And Another Thing...

For some odd reason, the wind had chosen to direct itself to blow directly over our home in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. Bensonhurst, notorious for its Mobsters, Saturday Night Fever and the greatest Pizza on the planet. Not The Bronx, Not Queens, Not Staten Island. Not to the left or to the right. Directly above my head as I searched the heavens for a answer. The cars parked on the narrow one way street which we lived at the time were covered in ash. On occasion you would come across an entire 8x11 piece of paper from the offices that had blown clear across the east river as if to send a message or a reminder

After reuniting with my wife Lydia and son Adam, Aunt Rosie and cousin Andy and after exchanging a whirlwind of emotions and information between each other it was off to the Hospital. Mom had fallen and broken hear arm. Maimonides Hospital was between our humble apartment and ground zero. As I entered her room to to console her with hugs and kisses only an Italian son could provide, I turned to the window that faced precisely towards what remained of the World Trade Center. No need for the daily TV rental since that's all that seemed to on all of the networks 24/7 if not for months. Just throw open the curtains and...

Miracle... my cousin Jeanine and the company with whom she worked were on the very next floor from where one of the planes collided, moved across the Hudson River to Jersey City just a week prior. Are there such things as Guardian Angels? There must be. Ask Jeanine:) She'll tell ya!

Hero... one of my dear and close friends "John the Bus Driver", emerged from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel just as the first tower collapsed. After presuming it either nuclear holocaust or Armageddon, rather than abandon the bus as he was instructed, he proceeded to pick up stranded and helpless men and women wandering the streets aimlessly. They awarded him a citation. I would have given him the key to the city. Heck, how 'bout the keys to the Mayors Ferrari. My man!

Hero... my good buddy Allen, he and his fellow co-workers who are responsible for one of the greatest underground subway systems in the world, immediately left their mid-town location to aid in the rescue and recovery of their fellow workers and New Yorkers. A daunting task that lasted not hours, not days, not weeks nor months but for some years if not eternity. It's not a topic Allen is fond of verbalizing about. I hear that bro.

It is the last two gentleman, that to this day, as do many first responders, encounter upper respiratory difficulty to put it lightly. This is an ongoing tragedy that insurance companies and government budgets seem to have a short term memory about. Don't leave these good, descent people and their families hanging out to dry. Don't let them be the last victims of this horrendous act.

Let's look after those who selflessly come to another human beings aid. That's the least we can do. Ten years have past. Much has changed and as the old saying goes, much has not.

Just one more memory I'd like to share with you before I try to put this dark day to rest. Not shortly afterwards, you couldn't travel a day without passing or encountering in one form

or another one of our fallen heros funerals. We were all mourning them as if they were our own. And they were. Our neighbors, our neighbors children. Their grandsons and daughters. FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority, MTA, United and American Airlines Flight Crews. On and on and on. You would sit in traffic behind a Fire truck decked out in Purple and Black signifying a loss of one of their Engine and or Hook and Ladder Company. You would sit in you car and just weep like a baby. And this went on for months.

But in this case, rather than just one, it may have possibly been the majority of their Company. As it was pertaining to the Fire Houses closest to Downtown Manhattan and not excluding Downtown Brooklyn. These were heros, yes I do not use this term lightly, that due to congestion on the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, ran rather than rode across the bridge to meet their fate. That due to congestion in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel ran through the tunnel not rode, RAN though the tunnel into danger and not away from it.

Bless them. Bless their families and may we all be at peace and never encounter another day like that ever again.

Thanks for putting up with my ranting, raving and venting. I think I'm about done. If I should decide to post again on this topic, I promise to lighten up:) After all. shouldn't I be writing about Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll?

To be continued, maybe...

Steve Augeri

"Beyond the Clouds" From the Journey Album "Generations"

(Inspired by the events of 9/11)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtIan8pmwXQ