this first part of this post was written on August 18th after an episode of Rescue Me. )
Every
Wednesday, I try to watch Rescue Me. If you havent see it, its a show
(fitictious) about the FDNY and their day to day lives working as
firefighters. Now this show has been on tv for 7 seasons and I have
tried to watch them all and sometimes, it was hard to watch the episodes
due to the raw content, and not because there were scenes of death and
bad injury but because my father is a firefighter. He has been a
firefighter, Captain, Battalion Chief my whole life. He loves what he
does but he rarely tells what exactly he does. Yes he would come home
from his 24 hour shift, saying the funny stories from the previous shift
and if he went on a run for careless cooking or someones cat was stuck
in a tree but he never really told me, maybe he told my mom, the real
stuff he did- running into the building first to search for surviors or
other things that he didnt want to worry me with. The point is, I never
really knew what he really did.
I never fully understood what the
job of a firefighter was until Rescue Me came out. This show is raw, and
unforgiving and gave me an insight of what firefighters actually do.
Maybe its dramatized for tv or blown out of proportion but it gave me
something to see and say, oh thats what my dad does for a living.
When
I was little, I remember when my dad came home, my mom and my dad would
sit in the kitchen, drinking their coffee and talking about the past
shift. As I got older, I sat with them sans coffee and listened. He
ususally gave me the watered down version and when I got bored listening
to every (boring) detail about his day, I left and then he would give
my mom the real story- what really happened at 432 Smith Street or who
had to go to the hospital after receiving attention at the ReHab tent at
that 4 alarm last night. I got smarter and decided to listen sometimes
to the stories from the hallway. Not until a couple of years ago, when I
was away at college, I really started to realize the danger
firefighters put themselves into.
The point of all this rambling-
Last nights episode really hit me hard. Rescue Me is having their
series finale on September 7th and fitting its right before the 10th
Anniversey of September 11. The Chief spoke about how heroes arent
remember by making walls and monmouments (which I think is a good way of
remembering heroes) but they are remembered by speaking about them,
telling their stories of heroism and why they left such a lasting
impression on you. The Chief spoke about the Vietnam War and how he
recieved a letter from the wife of one his men that served under him.
Then the Chief spoke about what those firefighters were thinking on the
morning of September 11 right before they rushed downtown to do what
they were trained to do-save the public. What were those brave and
fearless firefighters thinking, writing letters to their loved ones that
in the back of their minds they knew they would never see again?
Today
is September 11th, and I still think what were those people thinking
when they were calling their loved ones to say their last goodbye? What
was going through their minds? Watching the documentries and other tv
programs about September 11th is like reliving that day over and over
again. The huge question that looms over everyones head is “Where were
you on Septemeber 11, 2001?” Everyone remember exactly where they were,
who they were with and what they saw.
I was in Ms. Stankovich’s 8th
Grade Science Class. I was sitting at the lab table inbetween Jacob
Stueber and Erin Stewart. It was right after gym class for me and
someone ran into the class room and told Ms. Stankovich to put the tv
on, something had happened. As she turned the TV on, we saw flames and
smoke pouring out of one of the World Trade Towers. I didnt believe it, I
didnt understand it then the whole class witnessed something that
looked to be out of a horror movie- We saw the second plane fly right
into the other Tower. I was 13 at the time and at that moment my world
closed in and I remember thinking what is next?! Erin Stewart saw I was
upset and said to me” why are you so worried? We are so far away from
there, nothing will happen.” I knew something would happen but I hoped
it didnt.
When I arrived home later that day, I didnt see my dad’s
car in the usual spot in the drive way. My worst fear came true. My
father, a Fire Captain, was in Northern NJ waiting to be deployed to
help with the rescue detail at Ground Zero. My mom didnt even have to
say it, I knew he was in North Jersey. I think I talked to him later
that night; I was trying to be brave and strong but inside I was so
worried. I don’t remember exactly how long my father was gone for but I
do remember him coming home. He looked like a ghost, still covered in
grey dust, with a look on his face that was like no other I had ever
seen. He didnt talk about what he did nor did he want to. I was happy to
have him home, safe and sound.
Not till years later, has the effect
of September 11th really hit me. The internet has let me have my hands
on thousands of videos, personal stories, offical reports and millions
of photos. The photos most of them are burned into my memory because I
saw them live, and uncut. Still they all bring tears to my eyes looking
at them. One of the hardest hitting images that I cannot seem to fully
understand is a video clip (recently I saw it in 102 minutes that
changed America) that you see the smoke from the collpase of one of the
towers and you see a fire truck, filled with firefighters speeding into
the unknown and you see them dissappear into the dust and smoke and you
know that they were probably never seen again.
After watching a
documentary entitled “9/11”, it gave me a chilling look into the lives
of firefighters who were practically the first responders to the scene.
They filmed when the first tower fell and what happend afterwards and it
was unconcievable that these firefighters were still living. It was an
inspring look into the lives of firefighter and how they are trained to
do exactly what they did on September 11th- rescue people.That is what
firefighters do. That is their lively hood.
America is resilient, strong and proud. We got through this and we can get through anything else.
XX, the everyday jersey girl