Stephen Siller

I didn't write about 9/11 yesterday, although maybe I should have. I really didn't know what to say, or what to do about it.  I put flags out front as always, but  I wasn't sure I really had anything to contribute. I guess we observe in silence, talking about it here and there. 

I turned off the morning news, not out of callousness or indifference but rather out of a frustrated sense of irritation over the whole situation, that it happened at all or that anyone could hate us so much as to want to cause such needless loss of life.   Every time the TV showed the alleged "new" photos of Oshithead Bin Laden, I felt the same sense of anger all over again and changed the channel.  If the soldiers ever find him, I hope they won't spare any bullets.

Britt and I got home around four; I took a brief nap before waking Britt up (again) for her guard workout. Out of habit, I turned on the news, but it wasn't on just yet,  Oprah was on with the children of 9/11, and there was no way I was going to watch her show. That sounds cold, doesn't it?  But I didn't think I could handle it, well aware that families on her show had no choice that day.

But her last story had a positive ending that I wanted to share with you all.   

She talked about Stephen Siller who, at 8:30 a.m. was heading home after working the night shift at the Brooklyn firehouse.  He heard about the planes hitting the World Trade center, turned his truck around and headed back to help.  But he got stuck at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which was already sealed off to traffic.  Instead of turning back, he strapped 75 pounds of gear onto his back, abandoned his truck and ran through the tunnel…straight for the burning buildings.

Re-read that:  He ran 3.1 miles in full firefighting gear through the city with 75 pounds of gear on his back.   He didn't hesitate to return.   To me, that's what America was all about on 9/11. Nobody backed down, except the cowards who did this to us.

Today his family hosts a charity run, the Tunnel to Towers Run, which retraces the footsteps he took that day.  Some of the firefighters wear their gear during the run as well.
As the runners make their way through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, they pass photos of fallen firefighters who, along with Stephen, courageously ran into the towers hoping to save lives.

Stephen's family has also raised funds for the Stephen Siller's "Let Us Do Good" Children's Foundation. The donations help provide housing for orphans, money for burn centers around America and scholarships for children who have lost a parent in the Iraqi war.

I turned the TV off after hearing this story and took Britt to guard.  I didn't need to hear any more. The one thing Osama and his cronies don't understand about America is our resolve. There's a whole lot of people like Stephen who live amongst us, and they have that same drive to help that lies within.   And that will never change.

Comments

[Nils]

Beautifully said, Laura. I'd never heard that story before. It's both moving and inspiring.

[Janet]

I never heard it either, and it's amazing. He was a true firefighter!

[FC]

Oh my.
That was wonderful.

[Se]

Inspirational and poignant! That isn't a story I'd heard before.

BTW - the kitchen is looking wonderful! :)

[Old Horsetail Snake]

This is one of the best September 11 (12?) b**gs I've read. Nicely done, lass.

[thingfish23]

I'd like to chip in to the chorus. It was a fine post.

I couldn't watch any TV on 9/11 because I knew I'd see so much that would upset me. Not so much the re-living of the day, but how crass our media is, and how they're more than happy to turn a dime on anything they can. Just my .02, but I don't want anything to turn me cynical about such an important day. I wish we could have a national day to reflect, but you just know so many folks would spend it doing something insipid, not to mention the box store Event Sales, etc. Not that I'm cynical or anything.

[Laura]

Thank you all for the fine compliments!

Cynical? not so much, Thingfish. It's the way our country has become, crass commercialization at it's worst. Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to our basic sense of ethics in this society.