter’s display of courage occurred much closer to home.

Manny Sharp arrived at the scene of a house fire on a recent day off and — despite not being equipped with his protective gear — rushed in and saved three Grants Pass youths.

“Manny is a professional fireman, so he knows exactly what’s at stake inside that building and what the conditions are,” said Sharp’s supervisor, Capt. Allen Rogers of Medford Station 15.

“One single breath of that oxygen-deprived atmosphere that’s super-heated, one breath and you’re done.”

While the families of the three youths expressed gratitude and relief, and Sharp’s co-workers both applauded him and gave him a good-natured ribbing, the firefighter himself tried to brush off the thought of excessive praise.

“Any firefighter I work with would do the same thing,” Sharp said. “Just to be clear, I am not a hero.”

On that score, we respectfully disagree.

Heroism, however, isn’t confined to large-scale matters such as battlefields and house fires. Sometimes, the simplest act of service to others should be recognized for its grace in the face of turmoil.

We’re thinking here of Ilda Ortiz of Phoenix, who once again went about making 15,000 tamales in an effort to help the works of a Mexican mission that cares for the elderly who are without homes or families to care for them.

Last year, Ortiz sent nearly $30,000 to Hogan Casa Simeon, money that was used to build an outdoor garden space at the mission.

Ortiz, who came upon the idea of the tamale fundraiser during prayer, also has stepped up to help locally.

When the Almeda Fire tore through her adopted hometown, she donated food and supplies, then began making tacos to help feed those affected.

“She’s always been willing to help so many people in need,” says Ortiz’s son, Sal. “Whenever she comes across people who need help — family or friends or people at church — she does whatever she can.”

In the end, isn’t that what it’s all about. Whether customizing a bike for a wounded veteran, rushing into a burning house, or just making tamales to help those in need, doing whatever we can is a goal to which we all can aspire.