I had the honor of being asked to speak at the 9-11 memorial arranged each year by LB Fire Fighter Gary Biggerstaff. Several hundred people crammed into Bennett street to see the crosses Gary had placed on his lawn as he has each year since the attack on the World Trade Center. Several young people sang. The crowd sang along.
The crosses with names help us remember the fire fighters and police who died that day. Gary does an incredible job helping us to remember the sacrifices that were made that day.
My remarks were brief, as I told people that on that day some ordinary people did some very extraordinary things and that what struck me the most about that day was that people who did not know each other had to rely upon each other and that perhaps we needed to remember this as we look around at the people who were gathered today --that the things that divide us in this country pale in comparison with the things that unite us.
I also added that 47 people from California died that day --including Dorothy Dearaujo, 82, of Naples, who was known as the neighborhood artist, drawing the area's boats, shops and homes in detailed water colors. An avid traveler, Dearaujo visited France, Australia, Italy and Brazil. She earned a bachelor's degree in art at California State University, Long Beach. She was survived by a son, Tim whom she had been visiting i Boston before she boarded United 175 that crashed into the south tower.
On that day, Dorothy and others boarded airplanes with strangers and no one knew what was going to happen on those flights. We never know what is going to happen on a given day. Perhaps we need to live our lives like it will be the last day or the last time we see people. Maybe we'd all be a little nicer, a little more civil, a little less critical.
Notice: This is not a City of Long Beach site.
Dear Readers: Please note that this is not a City of Long Beach website and is not paid for nor maintained by taxpayer funds.
If you contact Gerrie Schipske through this site on any matter pertaining to the City of Long Beach, a copy of your contact will be forwarded to her official city email as an official public record.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Save Station 18
Popular Posts
-
Glad that my colleague Robert Garcia agreed to my suggestion that the proposal to require benefits for the domestic partners of employees em...
-
I am happy to announce that the Sares-Regis Group, the developer which purchased a great deal of the Boeing property in the 5th Coun...
-
San Diego has set out with an aggressive program to lure corporate America to pay up to be the “official” something of the City of San Diego...
-
Don't know about you. But I am running into more and more people lately with seriously allergies and coughs. People are complaining abou...
-
May 15 and 22 Is walking in nature your passion? Do you love the outdoors and want to lend a hand while hiking at the Nature Center? Then...
-
Schipske Congratulates Stacy Mungo on Winning 5 th District Seat – Says Looks Forward to Smooth, Positive Transition Long Beach, C...
-
Shaping Up the Fifth Summer Alley Clean Up: Volunteers Have Tackled Three Alleyways in First Two Weeks of Project Before ...
-
Schipske Calls on Council to Examine City’s Investments in Financial Entities That Are Foreclosing on Long Beach Homes and Are Facing Feder...
-
I am walking the 5th District and talking to people who are at home when I knock on their door. People are mostly satisfied with what is hap...
-
In writing my two historical books on Long Beach, I found out an interesting connection between Long Beach and the attack on Pearl Harbor on...