Justin McCarthy -- 9/11

RIP to your friend.

All of us who remember that day have, to some degree, had to deal with survivor's guilt.

This guy, Pasquale Buzzelli, who was pulled alive from the rubble of the towers, has a good take on it:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198838/9-11-Survivors-Pasquale...

You have my condolences, Jonas.  It was a very dark time of great loss.

Sadly, I can't imagine any positive results happening to adequately counterbalance such a magnitude of death and devastation.

Darren Christopher Bohan   -   The Song in His Heart Will Always Go On

November 15, 2001    copyright - Newsday

A banjo, a mandolin, three guitars and little else filled the Kew Gardens apartment where Darren Bohan lived. The handwritten lyrics and song sheets scattered about chronicled his transformation from harmonica-playing teenager to locally touted guitarist.

"He was very committed, and he had quite an aptitude, especially since he was largely self-taught," said Bohan's older brother, Gary Jr., who was once a professional trumpet player. Bohan's early love of the Beatles, Woody Guthrie and other folk music melded in the bluegrass tunes he wrote and performed at jam sessions in Greenwich Village. Though he had decided to forgo life as a starving artist, obtaining a bachelor's degree in accounting from Sonoma State University, each day Bohan and his mandolin held a lunchtime serenade for his co-workers at the World Trade Center.

Bohan, 34, had recently accepted a temporary assignment at Aon Corp. to help with budgets. It was an irony his family could not have imagined. For much of his adult life, they had encouraged Bohan to get a traditional job. "He was a free spirit from A to Z," said Gary Bohan Jr. "He finally gets a job in accounting, and he gets there early ... " he said, his voice trailing off.

After attending high school in Hurley, N.Y., where he was raised, Bohan journeyed to Europe. Returning to the United States, he lived in Yosemite for almost 10 years, eventually becoming a tour guide for visitors and campers. "The environment was really important to him," said his cousin, Beth Udoma, who used to stay awake all night with Bohan, writing and singing funny songs. "He believed in the power of nature to heal. That was his religion."

Encouraged by the waterfalls and giant sequoias of Yosemite, a 20-year-old Bohan picked up a guitar and taught himself to play. His talent bloomed, leading him to experiment with several other instruments and, for a short time, to play in a band.

In his late 20s, Bohan returned to college. "I think he did want to become a professional musician eventually, but he was practical in the sense of realizing that you have to eat and you have to pay your bills," said his aunt, Noreen Kahlftorf.

Bohan wanted to have a family, and he knew that he needed to be more self-sufficient, Udoma said. "We called him a happy-go-lucky free-spirit, but he was in touch with his source," she said. "I don't think that people knew how connected he was with his own inner wisdom."

But even while easing his way into corporate America, Bohan's music never stopped. "For him, the art was 24/7," said Udoma.

At the memorial service held last month in Hurley, 350 people gathered in an oversized tent smack in the middle of an apple orchard. From the 2-foot-high stage, friends and relatives gave testimonials, read tributes, and played music -Bohan's music -all day and all night long.

-- Nedra Rhone (Newsday)

I didn't know him, just touched by his story.

We can never forget sweet, beautiful Scarlet's father perishing... and her search for him. She wrote a beautiful piece about it, maybe she'll come by and post it. Love to you, Scarlet.

My still close friend's brother lost his wife; she was on the 105th floor and stayed while she tried to help other people to safety. He called his sister with whom I worked and I answered the phone. All he said to me was, "We lost her." I'll never forget that. They had adopted a baby because she really wanted one, he was so unprepared to be a father without her. He was in shock, of course, but also had no skills - he let the then 3 year old watch the pictures of people jumping, the buildings falling, the flames, on the television - she was scarred then and is so fucked up now. So sad.

Peace.

     https://youtu.be/k49yMJE8jyg