track suits and drowning

The other day I saw this lanky, young black man walking down the street. He was wearing a tan, velour track suit and one of those hats that Andre 2000 loves. He had a smooth stride. And he was wielding this weird walking stick/tree branch. It wasn’t finished or polished in any way. And yet it didn’t seem like a stick you could have found in the city. He didn’t seem to need the stick- he didn’t have a limp or anything. He was just sort of carrying it.
I saw a news segment that detailed the death of a young man on the Clackamas River. Two teenage girls had been swimming, but got caught in the swift current. This man and a couple of friends jumped in to save the girls. Everyone made it out okay except him. He died. He dies trying to save a life. But really, the girls weren’t in that much danger, after all. Is his death tragic or noble?