dojP000036.xml

dojP000036.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-23

Wednesday, January 23, 2002 8:07 PM
Comments

My name is , I am the mother of , who lost his live on Sept 11th. I at least had a conversation with him at 903am. At that time he said "Mom, I have to go there is fire everywhere". I like others were under the impression that help was on its way. As you well know, help never arrived. You see my son worked on the floor of WTC 1 for .

My son caught the earlier train into New York from Wayne N.J. He went in earlier that day because he had a scheduled vacation day on Friday Sept 14th. On that day he and my daughter-in-law and their two young daughters were to close on their first home.

On Sept 11th, his dream of owning a home never came true. He was one of many who lost their lives on that horrific day for no reason. My son's dream as a child was to live and work in the city. When he was given that chance a few years ago to work on top of the world, (that is what he called it) he jumped at the chance. He always said that opportunities don't come around that often.

My son was just starting to make a name for himself. His title was , one of his responsibilities was to design a network in which trillions of transactions from all around the country were maintained by this network. My son was one of those people who was self taught. We as parents of the fifties could not afford college for him. He never thought bad of us for not being able to send him to college. Throughout the years he took some college courses. When he was twenty years old he went to work for a large corporation. Through this corporation he was able to take night courses. But as life went on for him, he was unable to keep up is classes due to his work load. I would like to mention that when he first started in this company, he started in the mail room and then worked himself up to work in a Information Technology group. When he first tried for the job the interviewer was a little hesitate to hire him, but after my son starting to talk about technology the interviewer was taken back by my sons knowledge that he hired him immediately. He was thrilled because the other candidates who interviewed for this job held a college degree.

My husband and I could not afford to put him through college. We both had to work, so when got married he vowed that his wife would not have to work because he was on his way up in the technology field. It was only the past five years that companies had seen the potential in . We as parents were so proud that he was able to grow within an organization and also get paid for a job well done. By the time he left the company that he had worked for twelve years he was making $36k, at the time of his untimely death he was making $85k plus bonus. He loved his work, he enjoyed in learning new technology each and everyday. He was a walking library. He was admired by all for his knowledge and common sense.

My daughter-in-law is now a widow at thirty-three and my granddaughters will not have the opportunity to have their Dad see them graduate from kindergarten, high school, college or even walk them down the aisle when they get married.

We as parents will never see him get old. We will never have the opportunity to our family name carried on for future generations. He was a loving son who would do anything for anyone from zero to 100 years old. He never saw color in people, he only saw people as people.

Just imagine having dreams for your loved ones and all of a sudden all of those dreams are taken away. Why did we as a country let our guard down. We as a country are too trusting and now we who lost loved ones as well the entire world have to live with seeing the towers collapsing. As a parent I feel the pain everyday, knowing that at 9:03 Am that morning and hoping an praying that he was going to make it. Once his tower collapsed we never gave up on hope. After days went by we knew we would never talk or see him again. It is hard as a parent to explain to anyone about losing your child and seeing the whole horrific attack on television with your own eyes. We who lost loved ones will never be able to escape Sept 11th, our loved ones spouses and children will never be the same.

My son had a future. He was only thirty five years old and was on his way up in the corporate structure. The monies that are being offered make a monarchy out of his life. You can't put a price on his head. He had great potential. He still had thirty years ahead to contribute to society. You see his first dream while in high school was to be a history teacher. He knew the reality of teaching, but he knew that he would not financially be able to survive and support a family. The reason being that our educators are underpaid. When he had days off from work he would go to 's nursery school and read the young children stories. was so proud of her Dad when he read stories to her classmates.

My concern is for my daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. My son would have wanted me to pursue this. He knows that I will make sure that my family and others will and should be compensated.

Why is it when someone sues for an injury they get thousands and they don't have to give up anything. To me and as well others, this whole compensation that the government is offering to us is not just. We the victims families don't have any rights. My son thought about his future, he had a life insurance policy on him because he was the breadwinner in the family. Why should he have been penalized for preparing for his future. Now if my daughter-in-law decides to take what the government is offering she has to forfeit her monies. Where is the justice in all of this. If my son were alive and with the potential he had he would have made double of what the government is offering.

What is just compensation for giving your live for your country and leaving behind a wife, children and other family. I don't feel that we are being treated justly. Why should my family take a back seat while the government bails out big business like the airlines and other large companies who can not manage their money. But these same big businesses live high off of the hog while the little people have to struggle just to make ends meet.

I believe as others, that everyone human being who lost their live on Sept 11th, should be treated equally. You can't put a price on life. People from all walks of life, some highly educated, others with little or no education to the people who swept the floors and cooked the food in the cafeteria should be treated the same. They were all human beings.

I don't want to have to beg, it is not necessary. Sometimes I think that if my daughter-in-law and granddaughters were to take advantage of what is being offered that it would be like compromising with the devil. They should not have to do that. My son got up everyday to go to work because he wanted to make a difference in this world. He was a proud American, when he first took the job with we were not happy with his choice. It was nothing against but we all were afraid because of the job was in New York but on top of that on the floor of the trade center. He convinced us that we as a country should not live in fear. If we do, that would mean that the terrorist won. Since Sept 11th, my husband and myself as well other family members have been to New York at least five times. Now I know why my son loved the city. We use to be afraid, but now I can hear say, don't live in fear.

Sir, please reconsider the compensation package that you are offering the victims families. My daughter-in-law and grandchildren just want to be able to live a comfortable life like our son had planned for them. They as well us will always have a stigma attached to our lives because of Sept 11th.

The only family that my son's wife and children have are us. We are up in years and are unable to help.Please reconsider the compensation distribution to all of the families.

Thank you

Individual Comment
Haskell, NJ

2002-01-23