Some consider the Nation’s Capital as “Fantasyland on the Potomac”. Other outsiders are “Fed Up” with the Federal City. It's better to consider D.C. as “the District of Calamity” (sic).
Friday, September 28, 2018
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
Michael Avenatti on Being a Democrat Fighter
Considering Michael Avenatti's 13th hour unsubstantiated claims against Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, it's no wonder that Fox New's Tucker Carlson calls this self proclaimed Democrat fighter a Creepy Porn Lawyer. Yet Avenatti thinks that he can be a viable Democrat Presidential candidate in 2020.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Monday, September 17, 2018
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Remembering Red Bandanas and Teamwork
While there is nothing new about Welles Remy Crowther's aphorism from his high school yearbook, the way that he put the maxim into action in his life was remarkable.
Welles Crowther was a lacrosse player in secondary school in Nyack New York and later for Boston College's varsity team. Crowther was associated with always wearing a red bandanna, a penchant he acquired as a child. Due to his smaller stature, Crowther was physically overmatched by his competitors, but made it up with enthusiasm and teamwork.
Off the field, Crowther also embodied the heart of a servant. Crowther joined the volunteer Fire Department at age 16. Even after landing a job as a equities trader, Crowther expressed an interest in changing careers to join the New York City Police. In fact, a partially completed application to the NYFD was eventually found in Crowther's apartment
On September 11, 2001, a 24 year old Welles Crowther was at his office on the 104th Floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the first airplane struck the other building. That horrible event prompted him to put his professional pursuits aside and channel teamwork. Crowther was on the 78th floor Sky Lobby of the South Tower when the second plane struck.
Crowther striped to a t-shirt and wore a red bandanna to cover his nose and mouth. Crowther immediately acted as an impromptu team leader to rally the walking wounded to a functioning stairwell. Survivor Judy Wein remembers hearing: "Anyone who can walk, get up and walk now. Anyone who can perhaps help others, find someone who needs help and then head down." Crowther was seen carrying a woman on his back. He led them down to the 61st floor where they were met by First Responders who got them to a functioning elevator on the 40th floor and the rest of the team escaped the towering inferno.
After escorting people down 16 flights of stairs, Crowther ascended the stairwell again to help more "team mates". Crowther's group of First Responders had the "Jaws of Life" and were prepared to lift debris to help trapped victims. According to survivors, Crowther's remains were found with other firemen who were on the 78th floor Sky Lobby when the South Tower collapsed. Crowther's courage and teamwork may have saved a dozen lives.
Crowther's story might have been lost in the alluvia of fragmented memories of 9/11. But six months after the atrocity, the New York Times published an account from a survivor who remembered a detail about a mysterious man with a red handkerchief organizing a makeshift triage. This red bandanna memory gave Crowther's grieving parents some solace about their son, simultaneously providing closure and confirmation of their son's solid character.
In 2006, Welles Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York Fire Fighter for being a 9/11 Angel. Boston College sponsors an annual Red Bandanna Run for the Welles Crowther Trust. The American Heroes Channel will soon award an Inaugral "Red Bandanna Award" for exemplifying the American spirit during a nationally televised Boston College football game on September 18th.
So often, sports can become base, reduced to a boxscore, vexing whether the home team will make the playoffs or speculating about the latest New England Patriots scandal. But sports can be much more than those pedestrian pastimes.
As we reflect on the anniversary of 9/11, Welles Crowther's exemplary life shows the deep values that can be derived by sports. Welles Crowther's dedication to teamwork was cultivated by coaching on the field but was inculcated into his life. Crowther not only thought of others at a tragic time, but was conditioned to rally and help "team mates" at a test match of life.
While the cynical may smirk at the truism that "There is no 'I' in team", Welles put that principle into practice sacrificing his life for the sake of others. Those are the virtues which make sports meaningful.
h/t: ESPN
[This piece originally ran on DC-Jockularity]
Remembering 9/11 Victims
Seventeen years ago, two planes were hijacked by jihadist terrorists under the direction of Osama bin Laden and they were deliberately flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Within two hours, both towers fell, killing 2,118 civilians in the building, 147 crew and passengers from American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 along with 11 hijackers.
Here is raw footage with raw sound from that chaotic day in lower Manhattan--
New York City chose to memorialize all of the innocent dead by creating a park with two waterfalls in the footprints of the Twin Towers, building a 1,176 foot high One World Trade Center (originally designated the Freedom Tower) and a $600 Million museum to memorialize the horrific day.
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| Ground Zero Memorial, New York City |
There has been some controversy concerning the 9/11 memorials at Ground Zero in NYC. It took over a decade to erect a new building which was meant to show American resolve. The signature new World Trade Center building legally changed its name from the 102 story $3.1 Billion Freedom Tower to accommodate a 21 year lease with Vantone, a Chinese commercial realty company. The 9/11 museum drew fire for featuring the jihadist hijackers "for the historical narrative". Some have complained that political correctness has gone made at Ground Zero erasing anything heroic, patriotic or influencing the narrative. Atheists even tried to exclude a cross formed by two steel beams in the WTC collapse that gave many Ground Zero rescue workers solace, but fortunately courts denied this claim.On September 11th 2001 at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 flew into a first floor western facing wall of the Pentagon. The crash killing 125 people on the ground (including 55 civilians) 53 passengers, six crew and five jihadist hijackers
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| Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (third from right) assists with the injured at the Pentagon 9/11/2001 |
United Airlines Flight 93, the Newark to San Francisco scheduled flight with a crew of seven and 33 passengers was hijacked by four jihadist terrorists.
The passengers revolted against the hijackers after learning of the other hijackings. Flight 93 crashed in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was believed that had the jihadist hijackers prevailed, the plane was headed to crash into the US Capitol. But in 2009 a high ranking al Qaeda detainee revealed that Flight 93's specific target was White House. Whatever the case, these heroic passengers were first conscious US combatants in the War on Terrorism.
There was some controversy with the original design of the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The memorial originally was supposed to include 40 groves of red maple trees shaped like a crescent. To quiet the debate, the 93 foot Tower of Voices has 40 wind chimes and a grove of 40 red maple trees which circle the walkway, following the bowl shape of the former surface mine.
As time has passed, the September 11th 2001 attack could fall into the recesses of memory for many Americans directly untouched by the fanatical atrocity. May we always remember the 9/11 victims and never forget the American virtues which made US a target of those wishing to establish a world-wide Caliphate.
[This piece previously was published on District of Calamity]
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
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