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The common threads running through most of the stories of the people who experienced the catastrophe at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan last week are overwhelming bravery and simple kindness. Police officers and fire fighters labored long to save as many lives as they could, several times at the cost of their own. Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals dropped what they were doing and headed to downtown hospitals or makeshift triage centers where they labored for long hours to treat the disaster's victims. Emergency workers dug through tons of rubble, often using only their bare hands, to find more casualties. Citizens of this great metropolis stood on line for hours to donate blood, never once specifying who should receive the gift of life they offered. Storekeepers put up signs inviting passers-by to use their bathroom facilities or offered water to those fleeing the catastrophe. The Circle Line and other cruise fleets ferried injured people to medical facilities in New Jersey. Tavern on the Green cancelled a private party and donated the food to police. In our own borough volunteers at the newly opened New York School of Urban Ministry in the former Boulevard Hospital got up at 3 a.m. last Thursday to pack 400 lunches, which they took to the the disaster site for police officers changing shifts. The school has opened its dormitory facilities for local police and fire fighters so they can rest before going out on duty again. More ... This is being written to you from the left side (San Francisco) of this great country where the terrorist attack on New York has had a deep emotional impact. As a former editor of this fine newspaper and a person who was born and lived in New York (the most wonderful city in the world) for 65 years I just had to express my sorrow and sympathy to all of you. They have tried to destroy our city (and it is still my city), and our will but they can never do that. We New Yorkers have risen above adversity before and, although this tragedy seems insurmountable, we will do so again. More ... |
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