Big Ups to the Patriarch and Matriarch

They'll tell me I'm being silly, but I'd be remiss if I didn't publicly say happy birthday to the elder Mrs. B (my mother) and happy anniversary to she and the elder Mr. B (my pops).

Today marks my mom's 39th birthday on the Jack Benny calendar (if you're over 50 or a geek like me you'll get that joke; if not, follow this link for an explanation). Today also marks my folks' 37th year of wedded bliss.

Congrats, mom and dad, and thank you for the good example all these years!

Remembering 9/11

Telling this story may be lazy of me, but the events that stand out most in my mind about the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened weeks after the fact. The newspaper I worked for then, asked me to find a firefighter who had worked in that town but later moved his family to NYC so he could fulfill his dreams of becoming a New York firefighter. I found the guy. I also found that he was the only survivor in his battalion. But he handled the emotional toll so well, that his bosses in the FDNY called on him to do an unenviable job following the attacks. So a photographer and I went to New York to spend some time with him and get his first person account and learn about what he went through in the days and weeks afterward. It is a long story, gut wrenching to me, but worth the read if you have 10 minutes to spare. Whenever folks read this story, I'm always asked afterward if my subject's meeting at Ground Zero with old bosses and co-workers from his old town was staged. I'll tell you in advance, it was not. Pure luck of the draw - the kind of incident that can turn an interesting story into a good story, in spite of the author. Email me if the link doesn't open.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy: Easing the Pain