This podcast was recorded a few years ago. On this day, I like to remember William. But now I'll also be thinking of Jessica. She didn't know William either, but did something beautiful. We lost Jessica 2 years ago. Thinking of you both today. -Geno
Thinking of Bill today. I never met him. He never called the show. He's not a family friend.
On this day, instead of posting a meme someone else created or doing a headcount of the number of lives lost, connect with one of those names engraved into the 9/11 Memorial. On a visit to New York about 5 years ago, I got frustrated seeing tourists at the 9/11 Memorial smiling and taking photos with selfie sticks... making the experience all about them.
If you ever get to visit, just walk up and touch a name. Don't put effort into it. Don't look for a name like yours. Just walk up and touch a name. Learn that person's story, not only of what happened on this day back in 2001... but what happened in the years leading up to it.
Bill stood out to me that day because of the red flower. The flower was there because the day I visited would have been Bill's birthday. I did a search for his name and read that he was kind of a computer geek like me. He was an IT guy working in one of the buildings that morning. Bill loved to bike around New York City - one of my favorite things to do. NYC has lots of great bicycle paths and of course there's Central Park. For a real rush, I love biking through Times Square. It's not smart, but nor am I. I never got to go on a bike ride with you Bill, but I think of you when I'm dodging crazy Manhattan drivers on one of the city's rental bicycles.
On this day, I also think of one of my listeners who became a great friend. She emailed me a few months after I snapped this photo you see below. The family of Bill Sugra wanted to use it in a newsletter and asked for my permission. Turns out Jessica made a donation after seeing my photo below. The family reached out to her and asked how she knew of Bill. Jessica wasn't having an easy go of it financially at the time. She would have probably never told me about the donation had the family not requested the photo. We lost Jessica two years ago and I miss her terribly. The world needs more people like Jessica.
Bill and Jessica... you are both missed today.
If you'd like to drop them a line today or donate a couple dollars, visit billsugramemorialfund.org.
My photos from that day in NYC...
