My old friend Vince DeLisi had a nice piece today on his memory of the twin towers and his dad.
My dad, who passed away in March of 2000, was so proud of the work he had done at the Towers, it was the last job he worked on in his construction career. These buildings were something he talked about all of the time. He told me it was a dry wall building, and he was one of the foremen on the job. My dad was a career plasterer so he pointed out no asbestos in these buildings.
Back to 9-11. I was hearing how the area was being covered not only with death, but with asbestos as well. I quickly called ABC Radio to tell them asbestos was not a problem, but hey I was a sportscaster what did I k now right? When they heard it on NBC they knew I was right. I was right; I cared because my dad took pride in his work and these buildings.
I was also told the city was closed and I could not get to the studios, they would let me know when this again was possible. Then I watched as fire and police ran into the burning buildings to try and save lives. I watched and heard of the number f deaths. I realized many of the firefighters use to hang out at a bar and grill on Long Island, one I hung out at as well. I would never see them again, just their widows.
A friend had a restaurant in the towers and he lost a number of his workers, and when I did get back into the city the smell of death lingered for months.
I will NEVER FORGET. I am happy we have rebuilt on the site, the new building will be a forever memorial of what our enemies did on that day in New York City, the Pentagon and I will never forget the heroes who crashed in Pennsylvania.
Part of me will always be back in New York, I will always mourn the destruction and death, but will remember how New Yorkers fought and helped one another through this attack on our country and our freedom. And I will always remember my dad and how proud he was because he was part of the team which built the Twin Towers.
Nice piece. I can remember similar stories: A friend who was freaking out when the towers collapsed only to find out that his dad stayed hom sick that day. The stories of firefighters who walked up stairs knowing they weren’t getting out alive. Fr. Jim Martin who travelled down there for mass regularly and his experiences:
All are horrifying and yet they are experience that have made us what we are today as well. Might we look back and discover that we are stronger than we ever imagined and strong enough to forgive and move beyond hatred to love the unloveable and remember those who we loved who God now cradles in his arms despite the hatred of that evil day?
We pray for so many and we pray for peace.
Are We Friends?