A Dad's Poem
Her hair was up in a pony tail,her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,and she couldn't wait to go.
But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone.
But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.
But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home.
But the little girl went to school,eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees a dad who never calls.
There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats.
One by one the teacher called, a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,for a man who wasn't there.
"Where's her daddy at?" she heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one," another student dared to shout.
And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.
And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique.
"My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.
And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so.
He loved to tell me stories he taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,and taught me to fly a kite.
We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him, I'm not standing here alone.
"Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart
I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart."
With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress.
And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,who was wise beyond her years.
For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her, doing what was right.
And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud.
"I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far.
You see he was a fireman and died just this past year
When airplanes hit the towers and taught Americans to fear.
But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day.
And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes.
Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.
"I know you're with me Daddy," to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt.
Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining bright star.
And given the gift of believing,that heaven is never too far.
Remains at the Ground Zero
60 police officers killed
37 Port Authority
23 N.Y.P.D
343 N.Y Firefighters killed; 60 were off duty
658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed
10 Bystanders killed by fallen debris
19,858 Body Parts recovered from the site;4598 have been identified
180 m.p.h Speed at which a Boeing 707 could hit the towers but still not destroy them, under the official engineering plan.
470 m.p.h., and 590 m.p.h. Estimated flight speeds of the two Boeing 767 jets that hit the towers.
0.9 is the magnitude of the earthquake like tremour caused by the impact of the American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the north tower.
1800 degrees Farenheit is the estimated temp. of the fires ignited by the jet.
1022 degrees Farenheit is the temp. at which steel loses half its strength, it melts at about 2500 degrees.
2.3 is the magnitude of the tremour caused by the collapse of the north tower measured from 21 miles away.
379,036 ounces of gold recovered from the Bank of Nova Scotia Vault(current value 118.5 million)
3 Auguste Rodin sculptures recovered from the rubble
144 rings among the 65,000 personal items recovered from Ground Zero. Other items include 437 watches, 77 necklaces, 119 earrings and 80 bracelets.
4 autographed baseballs found
16 people escaped the south tower from above floors when the plane hit
0 people who escaped from above floors of the north tower when the plane hit
18 survivors found in the rubble;12 firefighters, 3 police officers, 3 civilians. All were found by Sept.12th
92 Bomb threats phoned in to police in New York City on Sept.11th
6 looting arrests in N.Y on Sept.11th; by Oct 11th, 54 more had been made.
$4 to $6 billion Espected total payout of government compensation to the victims families
$2,235,997 Gov't estimate of the value, before subtracting insurance, pensions, or other benefits of a 25 year old man with one child making $50,000 a year at the time of his death.
$1.36 million is the average payment to the first 25 families who applied.
116,000 American flags sold by Walmart on Sept. 11th, 2001
6400 American Flags sold by Walmart on Sept.11th,2000
76% N.Y.C public school students who reported that six months later, they still frequently thought about the Sept. 11th attacks
3.6 million estimated number of tourists who will have visited ground zero by the end of the year
and it took, 6 years, and 8 months to build the World Trade Towers from 1966 to 1973.
It only took 1 hour and 42 minutes to destroy them....
information from Time magazine
