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Minnesotans in ManhattanBy MaryHelen Swanson In the year 2001, there was life before Sept. 11. And in that life, people made plans to travel and see the country, enjoy vacations in exciting places and share the company of friends doing new and wonderful things. For six women, at least half from the Rush City area, a trip to New York to take in some plays, eat at fancy restaurants, and see the sights, was planned long before that fateful day in September. Then the terroristsí planes came crashing into our lives. The remaining women said theyíd still go but, ìif something else happens, we wonít go.î Then it was anthrax, and the women said, ìif something else happens, we wonít go.î And it was more anthrax and they said ìif something else......î and finally they decided they would go. Only now they had a mission. They had to deliver a very special gift to the firefighters of New York City - a banner signed by all those attending the Rush City Fire Department Open House in October. So, Lisa Morris, Val Larson and their mom Audrey Anderson and Valís daughter, 18-year-old Brooke, who was newly invited to join the group, left Rush City Nov. 8 and boarded an airplane to New York City, not an easy thing to do in the aftermath of the tragedy. But they had a twofold mission, to deliver precious cargo and have that good time that was planned before September 11. Mission accomplished First things first, the very first night, Lisa and Brooke were itching to get out and see New York, and especially anxious to deliver the fire departmentís banner. So, with banner in arms, they headed out into the city that never sleeps. They did a lot of walking and looking around and then finally asked a policeman where the closest firehall was. Now ìfirehallî is a foreign word in New York, and it wasnít until the pair made it clear they were looking for the station where fire trucks and firemen are housed that they were directed to the nearest fire ìhouseî - Engine 8 Ladder 2. In a College English paper Brooke wrote when she got home, she describes the inside of the firehouse, ìI can see the black fire coats with yellow reflector stripes hanging from a black metal rack around the wall surrounding the fire trucks. On top of each rack are matching black and yellow helmets, all with a number two placed on front to represent which ladder they are from. ìEach helmet has different marks from fires they have been in; each telling their own story.î When Lisa and Brooke arrived at the firehouse the trucks were heading out on a call, but they found two firefighters who stayed behind ready and willing to chat and accept the banner from the Rush City folks. It wasnít the first gift offered to these heroes. The walls of the firehouse were lined with letters, mementos and pictures. This group of New Yorkís finest had been hit hard by the tragedy, losing 10, including their chief. There are 10 pictures of firemen hanging on the wall. ìLooking at all these memories and words of sorrow, I get a cold quieting feeling that runs through me,î Brooke wrote. ìItís not a feeling of sadness as much as a feeling of gratitude. My heart turns warm knowing that these firemen cared enough to help people they have never met and they put their lives at risk for them.î Would these two firemen left behind on this night, nearly two months after the day of terror, still want to talk about their losses? They did. A warm welcome The two firefighters left at the station didnít look like the firemen portrayed on TV, Brooke said, but as she and Lisa noted in an interview last week, they were welcoming and extremely friendly as they shared some quality time talking in the middle of the night. It is the usual response for other departments to return the favor by giving their patch in return, but the two New York firemen, Al and Kevin, said they had no more to share. Their conversation continued and just before Lisa and Brooke were to depart, one of the firemen left the room and came back with two FDNY t-shirts which they promptly autographed and gave to the elated women. Brooke proudly wore hers on her first day back at Rush City High School. While the conversation included the loss of the fellow firefighters, there was not a lot of talk about Ground Zero, Lisa said. It was almost as if they had already talked about it enough. The trip to Ground Zero ìQuietî thatís how the women described the scene. And plumes of smoke were still rising from the crumpled debris. There was a smell, they all agreed. ìIt was a different smell,î Brooke said, ìa smell you never smelt before.î ìIt was like oil, grease and a heavy sweet smell,î said Val, ìa heaviness.î And it was quiet. There were a lot of people walking about at Ground Zero, but mostly in silence. Val likens the site to a war zone although she has never seen a war zone. And though the women didnít have the ìbeforeî view of the twin towers to compare this gaping hole to, they were greatly affected by their visit. Okay to be tourists At first, the women were unsure how they would be accepted in New York and tried to act as New Yorkish as possible, not letting on they were tourists. Lisa, whose husband Tim is on the Rush City Fire Department, had brought with her RCFD jacket. She said she was pretty much ignored when she didnít wear it but when she wore it the folks there began conversations with her and were eager to learn about Minnesota. And so, in due time, when the women discovered that the New Yorkers were really interested in them, and appreciative of the fact that people from outside cared, they decided it was okay to be tourists. And then they didnít care anymore if their red, white and blue caps and cameras gave them away. A new New York kind of people The women agreed on many things about their trip, including the fact that the people were so very friendly, not what people usually think about these metropolitan folks. In reality, they probably were safer than ever before because there were police everywhere. Still, they were cautioned not to go past 96th St. and not to take the subway. ìItís like itís always daytime,î said Val, who had been to New York once before, ìbecause there are so many people around at all hours.î Still, it was very different this time, Val said, than when she had been there before. Now, people called you ìsweetheart,î ìdarling,î and tolerated your out-of-town-ness with patience. And no matter what the issue, the New Yorkers always responded with ìno problem.î It was like they were really thankful we came, said Lisa. He, too, was affected by the tragedy; his brother was killed in the attack. He was deeply touched when Val told him about the church services that were held in and around Rush City after the attack. Nearly everyone in the city has a story about the tragedy, Val said. To see the sights Having delivered the banner and visited Ground Zero, the women took time do take in New York as they had originally planned. Some went to plays, some walked and walked, people-watching and taking in the sights. They visited the Today show twice; once their sign was shown on the TV cameras. About the only thing they didnít do that they might have otherwise, was mail postcards home, in light of the anthrax scare. One night Val and Audrey opted to dine at a very fancy restaurant while Lisa and Brooke chose McDonaldís. Everything stopped. No traffic moved, no one was allowed to continue walking, in fact, armed men held guns right in their faces as the motorcade went by, so close you might have smelled a mint on the breath of the weapon bearers. Lisa said she and Brooke were quite shaken. ìNever in my life did I have a gun pointed at me,î she said. At that moment it hit them, ìwe are at war, this has really happened.î And suddenly, in spite of the glitz and glamour of the Big Apple, they were back to reality. One last obstacle before home It was Nov. 12. The quartet was about to leave New York and head home, and then another plane leaving Kennedy Airport crashed. In a flash, the airports were closed and there was no going home for the women from Minnesota. What were they to do? Would they still be able to stay at their hotel? Once again, the ìniceî came out in the New York people, and the folks at the hotel were helpful and very accommodating. Their anxious questions about lodging for another night, their concerns for their flight home and a host of other issues were solved in the comforting words of these friendly people, ìno problem.î Lasting memories As Lisa put it, ìthe longer Iím home, the more I think Iíd go back tomorrow.î And Val encourages anyone to visit the magical town. ìItís such an easy city to get around,î she said. And Brooke, who has many years ahead to tell the tale of this adventure, probably will remember the new friends she met at Engine 8 Ladder 2 the most. In her English paper she wrote these final thoughts, ìI want to make sure I remember not only what I see but also what I feel. I take it all in and say my good-byes to not only a firehouse and firemen I visited today, but friends I met and will remember. "I leave with a smile on my face and a better understanding of Engine 8 Ladder 2 and the family of firemen who work there.î ©ECM Post Review |