More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Father Mychal Judge, chaplain, FDNY: Good days. And bad days. Up days. Down days. Sad days. Happy days. But never a boring day on this job. You do what God has called you to do. You show up. You put one foot in front of another.
You get on the rig and you go out and you do the job. Which is a mystery. And a surprise. You have no idea when you get on that rig. No matter how big the call. No matter how small. You have no idea what God is calling you to. But he needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us.
The storm of September 10th that swept across the Northeast, marking the passage of a strong cold front, preceded a high-pressure system of dry Canadian air that gave rise to a unique—and memorable—meteorological phenomenon known as “severe clear,” cloudless skies that made an enduring impression on all who would witness what transpired in the hours ahead.
One of the firemen from Rescue 1 looked up and said, “We may not live through today.” We looked at him, and we looked at each other, and we said, “You’re right.” We took the time to shake each other’s hands and wish each other good luck and “Hope I’ll see you later,” which is especially poignant for me because we all had that acknowledgment that
↓↓↓
this might be our last day on earth and we went to work anyway.
Ultimately, 60 of the FDNY personnel killed on 9/11 were supposed to be off-duty that morning.
Mychal Judge, chaplain, FDNY: It’s fantastic how I can sometimes begin a day and go through a day, but not realize that everything that happens—every
↓↓↓
every single thing that happens—is somehow within the divine plan.
For those at the tip of Lower Manhattan, the only viable evacuation route turned out to be the water. A makeshift, unorganized armada of more than 130 ferries, pleasure yachts, sightseeing vessels, Coast Guard and police vessels, fireboats, and tugboats gathered—many without being asked—at Battery Park and nearby piers.
By the end of the day, they had collectively evacuated somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 people from Manhattan—a maritime rescue larger than the World War II evacuation from Dunkirk.
The fires at Ground Zero would burn for another 99 days, until they were finally extinguished for good on December 19.
As Sandy Dahl, the widow of the Flight 93 pilot, Jason Dahl, once said, “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short, and there is no time for hate.”
Uno Nunca Muere la Víspera.
↓↓↓
“It is a saying in Spanish: ‘It’s impossible for you to die on the eve of your death.’ You only die when you have to die. You’re never close to death. You die or you’re alive.”
September 11 is now a federally-recognized holiday, called “September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance,” with the mission of inspiring civilians to dedicate time to others in the “spirit of service, unity, and peace, in tribute to the victims of 9/11 and terrorism worldwide.”
