On 9/11 the worst terroristattack perpetrated against America left over 2970 dead, including 343firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers. The full story, however, is notabout hijacked airliners, intelligence failures, fanatic murderers or conspiracytheorists. Its about lives well lived that were cut painfully short and theendurance of the human spirit. Oneway to begin to understand the magnitude of a numbing mass tragedy like 9/11,is not in numbers, but rather, in stories. Today’s focus here is one story ofmany that demand to be told. One life. One set of hearts that were unfairlybroken. Out of the mosaic ofthousands of colorful remembered lives today are countless stories of loveslost and heroes big and small. Too often at the wrenching intersection of goodand evil, we expend too much time on the latter—but not today.
The only thing StatenIsland native son FDNY Lt. Chuck Margiotta didn’t achieve in his 44 years was along life. As his young daughter clutched her father’s service helmet at a NewYork Catholic church eight years ago she heard from another kind of hero, herschoolteacher Uncle Mike, who from that day to this diligently watches over hisextended family like a lion over his pride. Mike Margiotta summed up the spiritof this day for many Americans:
According to Webster,"bravery" is defined as combining confidence with firm resolution inthe presence of danger. "Courageous" however is more than brave! Itadds a moral element. The courageous man steadily encounters perils to which hemay be keenly sensitive at the call of duty. At no time do either of thesedefinitions mention being fearless. Fearless is just the inability to recognizedanger.
On September 11th, Chuckhad fears…recognized them…called home…and then performed his job with Braveryand Courage; as did all our firefighters and police officers. We thank them alland love them all for being heroes every day.
Packed into those compresseddecades of Chuck Margiotta’s time on Earth was a love of people and anunquenchable, if not dizzying, zeal for accomplishment. It’s hard to believeeverything this veteran firefighter crammed into his way too short life: IvyLeague football stand out at Brown University, substitute public schoolteacher, church leader, philanthropist, youth sports coach, television andmovie actor and stuntman (Hannibal, Malcolm X, Law and Order), family man, anddon’t forget-gardener and voracious reader. His brother Mike observed to areporter, “He wasn't happy unless he was doing four things at once, plus onemore thing."
It was thatone more thing that took him from us. On 9/11 the devoted married father of abeautiful son, 11, and daughter, 13, had just completed a 24 hour shift inBrooklyn filling in for another firefighter. As he was safely headed home, hesaw the orange flames engulf the World Trade Center, turned around, andinstinctively went to the nearest firehouse. There he immediately hopped on to Staten Island’s Rescue 5FDNY truck as it sped to save civilians from the chaotic scene. Right before hereached the inferno he phoned his mother to tell her what turned out to be hislast words to her: “Ma, it's bad, I loveyou. I'll call you later."
Even before 9/11 Chuck was abeloved fixture on the family friendly borough of Staten Island. Afterimpressing Staten Islanders with his football prowess at Monsignor Farrell HighSchool, Chuck attended Brown University, easily one of the nation’s mostselective universities. After helping Brown win its first of only two IvyLeague football championships in 1976, he graduated in 1979 with twodegrees—one in English and one in Sociology. He and his team eventually endedup in the Brown Sports Hall of Fame. Like he always promised, he came back toNew York to be a firefighter and graduated, not surprisingly, at the top of his1981 FDNY class.
He left his big footprintsall over New York City. Twenty years as a firefighter, fifteen in Harlem, withseveral years as a running back for the acclaimed FDNY football team. Evenafter he rose in rank to Lieutenant, he ruffled a few bosses because he wasmore comfortable with the rank and file folks.
For twenty years, on top ofhis fire duties, he substitute taught at least two days a week. He was also aprivate investigator for two decades. He was CYO Athletic Director at hisparish and coached kids in four different sports. He was a key organizer ofinnumerable charity events. He did acting and stunt work across New York innumerous television and movie productions, while still finding time to plant agarden at his firehouse.
As busy as he was, he wasdevoted to his family. He’d check on his parents—who lived next door, justabout every day to make sure they were all right. The hole in his parents’hearts never really healed. His dad misses the family vacations in themountains, watching sports on television, as well as the tailgate gatherings atGiants games. His mom even misses cleaning up the constant stream of pretzelcrumbs he would leave after helping with chores or home repairs. He adored hiswife and kids.
ChuckMargiotta at about 6 feet and over 200 muscled pounds, was simply put, one ofthose old school New Yorkers who really was bigger than life--the kind ofstunningly handsome renaissance guy who is better suited for a lyric by hismusical idol, Bruce Springsteen, than this short web posting.
While terrorists, steel, andconcrete extinguished his life; Chuck’s spirit, like those of others lost thatday, is very much alive in his parents, wife, kids and others. A garden heplanted flourished, and years later his bother Mike, raises thousands in ascholarship in his name for a deserving student at his old high school. Hischildren and nephew and niece all went to college and follow Chuck’s zeal foreducation, music, and public service. Violence harms the innocent, but as shownhere it does not define them. As Bobby Kennedy said the night of Martin LutherKing’s death, who coincidently shares Chuck’s January 15 birthday:
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so manyyears ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of thisworld.
Amen.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/lists/by-name/