MONROE - On April 15, the long-awaited call concerning approval to pick up our requested World Trade Center Artifact finally came. Unfortunately, we had only three days to prepare to travel to Kennedy Airport in Queens, N.Y., to receive it, since our pick-up was scheduled for April 21. As you may know, three of us left early (very early) Tuesday morning with Utility 12 to make the trip.
We arrived in New York early Tuesday evening after a more-than-15-hour trip, found our hotel, had supper and promptly went to sleep. We were scheduled to attend a briefing on Wednesday near Ground Zero concerning what we could and could not do with the artifact and to sign papers promising to respect and care for the item in an appropriate manner and also promising to "return the item to a place and at a time of The Port Authority of New York's choosing" if we no longer wished to keep it.
After all the rules were acknowledged and the appropriate contracts were signed, we were assigned a pick-up time of 7:30 Thursday morning. We spent the later part of the day Wednesday seeing a few of the sights and visiting some FDNY firehouses.
New York is an interesting city wherein almost all of the inhabitants seem to be genetically deformed. It seems that they all have only one finger on their right hand. The others apparently have been supplanted to the left hand in order to assist with horn honking. The people are, by and large, very closed in communication with folks they don't know. You could easily tell which were the tourists since they were continually staring up. The resident population walked along with their head down and seldom looked up if you bumped into them or, more often, they, you.
Later in the day we visited a couple of firehouses, and we were struck by how small and cramped they are. Even 10 House, which was rebuilt after 9/11, was cramped. But then, with property worth millions per parcel, I can see why space is tight. One firefighter at 10 House told me they cover five blocks in each direction, so they can be anywhere in their still alarm area in under 20-minutes.
He also stated that some days they cannot get the truck out, because people refuse to clear the sidewalk and street in front of the doors. The firefighters "walk the truck out" and then board the apparatus after the truck has pulled into the street. That evening about 10 p.m. we ran into fellow Monrovian, Stewart Larson, near Times Square, what a small world. We ended the day with a wild ride in a taxi headed back to the hotel around midnight (at 85 m.p.h.; that is a story in itself).
Upon arriving at the airport hangar 17 at about 7a.m. Thursday morning, we were sternly warned that roaming about the building and taking pictures in the building were strictly forbidden and would result in immediate termination of the contract to receive and display the artifact. While waiting for our turn to be called into the receiving area, I struck up a conversation with a firefighter from Pennsylvania who was originally from Milwaukee. We conversed about our respective departments and what type of display we were planning. One thing that struck me was that many of the groups who were there to receive an item were in full department uniforms. They had also brought along sometimes large groups, and there was a quiet respect, even reverence, in the air. It seems that all, including our group, understood what an honor it was to be chosen to receive an artifact.
On the way home, we began to talk about where the artifact should be displayed. The artifact, according to the contract "...is donated to members of The Monroe Fire Department in recognition of the service by the all emergency responders who serve the Monroe Community." While we as firefighters have a special connection to 9/11 because of the heroic actions of members of The FDNY, 9/11 is about more than the responders who were lost. 9/11 changed our world, and we must remember that nearly 3,000 civilians died as well.
Because of these facts and because it is encouraged by the Port Authority of New York, we are considering possibly placing the artifact in a city park or other more public venue. I have asked the city public property committee to take up the issue at its next regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 3. If we cannot identify an acceptable location, we may still choose to locate the memorial at The MERIT Center or at one of the current fire stations.
As you may also know, we had some mechanical problems on the way home. This put somewhat of a damper on the trip, but I am still glad and proud to have participated in this great opportunity. I wholeheartedly encourage you to go and stand at Ground Zero. I invite you to visit the temporary, and later the permanent, memorials and to "feel" what 9/11 means to us, the firefighting community.
I challenge each of you to observe the effect that this site has on anyone who goes there, and I guarantee it will touch your heart ... it certainly did mine.
-"WTC Artifact Arrives" reprinted with permission from the Monroe Fire Department May 2011 issue of Smoke Signals.
We arrived in New York early Tuesday evening after a more-than-15-hour trip, found our hotel, had supper and promptly went to sleep. We were scheduled to attend a briefing on Wednesday near Ground Zero concerning what we could and could not do with the artifact and to sign papers promising to respect and care for the item in an appropriate manner and also promising to "return the item to a place and at a time of The Port Authority of New York's choosing" if we no longer wished to keep it.
After all the rules were acknowledged and the appropriate contracts were signed, we were assigned a pick-up time of 7:30 Thursday morning. We spent the later part of the day Wednesday seeing a few of the sights and visiting some FDNY firehouses.
New York is an interesting city wherein almost all of the inhabitants seem to be genetically deformed. It seems that they all have only one finger on their right hand. The others apparently have been supplanted to the left hand in order to assist with horn honking. The people are, by and large, very closed in communication with folks they don't know. You could easily tell which were the tourists since they were continually staring up. The resident population walked along with their head down and seldom looked up if you bumped into them or, more often, they, you.
Later in the day we visited a couple of firehouses, and we were struck by how small and cramped they are. Even 10 House, which was rebuilt after 9/11, was cramped. But then, with property worth millions per parcel, I can see why space is tight. One firefighter at 10 House told me they cover five blocks in each direction, so they can be anywhere in their still alarm area in under 20-minutes.
He also stated that some days they cannot get the truck out, because people refuse to clear the sidewalk and street in front of the doors. The firefighters "walk the truck out" and then board the apparatus after the truck has pulled into the street. That evening about 10 p.m. we ran into fellow Monrovian, Stewart Larson, near Times Square, what a small world. We ended the day with a wild ride in a taxi headed back to the hotel around midnight (at 85 m.p.h.; that is a story in itself).
Upon arriving at the airport hangar 17 at about 7a.m. Thursday morning, we were sternly warned that roaming about the building and taking pictures in the building were strictly forbidden and would result in immediate termination of the contract to receive and display the artifact. While waiting for our turn to be called into the receiving area, I struck up a conversation with a firefighter from Pennsylvania who was originally from Milwaukee. We conversed about our respective departments and what type of display we were planning. One thing that struck me was that many of the groups who were there to receive an item were in full department uniforms. They had also brought along sometimes large groups, and there was a quiet respect, even reverence, in the air. It seems that all, including our group, understood what an honor it was to be chosen to receive an artifact.
On the way home, we began to talk about where the artifact should be displayed. The artifact, according to the contract "...is donated to members of The Monroe Fire Department in recognition of the service by the all emergency responders who serve the Monroe Community." While we as firefighters have a special connection to 9/11 because of the heroic actions of members of The FDNY, 9/11 is about more than the responders who were lost. 9/11 changed our world, and we must remember that nearly 3,000 civilians died as well.
Because of these facts and because it is encouraged by the Port Authority of New York, we are considering possibly placing the artifact in a city park or other more public venue. I have asked the city public property committee to take up the issue at its next regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 3. If we cannot identify an acceptable location, we may still choose to locate the memorial at The MERIT Center or at one of the current fire stations.
As you may also know, we had some mechanical problems on the way home. This put somewhat of a damper on the trip, but I am still glad and proud to have participated in this great opportunity. I wholeheartedly encourage you to go and stand at Ground Zero. I invite you to visit the temporary, and later the permanent, memorials and to "feel" what 9/11 means to us, the firefighting community.
I challenge each of you to observe the effect that this site has on anyone who goes there, and I guarantee it will touch your heart ... it certainly did mine.
-"WTC Artifact Arrives" reprinted with permission from the Monroe Fire Department May 2011 issue of Smoke Signals.