The Day That Changed Us All

I wrote this last year to honor 3 people who helped me get to live a dream. I wrote this because of as a kid the firemen of this house were superheroes to a 10 year old.

Thanks to a 6 hour power outage this is going to be a badly written piece so to all who think my writings is bad as it is, oh well. This report is directed at a firehouse located at the corner of 81st and Northern Blvd.

Engine 307, Ladder 154 of the New York Fire Department as once upon a time I lived at 86-10 34th Ave. My bed was right by the window so every time they left on a run I heard them.

I hate wind storms always have always will and never could fall a sleep as a kid until I heard the fire trucks drive by sirens blaring. As a little kid it was my safety net so I thank all of you who served there making sure I was safe.

This is being written at 5 AM just as my wife came into the bedroom to tell me that I had to wake something bad was happening. I do not wake up nicely but one look at the living TV and I was there.

I reached for my phone but nobody answered, calls were not getting through so I jumped into a shower and by the time I was finished the 2nd plane had hit. I was a trained infantry solider but I had never felt more lost, more paralyzed and angry.

3000 miles from home and helpless while people are dying. I am not ashamed that I cried my eyes out when the towers went down. I cried for the innocents who were murdered. I cried for those 1st responders who did not think twice about running into danger.

I lost 3 good friends because of 9/11 but I know they are still here with me. Rangerlady who defined what a true lady meant as she saw in me what I could not and encouraged my writing.

I am here because of her and I so miss not being able to show her what I have done.

Then there is Jimcus who died of cancer but had more courage than any solider I had meet. Jimcus gave of himself and never once complained and the fate he was dealt.

Then there was my hero, Purpledad, that Irish gentleman as he was who I wished I could be. The Dad was a real man's man who used his manners to show that this street kid could do things in a nicer way.

I loved how on St. Patrick's Day, Dad would assign us a writing and for the street kid he needed the slap on the head to think first. If you were to call people warriors then these are the truest of warriors, pure of heart and caring of others.

They took down those buildings but they never took down our spirit and they never will.

Sunday will be special as the Giants will lead us off with a win in DC. The Ranger kids will show how the future will honor the warrior dead by beating Dallas. The Mets may be the Mets but this night is too powerful for them to lose.

The Mets will win and then the Jets will soar into victory. We as Americans will send the message loud and clear that as long as there is one person who says he is from New York City, we will never be defeated.

We are now as we were then the most important people in the world and we say it with 3 little words.

WE THE PEOPLE.